A few midcoast moments

Last Thursday, we made our third stop in our On the Road with Mainebiz event series. This time, we ventured to Rockland.

I have to admit to having a bit of a soft spot for midcoast Maine. I grew up in what’s sometimes referred to as the “southern midcoast,” that amorphous Brunswick-Topsham-Bath region between greater Portland and the honest-to-goodness midcoast. I’ve also been the unofficial midcoast reporter here, so I’ve traveled to the midcoast a few times to talk with a number of businesses.

Thursday’s weather was just perfect, so I decided to take a little detour on my way to Rockland and do something I’ve never done before: eat at Red’s Eats in Wiscasset. Yes, it’s true, this Maine native has never stood in line at that iconic Route 1 eatery, waiting for a lobster roll – that is, until last Thursday.

The line that day wasn’t very long but it still took a good 20 minutes to place my order. Judging by the conversations around me, I guessed the other Red’s customers were college students, locals and tourists alike.

I went for their award-winning lobster roll and some onion rings, and my order was up in just a few minutes.

I was equal parts eager and hesitant to dig in. But Red’s, I’m sorry to say -- it was not the best lobster roll I've ever had. (My view no way reflects the views of Mainebiz or my Mainebiz colleagues, especially since an informal poll showed a few Red’s fans in the office. I’m outnumbered).

I will, however, concede that Wiscasset may indeed be the prettiest village in Maine: cafes, lots of antique shops, general stores and lovely, historic buildings.

If you don't mind the traffic.

Once I made it to Rockland, I had some time to walk around and enjoy the downtown. Art galleries are to Rockland what antique stores are to Wiscasset. I had such an urge to splurge on a painting and try and fit it into my Corolla.

The Farnsworth Art Museum is the center of the town's art culture. I wonder how many tourists go there looking for a sandwich, though.

The Mainebiz event was at Amalfi on the Water and featured a simply stunning view. Despite the lovely weather that could have lured folks away, the event drew a good number of people interesting in networking and meeting the Mainebiz folks.

I left the event with some good contacts and a few story ideas – couldn’t have asked for more.

If you want to connect with Mainebiz in person, put June 14 on your calendar – we’ll be heading to Poland. Hope to see you!

You'll be able to see more photos from the On the Road Rockland event here.

A day in Sanford

A few of us Mainebiz editorial types headed to Sanford on April 25 for the second stop in the On the Road with Mainebiz series. We'll be making six stops around the state this year to meet and greet with business owners and readers (our first stop was Bangor).

The event was held at the Town Club, located on the fourth floor of the old Sanford Trust building, built by the Goodalls. Sanford business leaders’ pride in the facility was obvious. Many remarked how the club was built by former mill owners as an, ahem, gentlemen’s club for their top executives. The circa 1915 charm oozed from every wood-paneled corner. As our publisher, Donna Brassard, commented at the event, we felt very Mad Men-y. (If you haven't seen Mad Men, the AMC show about New York City ad men in the 1960s, you can check out past seasons on Netflix). 

Buzzers that were used to give advance warning of any raid were still on the walls. And see that round seat behind me and Events & Marketing Manager Jenna Grant? Word was that they used to open up back in the day so the men could stash their booze when the Prohibition cops showed up. We didn't check to see if anything had been left behind...

The building has fabulous views, allowing its original patrons to look down on their mill empires.

Current patrons can enjoy looking at brightly painted buildings.

The facility is now home to Above and Beyond Catering, which providing some mouth-watering treats for our event, like these egg rolls.

As we do at every On the Road event, we organized a roundtable discussion with area readers to get their feedback on Mainebiz and talk about story ideas. During the talk, they lamented the town's lack of highway access, which they believe puts it just out of reach of prospective businesses and residents. However, leaders boasted about the town’s blue-collar work ethic, saying that more workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard call Sanford home.

As many business owners commented, Sanford struggles with many of the same issues as other towns that were once reliant on mills. But Sanford is poised for a rebound, with the Goodall Mill slated to be renovated into 36 market-rate condominiums with 23,000 square feet of commercial space and a new high school/vocational center.

We'll be in Rockland next week, on the 17th. Will we see you there? Click here to register! 

You can see more photos from the Sanford reception here.

We hit the road to Bangor

For the second year in a row, we're holding an On the Road with Mainebiz series of events, traveling to various locations around the state to meet and greet. There's food, a cash bar and a chance to mingle with members of the business community. For the editorial team, these events are prime opportunities to talk to business people and get story ideas. Prior to each networking event, we also convene a panel of Mainebiz readers to get some feedback on our print publication, primarily, but also our online offerings.

On Wednesday, Editor Carol Coultas, Senior Writer Randy Billings and I traveled up to Bangor for the first On the Road event of the year. It wasn't the easiest of commutes. Around Bowdoinham, we ran into that butter truck accident, and an apparently outdated GPS device took Carol and me to Veazie. Instead of arriving at the Hollywood Casino on Main Street in Bangor, we ended up at railroad-track crossing in Veazie, deserted except for a couple rusted-out trucks. Better luck next time?

Randy, a Bangor-area native who made the wise decision to take his own car, made it to the casino but didn't press his luck at the new table games.

Instead, he checked in on the progress of the $65 million arena under construction, which an impact study says would generate $26 million in new revenue in Penobscot County every year. Paul Bunyon is hard at work on it.

We also learned that Bangorians (Bangorites?) love their wings.

At our reader roundtable, we plied participants with cookies and coffee and asked them about their news-reading habits, what they read most in the pages of Mainebiz and what we could be covering better. That's Carol and Randy on the right.

Cynthia Smith, president of Angel Secure Networks in Orono, takes some notes during the roundtable discussion.

Despite the glorious weather (we spotted a temperature sign that said 87 degrees!), the reception brought out more than 100 people. We did some networking and again kept our ears open to story ideas, since Carol charged us with coming back with at least two ideas and a stack of business cards.

A business card exchange...

Getting story ideas...

A reporter's work is never done.

After the event wrapped up, we hit the road back down to the Portland area, but not before stopping at Red Robin in Augusta for a late dinner -- and an onion ring tower.

We had our weekly meeting this afternoon to talk about our story ideas, some of which I'm sure you'll see in the pages of Mainebiz in the next couple of months.

Our next On the Road event happens April 25 in Sanford. I'll be updating my GPS before then...