Waldoboro residents are mourning the destruction of a beloved former movie rental and pizza business in a fire on Sunday night.
The former Movie Pizza Shoppe, which was established in 1987 and closed in 2015 after owner Randy Raymond died, suffered significant damage from the fire, according to the Lincoln County News.
When it was in business, the shop offered movie rentals, ice cream and “the best pizza within 50 miles,” said Lucas McNelly, who grew up in Waldoboro and frequented the business. (McNelly is a contributing sports writer for the Bangor Daily News.)
“Randy made the best pizza that I’ve ever had anywhere, and he was such a generous member of the community. And so I think part of what’s hitting people with this burning down is it’s almost like we’re losing him again,” McNelly said.
He added that he hoped that one day, the shop would reopen, but the fire appears to have made that impossible.
McNelly said the shop was the place to go when he was growing up in Waldoboro. It was where kids would go after winning their Little League games, it was where parents would take their children if they didn’t want to cook dinner, and it was where people would rent a few movies — recommended to them by Raymond.
“It was a really small cultural institution, but it was one of our cultural institutions,” McNelly said.
The Waldoboro Fire Department did not respond to a request for comment. WMTW reported that the cause of the fire is unclear at this time.
