Midcoast Entrepreneurs: Bright Ideas, Creativity and Enterprise
From restaurateurs to artists, and everything in between, the Midcoast is beaming with creatives and innovators in all mediums.
Since the inception of PenBayPilot.com, a collective goal of our writers has been to spotlight entrepreneurs and their creativity. Now, we have established a hub for our stories about the Midcoast’s entrepreneurs to permanently reside.
We encourage our readers to support as many local business owners as possible across as many industries as you can. Our neighbors need our support, so please browse through this hub for potential purchases or places to eat.
Maineport Brewing Company is Searsport's newest hangout
SEARSPORT—At the site of the old Captain Tinkham's Emporium, a new brewery has quietly opened, becoming a new "third place" for locals and visitors to sit down at the wooden benches, talk, and enjoy a craft brew.
Rob and Paula Martell opened Maineport Brewing on 34 E. Main Street in June, after relocating to Searsport from Los Angeles during the pandemic.
The brewery offers four brews on tap, all special recipes crafted by Rob Martell, who honed his home brewing skills while… Read more
Sweet little roadside stand blossoms into a full garden nursery in Lincolnville
LINCOLNVILLE—It’s always exciting to see someone’s hobby bloom into a full entrepreneurial business as we’ve seen in past PenBay Pilot stories, from The Scone Goddess in Northport and Sunflour Meals & Cookies in Hope.
Two… Read more
‘Mise en place’ serves up a place for home cooks in Rockland
ROCKLAND—It was Anthony Bourdain’s first book, Kitchen Confidential that first introduced me to the chef’s term, mise en place, a French expression for having all your ingredients measured, cut, and prepared and all your tools all aligned before you start cooking.
For Eileen Gaughan, the owner of the new kitchen store Mise En Place that just opened in May on 425 Main Street, the term was apropos of her entire store concept.
“I love to cook… Read more
Camden’s new wine bar, First Fig, opens on Elm Street
CAMDEN — First Fig, a neighborhood wine shop and bar at 31 Elm Street, has opened for business, Wednesday through Saturday 12-7 p.m.
Tucked into a welcoming old storefront adjacent to the Camden Opera House, First Fig’s offerings include a retail wine shop, wine by the glass, Guinness, Kavka coffee, tea and other non-alcoholic beverages.
Fresh bread from Brazen Baking Company (Wednesdays and Fridays) and pastries from the Place Bakery (Saturdays) are regularly available. A simple… Read more
Albatross Restaurant to offer new Camden dining experience
CAMDEN – Albatross is a new restaurant opening at 115 Elm Street in Camden, on the same property as the Cedar Crest Inn. Owners Maggie and Jeffrey Harris have a rich history in the food service industry and this is their first foray into restaurant ownership.
Maggie is from Austin, Texas, and Jeffrey is from Fairfield, Iowa. Maggie said her mom has always loved Maine.
“Jeffrey and I met each other in college in the art department of Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa,” she… Read more
Jefferson couple take on 50 farm animals as a sanctuary
JEFFERSON—In a rural corner of Maine, a sanctuary for farm animals has quietly taken shape for pigs, goats, equines, and birds who’ve been abandoned or dumped by their owners. Or, who grew too big to be “pets.”
Amanda Glenn and Andy Theriault bought the 50 acre-property in 2018, not knowing at the time, that a draft horse named Jay would change the course of their lives.
The couple both grew up in Maine.
“I quit teaching to start a pet care business,” said Glenn,… Read more
Young couple makes it their mission to divert food waste from Midcoast landfills
MIDCOAST—It’s been five years since Rockport native Davis Saltonstall and his partner Tessa Rosenberry started ScrapDogs Community Compost, an innovative business to collect food waste from subscriber restaurants and Midcoast households, keeping it out of the landfills.
“When we first started, it really felt more like a project than a business,” said Rosenberry.
That was in 2018: they only had between 80 and 100 customers and no facilities.
“We were composting at a… Read more
New Downeast School of Massage graduate opens business in Camden
Cody Wilson, of Camden, was one of eight recent graduates from the Downeast School of Massage. The school held commencement exercises for the new massage therapists as the 71st graduation class July 15, at the school in Waldoboro.
As an LMT and Fitness Trainer, Wilson runs On Point Massage at a private studio five minutes from downtown Camden. He enjoys helping people with chronic stress, orthopedic challenges, sports injuries, acute and chronic illness. Wilson uses various massage… Read more
Camden’s ‘Lazy Jack II’ sails with a new captain at the helm
CAMDEN - Captain Gus Kodros is originally from Alton, Illinois When asked what brought him to Camden, he says with a wry smile, “a boat.” Kodros recently purchased the Schooner Lazy Jack II from its builder Sean O’Connor, of Thomaston. O’Connor operated the Lazy Jack out of Camden Harbor for many years, offering day sails to locals and tourists.
Kodros said it was the Nina and Pinta… Read more
Three new bars/restaurants invigorate downtown Camden
After the pandemic left a dearth of empty storefronts in Camden around 2022, as reported in our annual Welcome Back Snow Birds series, the town has gotten a shot in the arm with a number of new restaurants.
Here’s what’s popping this summer:
Goods —A Fun Food Shop & Bar
Even though Goods, a specialty market on 31 Elm Street in Camden, has technically been open for a year, owners Megs… Read more