A local couple has purchased the Lincolnville General Store formerly owned by Phish drummer John Fishman.
And while Whitney Hughes and Matt Pierce plan to keep serving many of the same goods in the midcoast establishment, they have made one very noticeable shift: they’ve renamed it Owen’s General Store.
Hughes and Pierce purchased the business at 269 Main St. in March, after it was put on the market in November of last year,
Pierce formerly managed Megunticook Market and Catering in Camden for almost 21 years. Now in his 40s, he found he had hit a “ceiling” in his management position, and wanted to “blow it up,” he said. He’d seen the Lincolnville General Store evolve while he was growing up in the town, and when it hit the market, it just felt right.
“I had the experience, and hopefully, the knowledge, to do it for myself and my family,” he said. “As the manager, it’s not like I could go any higher. We saw this place was for sale, and it seemed perfect. There were other places for sale that didn’t draw us in the way this store did. It seemed more our vibe.”
“We weren’t buying a different store,” Hughes added. “If we were going to buy a store, we wanted this one.”
The new name of the business has great meaning for Hughes, as it’s in honor of her teenage son Owen who died about 10 months ago in a vehicle crash.
As Hughes has dealt with her grief, she said that the new business has given her some purpose for her own life and future, and it upholds Owen’s legacy of “the daily grind” and hardworking mindset. But Hughes, who is a private practice therapist, also clarified that her inspiration for taking over the business did not come from a desire to turn the tragedy into “something positive.”
Aside from the new name, customers of the Lincolnville staple can still expect much of the rest to remain the same. It’ll still serve pizza and sandwiches, and offer many of the same menu items. The new owners, who are engaged to be married, would like to work with local business owners and growers.
Other changes will come in the form of improvements to what is already in place. They would like to sell more prepared meals, beverages and meats.
To uphold her late son’s legacy, Hughes is planning to implement the sales of the clothing line, titled Stay Casual Wear that he had begun to develop and create before his death.
It’s been a challenge getting started in the new business, the couple said. They took a commercial loan to finance the purchase, though they did not indicate how much they paid for it.
As owners, they’ve had to work out the kinks while completing vendor applications, filling in bare shelves, learning the systems that are in place, and taking on tasks alongside the smaller team they’ve since hired.
Among the issues they’ve faced are three sinks that didn’t have running water until recently and an upstairs air conditioner that needed repairing, which Pierce took on himself.
The pair eventually hope to grow the staff, the store’s inventory and their business relationships, as well as extending its hours. But it all will require a great deal of patience and hard work.
“It’s nice to be a part of the community which I’ve enjoyed for a long time,” Pierce said. “It’s a nice community. A lot of great people.”
