VAN BUREN, Maine — When Northern Maine Kolache Co. opened more than two years ago in Van Buren, its owners started small. Now they’re expanding into a new location and adding a drive-thru.
Owner Donita Ayotte moved from Texas to northern Maine five years ago. She decided to try baking kolaches, Eastern European stuffed pastries that are popular in southern states. Things took off rapidly.
The shop is among the only places in the state to offer the pastries. Now, the company is opening a new spot next month just down the street that will offer drive-thru pickup.
Already, Northern Maine Kolache has garnered customers and interest from Maine and beyond. The shop’s social presence has 4,400 followers, but 84% of them aren’t even in Aroostook County.
“We have a massive market to capture outside of here,” Ayotte said.
The shop will be one of the only non-franchise restaurants in Aroostook County to have a drive-thru option. The other also belongs to Van Buren: Tasty Food, which is also located on Main Street in Van Buren.
Ayotte plans a grand opening at the new spot, located on 46 Main St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 4. The new store will maintain the business’s regular hours of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on all weekdays except Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The drive-thru will be a pickup point, strictly for people who have ordered ahead of time online, Ayotte said. The restaurant has a small staff and is not equipped to have someone exclusively man the window.
Ayotte did not rule out the possibility of implementing a more traditional drive-thru, with staff taking and handing out orders, but she wants to see how this option plays out first.
“The way I operate is, I like to implement something, see how it goes, and then expand on it,” she said.
The window itself typically sells for $4,000, but Ayotte found one on a Facebook deal in Portland for only $500.
Ayotte first ran the business online, selling kolaches from home, but as demand started to grow she purchased the 46 Main St. spot with the hopes of building a new space from the ground up. But after the online business quickly grew in popularity, the town helped her temporarily move into the brick-and-mortar store at 66 Main St.
Town Manager Luke Dyer invited Ayotte to sell kolaches at the town’s annual Christmas parade in 2023. She sold 30 dozen in just half an hour, he said.
From there, he and the town helped her set up temporarily at her first restaurant, which will remain open until the new spot’s grand opening. Ayotte said the 66 Main Street spot was always meant to be temporary as they set up their new location.
The temporary site, which once housed a florist, is an older building and wasn’t equipped for a restaurant’s electricity demands. The new spot was built from the ground up to accommodate her needs.
At the new location on Tuesday, she pointed out some of the features.
“Here, we have a 450-amp panel. Everything is on its own circuit and it’s set up like a commercial kitchen,” she said. “The other big thing is that it’s much more open and inviting. It’s built custom to exactly what we need.”
The main area downstairs features large photographs highlighting various moments from Van Buren’s history.
The new kitchen will also help with another type of expansion: nationwide shipping, which Ayotte plans to start within two months.
Once she receives state approval, customers will be able to order on northernmainekolache.com and she will ship from the shop on dry ice. At first she will limit shipping to the middle U.S. just to ensure the dry ice performs well. She anticipates shipping once a week.
Ayotte already has customers far away from Van Buren who could benefit. One customer is planning a baby shower with about 60 guests, and will drive up from Bangor to pick up 15 dozen kolaches.
The new building was designed by Ayotte’s husband, Stacy Ayotte, who runs Ayotte Farms with his father and brother. Though he did design and real estate work in Texas, this was his first commercial project.
“He did an incredible job,” Ayotte said.
The building includes space upstairs for a three bedroom apartment that will become an Airbnb rental spot. The room will have a loft design and an arched window that overlooks Main Street. Ayotte hopes it will capture tourism from both snowmobilers and summer visitors.
Ayotte said she is grateful to Aroostook Savings & Loan and the town of Van Buren for standing behind her.
Ultimately, she hopes this new spot helps set a standard for future businesses in Van Buren, and that it helps inspire more people to move to the community.
“People aren’t going to move their families here if they don’t have places to bring them. That’s why people love Caribou and Presque Isle, because they have spots for people to go and enjoy themselves with their families, and that’s why we wanted to do this,” Ayotte said. “I’m growing my family here and I wanted to provide a nice spot for them.”
