I don’t know about you, but I’ve been really curious about what’s been happening in the storefront on Main Street that was recently vacated by Sobo Book & Bean.  Every time I walk by lately I’ve been peeking in and seeing the transformation inside: new paint, shining floors, a new arrangement of the counter, more open space, and a new sparkle.

The other night at a South Berwick Networking meeting I got to meet Wendy Reppucci, who along with her spouse, is opening The Early Bird, the new coffee shop that is going into the spot.  It sounds like the Early Bird is a perfect addition to that stretch of Main St.

Here’s the latest update from Wendy Reppucci:

We’ve revived the cozy space at 241 Main Street with a cheery facelift.  The Early Bird will be open for business on Strawberry Festival weekend.  We’ll open with a limited menu then – our Grand Opening is planned for July with our full menu in place.   We’ll feature fresh, preservative-free Bagels, a great selection of organic, fair trade coffees (roasted in Maine) and teas, a variety of fresh Egg & Cheese Sandwiches, including our own Green Eggs & Ham specialty sandwich, Kimmi’s Best Biscotti (made right here in So. Berwick) and many other fresh and natural offerings.  Soft-serve ice cream and Root Beer floats will coming soon too!  We’ll be offering complimentary WiFi access at the Early Bird.

We’ll be open seven days a week, and yes, we will be open early!  Our hours are Monday-Friday from 6:00 am – 2:00 pm and Saturday-Sunday 8:00 am – 2:00 pm. The Early Bird will also be open Thursday evenings for Hot Summer Nights concerts, so come visit us and grab an ice-cream or an iced-coffee to enjoy during the show.  We have the best coffee in town!

Feel free to email us with any questions, comments or to just say hello at: earlybird241@yahoo.com.

This is great news for the center of the village.  Early coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and WiFi!  Best wishes to the the Reppucci’s and the Early Bird, I can’t wait to do some early morning coffee and blogging there.

Making Room for Hats

50% off all toys at The Little Hat Company – Help us Spread the Word

Thursday, May 28th from 12:00 – 7:00 pm
Friday  29th from 4:00 – 9:00pm
& Sunday 31st  from 10:00 –5:00pm

Now is your chance to buy dollhouses, train tables, kitchens, and all of our great toys for half price.   The Little Hat Company is going back to its roots and focusing on building our hat business from South Berwick, ME.  We are moving our business online in order to stay focused and also more importantly to be with our children while they are still young.  We are very thankful for all the support you have showed our toy store for the past 2 ½ years.  We will be relaunching our website with our new styles and fabrics at the first of June. Take a look www.thelittlehatcompany.com .  We will also have a booth at The Strawberry Festival on the last Saturday in June and can’t wait to show you the new adult Strawberry Lid that Deb created for the 5k road race.

Monkey Business Bakery is located at 440 Main St. in South Berwick.

I should call this article “Price Point Eyewear saves the day.”  Last Saturday morning I was running around getting ready for the Library book sale and I had that dreaded experience that glasses wearers fear.  I took a step and felt something foreign under my foot.  It was my glasses, lens out, bow bent, and frame broken.  I left the house stressed about the inconvenience and cost of getting them replaced, wearing an old pair of glasses that make me dizzy.

While I was at the book sale I saw the open sign lighted at Price Point Eyewear so took a walk over to check it out.  I was greeted by friendly optician and owner Paul Vasapoli and pleasantly surprised by the selection of nice looking frames.  The best thing was the price; complete glasses start at $99.  Since I’m hard on glasses I always carry my prescription with me so I selected my frames and had a promise that I would have them by Monday.  Come Monday, I had my new glasses at an affordable price and no inconvenience of making multiple trips out of town.  Call me a very satisfied customer!  Last time I got new glasses I was lured by a “special” at a chain store, but ended up paying over two times the advertised price because everything was an add on.  “You meant you want two lenses?”  “You mean you don’t want to hold them on your head with rubber bands?”  It was a completely different experience at Price Point, there were lots of frames to choose from in each package price and no hidden costs for a nice pair of single vision glasses.

Paul Vasapoli, optician and owner of Price Point Eyewear

Paul Vasapoli lives in Eliot and is happy to be a part of South Berwick’s downtown.  He did a great job of sprucing up the storefront.  The neon signage adds vitality to the downtown block and the interior work that he did makes the store feel bright and new.  The lighting is good and the new wood flooring looks beautiful. Price Point is a great addition to the downtown and adds one more important service that is available locally.  Stop in and meet Paul and thank him for his investment in the town.  And get some great new glasses at the same time.

Price Point Eyewear is located at 257 Main St., South Berwick, ME.  The phone number is 207-384-LENS  .  Hours are Mon – Fri 10 am to 5:30 pm, Thurs until 7 pm, Saturday, 9 am to 1 pm. Closed Wednesday and Sunday.  www.pricepointeyewear.com

I stopped in on a recent afternoon and got to talk to Norma Dowling, Executive Director of Garvey House, inc.    Garvey House Inc. is a home for pregnant women in Berwick.  Union #79 serves as income to support the charitable work of Garvey House, as an employment opportunity for residents of Garvey House, and as a site for job training for residents.  A team of volunteers, donations, and purchases keep the store running.

Norma says the stock at Union #79 is always changing since they are constantly getting new donations.  The day I was there Norma was expecting a whole house full of furniture to be coming in shortly.  She also plans to expand the line of locally made crafts and jewelry.

Norma Dowling, Executive Director of Garvey House and one of the managers of Union Store #79, a gift/thrift store with a mission.

The name of the store, “Union Store #79,” is a reference to the history of South Berwick and the store’s historic location.  South Berwick’s chapter of the first consumers’ cooperative in the United States, Union Store Div. 79 was located in the same spot during the 1800s. (Read more about it at the OBHS website)

The store is located at 245 Main St. in South Berwick.  The phone number for the store is 207-704-0129.

]]> http://the236diner.com/2009/05/11/whats-new-downtown-union-store-79/feed/ 0 http://the236diner.com/2008/12/11/buy-local-gift-ideas/ http://the236diner.com/2008/12/11/buy-local-gift-ideas/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2008 15:14:31 +0000 Molly Colman http://the236diner.com/2008/12/11/buy-local-gift-ideas/ Have you been wracking your brain for gift ideas?  Here are some gifts you can find right in your own backyard:

One of a kind fused glass jewelry made by local glass artist Hope Murphy, who makes earrings and pendants in beautiful colors and patterns.  Find out more at fuzingglass.com .

    llll
Nora Irvine’s Journey Gift Bags are a lasting and environmentally smart way to wrap your gifts and create a new family tradition.  Find out how you can make the gift wrapping as special as the gift at journeygiftbags.com . (Update: I just ran into Nora Irvine downtown and she’s offering a holiday special for any South Berwick resident 0f $5 off the website prices for her giftbags.)

What about the person who has everything?  You can honor someone and support a cause that is dear to them by giving a gift membership or a donation in their name to one of the local nonprofits.  Some important local organizations: Great Works Regional Land Trust, Old Berwick Historical Society, Community Chorus at South Berwick, and the Center for Wildlife .

At Nature’s Way Market you can put together a fabulous gift basket with wine, cheese, some of it from local sources, salsas, jams, sauces, cookies, and really good chocolate.  They have a great selection of foods that will please any tastes.

If you are looking for a gift to get a child singing and moving, award-winning children’s singer & songwriter, Sammie Haynes, and ChildLight Yoga founder, Lisa Flynn, both of South Berwick have released “I Grow With Yoga: Yoga Songs for Children.”  The mix of original songs and new lyrics to familiar melodies make this a special treat for children, who can sing along with the songs while following the movement cues. The CDs can be found at at www.childlightyoga.com and at The Little Hat Company .

Doodlebugz Studio in Rollinsford, a paint your own pottery and glass fusing studio, offers the opportunity to make your own one of a kind gifts.  Two Intro to Glass Fusing classes in the next week will teach you how to make a fused glass piece.  One is today, Dec. 11 from 630-8:30 pm, and another is December 15 from 9-11 am.  Class is $10 plus supplies which average $10 per piece.  Call today 603-749-1049 to register.

Give the gift of an experience to remember:  a gift certificate for a yoga class at South Berwick Yoga, a night out to see  A Very Ida Christmas, a new show by Susan Poulin, golf lessons at The Links at Outlook .

Do you have other ideas for local gifts?  I know these are just a few of the great gifts that can be found locally, so email me with the information and I will post more local gift ideas.

Why go local for the holidays?

We can’t think of a single reason not to! Despite the feeling of being huddled in a giant row boat without oars, rising and falling on the economic high seas, we have more power than we think.

Each time we open our wallets and plunk down our dollars, we are doing more than purchasing a swanky new purse or riveting read, we are voting for something.

The cash register is where we decide between sending our hard-earned money out of our community or keeping it here. Let’s keep it here!

Going local is an economic stimulus that doesn’t depend on borrowing or debt. It builds on our power to make good investments, just a few dollars at a time, that will benefit us for generations to come.

According to Nielsen Wire, U.S. holiday sales are expected to reach $98 billion dollars for 2008.

What if just 10% of those purchases were made at independent, locally-owned businesses?

• In an analysis from Midcoast Maine, “three times as much money stays in the local economy when you buy goods and services from locally-owned businesses instead of large chain stores.”
• Local businesses offer unique goods, great service and are the hubs of our community.  When you buy local, you put money back into YOUR town, city or region. Studies have found that, on average, 68 cents of every $1 spent locally stays in the community. That is 50 percent more than the same dollar spent elsewhere.
• A neighboring study says, “If Vermont substituted local products for only 10 percent of the food”  they import, “it would result in $376 million in new economic output, including $69 million in personal earnings from 3,616 jobs.”

Ten percent may seem like small change but small change can effect change in a positive and lasting way.

All it takes is to spend 10% your holiday shopping dollars at locally owned businesses. If you are not sure who some of these folks are, check out www.seacoastlocal.org. Browse the business directory for great examples (175 and growing) of Seacoast Local businesses.

Better yet, take it to the next level, by purchasing at least 10% of the goods and services you use in your everyday life from local entrepreneurs.

Even a 10% shift in consumer choices has the power to grow economic output by 20 percent, generate millions of dollars in new economic activity and create hundreds of new jobs. And a marketplace of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure quality goods, innovation and low prices over the long-term.

This is the time to make a change.

Will you make the 10% shift with us?

 Reprinted from www.seacoastlocal.org
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How to find local food:
www.seacoasteatlocal.org
www.seacoastgrowers.org
www.slowfoodseacoast.blogspot.com

Take the236diner Buy Local Challenge and put some of your money in our local economy and support our hometown businesses.

This is a call to South Berwick residents to CHALLENGE themselves to patronize locally owned businesses to meet all or some of the following objectives during the six week period between November 19, 2008 and December 31, 2008.

1.    Buy at least one food product that is made or grown locally.
2.    Shop at a local independent business that you have never been to before.
3.    Eat out at least once at a local independent restaurant.
4.    Get a take out meal from a local business.
5.    Buy at least one holiday gift at a local independent business.
6.    Give the gift of a gift certificate from a local business or service.
7.    Buy at least one item made by a local artist or artisan.
8.    Purchase at least one service from a local business (car repairs, salon service, massage, veterinary, tax preparation, etc.)
9.    Take a friend out for coffee, tea, or a drink at a local independent business.
10.   Attend at least one cultural event (lecture, concert, play, art show) that features local presenters or artists.
11.    Attend one local recreational or sports event.
12.    Report experiences and share finds on the 236 diner.

The Buy Local Challenge is completely voluntary. You set your own rules. You may decide that you will strive to meet all of the objectives on a daily basis, or select one objective you would like to meet per week.

How much are you willing to commit to buying local? It’s up to you.

Each week the 236 Diner will provide a place to discuss your experiences with the buy local challenge.  You can share your discoveries and help others discover our local businesses.