An Aroostook County entrepreneur has created a northern Maine destination trip that’s already drawing people to a 45-mile segment of U.S. Route 1 from Danforth to Littleton.
Suzanne Hiltz, who has had a bakery farmstand along historic Route 1 in Cary for nearly a decade and has gained national attention for her Chapped Hide balm, is linking small farmstands dotting this rural stretch into a mapped-out visitor destination adventure, Roadside Joyride Historic Route One.
“We’re a group of people who have no avenue for advertising. We are not a farmers market, we are not a gas station. We’re just little tiny roadstands,” she said. “Together we can be big and something worth making a trip.”
As more local farmstands started popping up near her bright yellow Amish-built farmstand, Hiltz wondered how she would evolve and continue to attract business. She knew there weren’t enough local people to support all the operators and they would need to attract outside shoppers to sustain the work, Hiltz said.
She realized that her customers were not coming from social media postings, but rather were visitors and seasonal residents living along the lakes who travel U.S. Route 1. Add to that, this is the 100th anniversary year for the historic Florida to Maine route. That’s when Hiltz formed her plan.
“People want to take a ride on Route 1 rather than I-95,” she said. “In my little chunk of road I knew that there were tons of roadside stands and we could become something to see, not just my stand. Collectively, we are something unique.”
When people go joyriding they want snacks, drinks, somewhere to stop and buy something and something different to see and we’ve got all that, she said.
Before launching the Roadside Joyride, Hiltz researched and collaborated with Sheena McNally, manager of the Maine Tourism Association Information Center in Houlton, who told her it would work.
Hiltz paid the $1,000 fee to be part of Maine Tourism. Maps and brochures are at the printer, she said.
Any Route 1 roadside stands can join the joyride for an annual $40 fee, which includes Maine tourism marketing and Hiltz’s continuing promotion of the stands and their products.
“It gets them off of Facebook and it’s opening the door to people who are planning their trips to Maine,” Hiltz said. “They go to Maine Tourism to do that. They are not going to Facebook to plan their trip. It legitimizes all of us. It broadens all of our customer base by being part of Maine Tourism.”
Hiltz is using her stand, Das NiederHiltz Haus & Chapped Hide, as a hub for members and to direct people to the other roadside shops.
Besides her own, there are six farmstands — Five Babes Bakery, Elly’s European Sweets, Gina Parent Art, Westford Winds Farm and Rabbitry and Woods Goods — on the self-guided tour, with three more who want to join.
“I’ve had more people stopping by and because there are so many stands in the area the enthusiasm has exceeded my expectations about how fast people are joining,” Hiltz said. “I truly hope that more people join because it will be a bigger destination.”
The Roadside Joyride starts at Five Babes Bakery, owned by two friends who each have five children, thus the “five babes,” said co-owner Sheree Peterson, who just had her fifth child at the end of April.
She works outside of the home but wanted to do something to allow more time at home with her family. She, along with Jena Bane, recently opened the bakery farmstand with their specialty creations made with sourdough and fresh hand-milled flour.
The two women joined Roadside Joyride when Peterson contacted Hiltz for some suggestions.
“I think it’s going to be like when people used to go yardsaleing on the weekends. Maybe people will start going farmstanding,” she said. “I heard there is momentum all over the country. More and more stands are popping up, but they’re not competing against each other because each stand has their own personal touches.”
To set their stand apart, Bane focuses on sourdough cookies and cinnamon rolls and Peterson’s hand-milled flour and sourdough recipes including donuts. Her husband suggested creating a very large donut.
“Our signature is going to be a big old six-inch donut,” Peterson said. “It did really well. I sold out last weekend on that.”
Hodgdon baker Elly Dulinsky, who has owned Elly’s European Sweets for a few years, started her grab-and-go bakery stand this summer with pastries and cookies like her cherry bulochki, a Slavic traditional treat of pillowy soft brioche filled with cherry-coconut filling.
Dulinksy, who is originally from Romania, uses European recipes from many countries to bridge worlds and bring cultural awareness to the community.
Some customers said they visited these countries while in the military or on vacation, and they are excited about her recipes that bring back memories of their travels.
Being part of the Roadside Joyride is helping already.
“People are stopping and they are buying from us,” Dulinsky said. “They say they saw it when they went to the Maine Tourism Information Center.”
Hiltz is getting the slogan trademarked. She thinks the idea can help other Maine roads like Route 11.
“I made the investment because I have to keep trying,” Hiltz said. “I’m never going to stop trying.
It’s going to help all of us. We need visitors. We can open our stands for the summer and we can all flourish.”
