The Maine General Store Tour
The small-town general store offers something retail giants don’t: community & connection.
By Saisie Moore
ONCE A STAPLE of rural living, Maine’s general stores provide those simple essentials—from groceries to fuel to fishing bait—that support life in a small-town community. As our social and shopping habits have shifted, many of Maine’s oldest establishments have been pushed to the edge of extinction. In the age of ultra-fast online delivery and big-box retail malls, where cost and convenience reign triumphant, the saga of Maine’s general stores is a story with David-and-Goliath odds of survival. And yet, while some of their merchandise could be found at national chains or online, the homemade food and homegrown community nourish a different set of human needs. Although diminished in numbers, local general stores still act as a conduit for connection between people and place in many Maine communities. This summer, why not take a road trip (and a couple of ferry rides) and collect memories and souvenirs from these outposts of Maine history?
According to the New England Historical Society, the “heyday for general stores” was between 1820 and 1860, a time when they sat at most small-town crossroads, trading in everyday essentials and local gossip, operated by a shopkeeper who often doubled as the town postmaster.
Hope General Store
44 Camden Road, Hope
hopegeneral.com
PHOTO: ELISE KLYSA
Built in 1832, where Routes 105 and 25 meet, just outside the churn of Camden’s lively downtown, Hope General Store is a portal into the golden era of general stores. Outside of a few fallow years over the centuries, Hope General has been a reliable resource for locals. Today, Damon McClure and Simone-Claire Girard Delevett preserve this slice of history on Hope Corner for the town’s roughly 2,000 residents, complete with a miniature post office (although they concede, “We don’t sell guns or salt licks anymore”). Wander around on the hardwood floors and you’ll find anything from artisanal crafts to snow shovels and maple syrup on the wooden shelves, worn to a soft patina by years of service. An antique cast-iron Queen Atlantic stove, a visual nod to the store’s history, sits beside the food counter, where visitors can order hot, house-made treats throughout the day.
Owen’s General
269 Main Street, Lincolnville
owensgeneral.com
PHOTO: ELISE KLYSA
Not far away, the stately Owen’s General (formerly Lincolnville Center General Store) stands on Main Street, easily identifiable by its classic deep-red siding and white wraparound porch, both restored in 2017. A local staple for elevated ready-to-go eats, the store has an impressive output of daily baked goods, sandwiches and deli items. Regulars also flock there for wood-fired pizza and fresh produce from local growers like Three Bug Farm and Spear Spring Farm. For a taste of the unexpected, order the Pizza Whim!, rotating specials made with whatever sparks the chef ’s imagination, from foraged fiddleheads to ground beef and pickles. The pie’s name isn’t the only one of note around here. The store was previously owned by Phish drummer John Fishman and his wife, Briar Lyons, who heralded the store’s relaunch in 2017 with a fitting combination of pizza and live music. The store was purchased this Spring by locals Matt Pierce and Whitney Hughes. They renamed the store after Whitney’s son Owen who passed away in a motorcycle accident last summer. The couple wanted to honor his entrepreneurial spirit in the region where he grew up and look forward to building on the store’s culinary and community minded spirit.
Washington General
7 Waldoboro Road, Washington
wgsmaine.com
WASHINGTON GENERAL. PHOTO: ELISE KLYSA
Setting your sights westward from Lincolnville through the rolling Midcoast hills, you may happen upon the three-story, red barn that houses Washington General. Formerly a storage barn for the Lincoln Lumber Company and then a longstanding antique store named Luce’s Bargain Barn, the inviting post-and-beam interior welcomes you to wander its aisles. Opened by Sean and Amy Donaghy in 2013, “WG” stocks a wide selection of grocery and hardware items, from chainsaw oil to diapers. It takes a strong will to leave without succumbing to the fragrance of baked goods and the store’s extensive menu. While you indulge in a Maine Italian, a classic of general stores statewide, admire the heritage lumber. The Donaghys used lumber found in the old racks on the third floor to build the lunch bar and the deli counter. “Washington has had a few general stores scattered around the town in its more than 200-year history,” Sean says, “but it’s been probably 40 years since the last was in operation.” The couple moved to the town in 2003, intending it to be just a temporary residence. Ten years later, with a family of four young children, the couple was calling Washington home. Passing the familiar landmark daily, Sean and Amy “kept hoping someone would do something with the old barn and bring some life back to the area,” he says. “The 2008 economic crash had seen the closure of the few remaining shops in the village. At some point, we realized it was going to have to be us.” The decision seems to have been handed to them by fate, a challenge the Donaghys accepted in service to the community they had come to love. “We had no experience in retail,” Sean says. “How hard could it be? Turns out it was very hard!” A decade on, they credit their success to the unflagging support of the townsfolk who inspired the project. Sean says, “It’s become a gathering place and source of pride for our kids and the town.”
Brooklin General
4 Reach Street, Brooklin
brooklingeneral.com
Brooklin General Store. COURTESY PHOTO.
On the scenic and circuitous route toward the very tip of the Blue Hill Peninsula, you may be surprised to uncover a gourmet haven at the farthest reaches of these quiet coastal roads. A one-stop shop and coffee spot for local families and fishermen since 1872, the Brooklin General Store has stood steadfast in Maine’s boatbuilding capital while the world around it transforms. The store’s most recent chapter involves a fresh start under Alissa Wagner and Graham Macbeth, who relocated here from New York City to put down roots and build a family-owned business near Macbeth’s hometown of Blue Hill. “We envision the store as a center for the community to gather, meet friends and family, and enjoy good food and coffee,” says Wagner, who has 20 years of culinary experience as a former chef and co-owner of Dimes restaurant, deli and market in Manhattan. “We want our customers to have a complete shopping experience and be able to find everything they need—from milk, eggs and local produce to windshield fluid and gas.” They serve Bucklyn Coffee, a local favorite, and this summer will debut an ice cream window featuring organic soft serve from New York City favorite Blue Marble. Get in line!
Sheepscot General
98 Townhouse Road, Whitefield
sheepscotgeneral.com
SHEEPSCOT GENERAL STORE. PHOTO: ELISE KLYSA
Situated on a five-acre patchwork of farmland, Sheepscot General is undeniably more than just an outpost for merchandise; it’s a hub for rural communities in the Sheepscot River Valley and beyond. Not bad, considering the store was never part of the original plan for owners Ben Marcus and Taryn Hammer Marcus. The young farming couple was looking to lease land in Whitefield back in 2010 when a community member offered them a plot on Uncas Farm on the condition that they also revive the former general store, housed in an old dairy building. In the intervening years, Sheepscot General has blossomed into a nexus for local, organic provisions and community agriculture resources. Wooden shelves are laden with produce, lotions, craft supplies and artisanal products from all over Maine. An attached events space hosts singing circles, fiber-spinning groups and community meetings. Each June, families fill the rows in the farm’s fields to pluck ruby-red strawberries before seeking shade and refreshment indoors at the cafe, rich in flavorful options, like buttery quiches, wood-fired bagels and pizzas, chocolate chip cookies and smoothies.
Island Store
3 Main Street, Isle au Haut
isleauhautstore.com
Local free-range sheep visiting the Island Store at sunset on Isle au Haut. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ISLAND STORE
On the mainland, general stores are a vital force in small towns; on Maine’s islands, they’re the very lifeblood of the community. While some mainland stores lean toward high-end, artisanal products and provisions, island stores play fundamental roles more akin to those of traditional general stores. Without the far-flung Island Store on Isle au Haut, at the eastern edges of Penobscot Bay, the roughly 80 year-round residents would be forced to travel to Stonington by ferry to get groceries and goods. Instead, the store is run as a food cooperative, owned and operated by residents and summer visitors. The charming, shingled establishment sells hardware items for the boats, woodshops and DIY projects that keep a self-sufficient island community afloat. In partnership with the Congregational Church, permanent residents also participate in Tuesday’s Table, which provides a free, hot meal to every islander each week throughout the winter.
The Island Market & Supply
40 North Road, Swans Island
tims-swans-island.com
Versatility is key to island living. On nearby Swans Island, you could spot a local lobsterman pulling tarps at dawn and later driving the island school bus, while the general store owner might also operate the mail delivery and freight service. There are no one-trick ponies here. The Island Market & Supply (or “TIMS,” if you’re in the know), serves a year-round population of 350 that swells to 1,200 during summer, providing “enough produce and variety that islanders could exist just from our store,” says Brian Krafjack, who owns and operates the island institution with his wife, Kathy. “We named the store TIMS because we wanted it to have a personality, to feel like it’s part of the community.”
The couple relocated to Swans Island from Connecticut in 2013 with no intention of leaving their respective professions in architecture and painting to run an island store. A decade later, TIMS has found a place at the heart of this island community. You’ll find Kathy behind the register in the warm, woody interior of the shop, ready to offer the daily lunch special or pizza on Wednesday and Friday nights.
When not juggling store operations, Brian can be found aboard the Northern Star, a retired pilot boat, transporting “US Mail, FedEx, UPS, trampolines, dining room sets and mounted moose heads between the mainland and the outer islands.” In 2019, the couple purchased the island’s long-standing Hopkins Freight business from the local Hopkins family, renamed it Swan’s Island Freight, and Brian became the island’s de facto source of mainland deliveries. All of a sudden, TIMS began to sustain communities beyond the shores of Swans Island. “The Frenchboro population is too small to sustain its own store,” Brian says. Instead, Frenchboro’s 30 or so residents place orders from TIMS that Brian delivers alongside items from his six-day-per-week mail run. Along the way, Brian also found himself responsible for the mail run for Gotts Island (aka Great Gott Island), a minuscule shard of land without roads or power that hosts 50 summer residents.
On the cover: Sebago Lake is a giant among Maine’s lakes and the deepest, too. With coves and forested inlets and opportunities to sail, angle, swim and camp, the lakes region is a favorite for summer adventures.