The owner of a health supplements company that recently left a prominent building in downtown Ellsworth and put it on the market said she might decide to keep it.
Desert Harvest moved its shipping operations out of 192 Main St. last month and back to Colorado, where the company was founded, because of shipping complications in Maine, said Heather Florio, who is also the CEO. The company had purchased and moved into the Ellsworth building in late 2020, relocating from North Carolina, and used it as its main office and shipping center.
Florio said the company decided to relocate before the busy holiday season, to hopefully improve their shipping times. They are also moving to be closer to where she grew up, as well as to providers who offer specialized medical care to her husband.
The CEO said most of her 15 employees are in sales and marketing and are still based in Maine, though they work remotely from home. Many people have asked her what she might do with the former Masonic Lodge hall, which in the mid-2000s had been repurposed into retail space and professional offices before Desert Harvest bought it.
“We haven’t decided,” said Florio, who has lived in Brooksville. “We’ve been getting offers for quite some time.”
She said she may decide to not sell it and instead renovate it into apartments or other uses.
Demand for space in downtown Ellsworth has risen sharply over the past several years, helping revitalize Main Street after several longtime retail businesses closed in the early 2010s. In the years immediately before and since the COVID pandemic, empty spaces downtown have been scarce — though now both 192 Main St. and 190 Main St. next door are looking for new owners or tenants.
The three-story, 11,000-square-foot building — which was constructed in 1934 and sits on a small lot of only one-fifth of an acre — is on the market for $1.2 million.
Another reason the company is moving its logistical operations to Colorado is for Florio’s husband’s health care needs, she said. She did not go into detail about his condition but said he needs regular medical treatment and, after seeing specialists in Boston for the past few years, is transferring his care to new doctors in Denver.
The move will also allow them to return to the state where Florio’s parents started the company in 1993.
Desert Harvest got its start after it developed a concentrated aloe vera formula to help relieve chronic bladder pain, but now also offers CBD, nutritional supplements, hand sanitizer and topical skincare products, all of which contain the aloe vera concentrate Florio’s parents developed.
Even with moving the company’s shipping center back to Colorado, Florio intends to keep her house in Brooksville, regardless of whether she sells 192 Main St., she said.
