The Market Report

Lincolnville Center General Store Open:  mid 1800s-2024 Owner:  Briar Lyons Previous Tenants:  none Later Tenants:  Owen's General Store Cooperative:  none Location:  269 Main St, Lincolnville, ME Photographed:  August 15, 2019 We're kind of out here in the country in this part of Maine, although it's far from the most remote area. But that means this is general store country. The Lincolnville Center General Store opened around the mid-1800s, and I took some pictures in 2019. Five years later, it was sold and rebranded as Owen's General Store (it's still open under that name today). This upscale general store was actually acquired about 20 years ago by Briar Lyons, the wife of drummer John Fishman of the band Phish . There's a little bit of everything here, including a bulk department, some local produce, and a cafe in the back with some really good homemade pizza. The basics and some higher-end items populate the shelves. Once again, we're not exactly...

Megunticook Market Opened:  2023 under current ownership; unknown previously Owner:  Nishant Patel Previous Tenants:  unknown Cooperative:  Associated Grocers of New England Location:  2 Gould St, Camden, ME Photographed:  August 10, 2019 and June 16, 2022 Outside of Camden is this tiny supermarket -- the Megunticook Market, so named for the bordering Megunticook Market and spanning just 5000 square feet. (That still makes it almost double the size of French & Brawn in town.) Part convenience store, part full supermarket, part take-out restaurant, and part amazing bakery -- I've been to the Megunticook Market several times, including in both 2019 and 2022 (and the photos come from both visits). You enter in the front-left corner where there's a table displaying the amazing baked goods -- more shortly -- with grocery aisles in the middle of the store. Deli and prepared foods are at the back of the store, with produce, meat, dairy, and frozen at the back...

French & Brawn Marketplace Opened: 1868 Owner:  Todd Anderson Previous Tenants:  none Cooperative:  Associated Grocers of New England Location:  1 Elm St, Camden, ME Photographed:  August 11, 2019 Welcome to quaint downtown Camden! This small waterfront city has a Hannaford just outside of town , but right in town is the French & Brawn Marketplace. This grocer actually dates all the way back to 1868, and the store is only about 2500 square feet at the main intersection of the town. You can tell from the wonderful exterior that this store has been here for many decades! Actually, more than a century. The store faces Elm Street, the main street in town, with a side entrance in the back to the deli and butcher area. Heading in, we can tell the store is very old-school but wonderfully preserved and a really nice, small town supermarket. Produce is in the front-right corner, with frozen foods in the rest of the first aisle. Deli and butcher are in the back c...

Hannaford Opened: 2005 Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Graves' Supermarket (closed 2005) Cooperative:  none Location:  145 Elm St, Camden, ME Photographed:  August 11, 2019 Hannaford came to town in 2005 here in Camden, when the Maine native chain took over an independent called Graves' Supermarket. The store is around 35,000 square feet, and the only chain supermarket in town. But there are two other independent supermarkets here in Camden, a quaint waterfront town that overlooks a harbor. On Monday, we'll take a tour of the independent grocer in the middle of town. Have a good weekend!

Shaw's Opened: 2003 Owner:  Albertsons Companies Previous Tenants:  Ames (closed 2002) Cooperative:  none Location:  235 Camden St, Rockland, ME Photographed:  August 13, 2019 Shaw's opened its 53,000 square foot Rockland store in 2003, and it looks like it was in the space of an Ames department store that had closed the prior year. Several Shaw's have made homes in former Ames stores . This appears to be the slightly larger of the two chain supermarkets here in Rockland, with the nearby Hannaford ever so slightly smaller. Tomorrow, we continue north along the West Penobscot Bay to the next town The Market Report will visit, Camden!

Hannaford Opened: early 00s Owner:  Ahold Delhaize Previous Tenants:  Shop 'n Save (converted after 2001) Cooperative:  none Location:  75 Maverick St, Rockland, ME Photographed:  June 16, 2022 With a population of around 7000 people, Rockland is actually one of the larger towns in this area. And of course, in this part of Maine, any town of any notable size will be home to a Hannaford. This one is around 51,000 square feet, and was built as a Shop 'n Save that became a Hannaford in the early 2000s. The other chain supermarket in town is a Shaw's just half a mile north. Tomorrow, we're headed north to the coastal town of Camden!

Main Street Markets Opened: 2014 Owner:  Jennifer and Rick Rockwell Previous Tenants:  assorted non-grocery tenants Cooperative:  none Location:  435 Main St, Rockland, ME Photographed:  August 13, 2019 and June 16, 2022 Here in downtown Rockland, a few storefronts have been combined to become Main Street Markets, a gourmet grocer and cafe that opened in 2014. I actually visited the store twice, once back in 2019 and again in 2022, so we'll see pictures from both times. This isn't exactly a grocery store, but more of a specialty food and wine store with a small cafe. The interior has been beautifully renovated with a nod to the building's past with wood floors and brick walls. There's an emphasis on local and specialty products on the grocery shelves here, with a counter for food and beverages to order. There's also a small seating area. And in the back of the store is a beer and wine department. These days, the business seems to be in the beer/wine and cafe si...