Orland has a new variety store, and its owners say they’ve been met with a huge amount of enthusiasm — so much, they’re doubling the amount of some foods they carry.
Casey Littlefield and her family, who until last month operated Cutterman’s Variety in Stockton Springs, opened Orland Variety in the local community center on May 13.
After Snowmans Grocery closed last fall, people missed having a hometown spot to visit without having to drive into Bucksport, especially as summer approaches, according to Littlefield.
“It was just kind of fate, the way that it’s all happened,” she said. “We’ve been told the community really needed something like this.”
The family operated Cutterman’s Variety for eight months until it closed in April because they couldn’t reach a lease or purchase agreement with the owners, she said.
Then the Littlefields stopped by the community center, located in Orland’s former elementary school at 21 School House Road, for fitness memberships at its gym. They saw an empty space there and decided to open another store.
Less than a month after Cutterman’s closed, Orland Variety opened. It’s a family affair, with everyone who lives in the Littlefield house working there: her oldest son owns the LLC with her, her youngest son gets off the school bus there to sit at the lunch counter and greet customers, and her brother pitches in to make deliveries on Friday and Saturday nights.
Even without much signage or advertising, word spread quickly. The store was met with a “completely overwhelming” turnout, said Littlefield, who grew up in Bucksport and now lives in Prospect. By Saturday, they were making grocery store runs to replenish stock they expected to last for weeks. In the second week of operation, the business was ordering double stock of popular ingredients.
The new store offers pizzas, calzones, hot and cold sandwiches, wraps, salads and nachos, with daily specials including two large ham Italians for $10 on Tuesdays, $8 nacho platters on Thursdays and two large one-topping pizzas for $22 on Fridays.
Free delivery is offered from 4 to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays within 10 miles of the store. Outside services like DoorDash don’t fully serve the area, and Littlefield knew delivery would be appreciated, she said.
The hardest part of closing the Stockton Springs store was saying goodbye to the regular customers who had embraced the family. In the Orland store, she’s enjoying meeting new people every day and getting to know regulars, picking up conversations from the day before.
“We’re excited to continue to grow and help out however we can,” she said.
Orland Variety is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. The store is closed Sundays.
