Aroostook County has a new coffeehouse, and it’s a place only teens can call their own.
The Well opened Jan. 31 in Mars Hill, thanks to the vision of Ryan and Ashlee Scully and a team of volunteers and supporters.
The couple have long seen a need for a space where young people can hang out. The gathering spot is likely The County’s first teen cafe, and the only place of its kind in this town of just under 1,000 people. The Scullys hope the supportive atmosphere will give kids a positive space in a world that can seem filled with too many negatives.
“There’s so much confusion with identity, peer pressure, anxiety and depression,” Ryan Scully said. “We just wanted a place where [kids] can feel loved and feel peace, in a place that’s just for them.”
The coffeehouse is actually a rebirth of an adult fellowship cafe that launched about nine years ago in the basement of the Mars Hill Full Gospel Assembly, the couple said. People brought food there, then kids started coming. But it closed during the pandemic.
The church later gave the basement room to the Scullys, who are youth pastors there.
With so many choices in the world around them, kids need a safe place to gather where they can talk to each other and to adults who believe in them, Ashlee Scully said. But, recognizing some people might be uncomfortable coming to a church, they wanted the cafe to be non-religious and have its own space.
They formed The Well as a nonprofit organization in 2019, established a board of directors and bought the former Mars Hill House of Pizza at 41 Main St. Renovations were estimated at $45,000, she said.
They applied for grants, and received $23,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2021. They hired a contractor and started small, fixing the chimney and removing walls.
The community rallied behind them, Ashley Scully said. A local resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, gave them a new heating system and countertops. Someone else paid for the flooring, and installers donated their time.
Then they discovered that the building, which had once been a bank, was hiding a treasure: original ornate tinwork above the dropped ceiling.
“When we took the dropped ceiling down, our contractor was staring at it. We were staring at it,” Ashlee Scully said. “It’s just such a centerpiece. So [we were] restoring and preserving this beauty.”
They painted the ceiling black, and installed suspended lights with ceiling fans to circulate air and heat. They added comfy furniture, simple tables and screens for video games. For the kitchen area, they bought cabinets at a local business on clearance.
Last year, progress halted. There were construction delays, and supply costs had risen so they needed more money to finish the job. They grew discouraged.
Then they received a $37,000 grant from an anonymous source, which funded everything else they needed, they said.
“It’s an international grant program and we were one of 15 worldwide who got a grant,” Ryan Scully said. “They chose us, in Mars Hill, Maine, a little cafe for the youth. That just boosted us.”
A graphic designer, he designed the interior and also created The Well’s logo and themed products that will be available.
As the building came together, so did kitchen plans. Hannaford offered to donate some of the food, as did Mapleton’s Fox Family Potato Chips. Ben Nason, owner of Storibord coffee in Fort Fairfield, created a special blend just for The Well.
Opening night drew an appreciative group of 17 teens, Ashlee Scully said. Some stopped in on their way somewhere else, and others stayed until closing, chatting, playing video games and enjoying refreshments.
Food and drink is free, and that’s because of something she remembers from the old fellowship cafe: seeing kids who couldn’t pay even a dollar for a snack or a drink. That’s when she realized there were kids who didn’t eat when they weren’t in school.
Adult volunteers will staff the cafe, she said. Though many kids do have supportive adults in their lives, others don’t. She hopes The Well will help fill that void, with safe surroundings and trustworthy adults to offer positive direction and encouragement.
In time she wants to add tutoring and homework help. She anticipates training kids to work in the kitchen and, perhaps in the summer, staff a takeout window, which would contribute to their school-required community service.
The Scullys said they are amazed and grateful that people believe in the venture as much as they do. They will continue seeking donations and grants to cover the estimated $2,500 in monthly operating costs, which would include the eventual addition of paid staff.
The Well is open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays and from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays. All youth ages 13 to 18 are welcome.
For the Scullys, it’s all about helping young people thrive by giving them a safe space off the streets, because when youth thrive, the community thrives.
Ashlee Scully wants people to see The Well as much more than a cafe.
“You might not believe in yourself when you walk through this door, but you will when you leave,” she said.
