Turning Wheels on Front and Centre

Ornament, one of the prettiest shops in Bath, will be closing on October 7th, and I miss it already. This uptown store at 70 Front Street inspired me to decorate my home and garden with new and vintage treasures, like a wooden trellis, a wicker chair, an iron bed, wax candles shaped like pears, and other necessities. When I first arrived in Bath, I needed a lot of home goods, but truth be told I often shopped at Ornament because I enjoyed chatting with its owner, Gayle Stodder Hunt. A genuine Mainer, Gayle is a Morse graduate, and a smart business woman with exceptionally good taste. Over the past four years, she has helped Joe and I transform our antique colonial into our everyday home. For example, our flat screen TV sits on a vintage bench that we purchased at Ornament. And when I sit down to watch my favorite program (Outlander), I usually curl up under the coral blanket that matches my coral mermaid chair, which were both purchased at Ornament. If you’re a practical person, you might wonder why I don’t shop on-line. Well, clearly, I'm not practical. I own a mermaid chair!

The Mermaid Chair

I prefer shopping locally. It’s more fun, more social, more tactile, more visual, and more informative. I learn when I shop. I seek out the best shopkeepers I can find, and I ask them lots of questions. And more often than not, they know the answer because it’s their business. Ornament has been open for ten years, and that’s a success story. Next Saturday, Gayle will turn off the lights, and lock her signature blue door for the last time because she is ready for something new, a little more time with family and friends. Her readiness to close reminds us how difficult it is to run a retail business.

Seventy Front Street is not the only retail space in our City of Ships that will be leased by someone new. City Drawers, a boutique that boasts two locations in Maine, will be closing its doors at 96 Front Street as well. This popular lingerie boutique opened its first store in Belfast in 2011 and opened its Bath location in 2015. While this essential shop has been embraced by Bath women looking for a good fit, its owner lives closer to Bangor than Bath and decided to shorten her commute by opening a store on Bangor's Main Street. For local shoppers, this was crushing news until we learned that the manager, Bette Spettel, is opening up a new boutique called Over the Moon at the same location. (Translation: The window at 96 Front Street will continue to please, amuse or agitate all those who pass by.)

A vintage treasure from downtown Bath

Solo Bistro’s cool Friday night jazz and distinct Nordic flavor has already sailed into the past, but a trendy new brewery will be opening soon in the historic Morris Povich building at 143 Front Street. As recently as three years ago, this address was home to Brick Store Antiques where Joe and I purchased the first item for our covered deck, three iron stacking tables with marble tops. That purchase marked our first discovery of buried treasure in Bath. (The marble tops were piled in a box and the tables were in need of a good scraping and some white paint!) As fate and Bath would have it, the owner of that glorious antique shop, Polly Thibodeau, is now a friend. And I believe Polly would agree that change is bound to happen, wheels are supposed to turn, and forward is the right direction to go!

Outfit from Pitter Patter; baby is heaven sent  

Even though I’m an optimist, and I trust that change will bring new opportunities to deserving people, it’s always good to see familiar faces on Front Street, like Pitter Patter, which moved from the east side of the street to the west side a few years ago and remains a favorite place to find the perfect gift for a little baby or a young child. Colleen Whitaker, the current owner, worked at the shop for several years before buying it from her boss. Over the last ten years, she has added her own sense of style to a gentle little store for adults who have children in their life and want to buy things for them! Of course, I’m guilty of indulging in that sweet pleasure. I have purchased more than a few adorable outfits with irresistible booties and cuddly toys, like monkeys and giraffes! What better way to spend money!

Springer's Jewelers

He went to Springer's!

Money may not go quite as far on Front and Centre, but it certainly goes nicely! Consider the quality and variety of the many stores we have to choose from in downtown Bath: Springer's, Lisa-Marie's Made in Maine, the Mustard Seed, Reny's, Wags and Whiskers, Now Your Cooking, and House of Logan to name a few.

Treats at the Bath Sweet Shoppe

Our main streets truly have something for everyone. The Bath Sweet Shoppe at 19 Centre Street even sells penny candy! Last year, Karen Townsend bought this old-fashioned candy store from Joan and Sarah Fraser. In 2004, Joan and her husband, Paul, came from New Hampshire to buy a business and fulfill a lifetime dream.  Through a city-wide survey, Main Street Bath had just uncovered the desire for a candy shop in town. Serendipitously, two wishes came true! After Paul’s death, Joan and her daughter, Sarah, kept the business running until Karen found her way to Bath from California by way of Massachusetts. For Joan and Karen, the transition was seamless. Today, the Bath Sweet Shoppe continues to offer specialty chocolate in all shapes and sizes (Imagine chocolate lobsters tied with a pretty bow) as well as jelly belly’s, gummies, smarties, gourmet popcorn, tasty chips, and more! This sweet next-door neighbor of the Centre Street Gallery is a throw back to Shirley Temple’s classic song in her 1934 film Bright Eyes: “On the good ship lollipop, it’s a sweet ship to the candy shop where bon-bons play on the sunny beach of Peppermint Bay.” I like to think Peppermint Bay looks a lot like Popham Beach! Whether you have one dollar or twenty in your pocket, you can always find something to sing about at the Bath Sweet Shoppe. 

Recently, Main Street Bath conducted another survey asking Bath residents what they would like to see added to our downtown. That same question came up during their March fund-raising event, Family Feud. The three most popular answers were a movie theater, a bowling alley, and an Italian restaurant. What will the results of the newest on-line survey reveal? Whatever the responses tell us, I’m confident that Main Street Bath will continue to reinvent Front and Centre. Here in Bath, it still feels like summer, but I know autumn breezes are about to blow, and I hope they blow some new businesses onto Front and Centre Streets as some of our favorites are bound to leave us. When those newbies arrive, I will support them, and I hope you do, too. When it comes to shopping, on-line is convenient, but local is community. If Main Streets across America disappear, we may all be forced to shop on-line, and that won’t be nearly as much fun as shopping on Front and Centre. The wheels are turning, but let's pause and applaud our award-winning downtown!

 Front Street at Christmas time - photo by Mike Taylor