After 10 years of doing business in Waldoboro, S. Fernald’s Country Store is headed back to Damariscotta, and the excitement is brewing.
Fernald’s owner, Sumner Richards, and his new business partners, Natasha Salvo and Kit Hayden of Newcastle, have been hard at work painting and redesigning the store’s new home in the former Lincoln County Weekly office, more recently home to Quack’s Gourmet.
Long time Fernald’s fans will be happy to know, despite the new location, almost everything else they remember about their favorite old-time store will stay the same.
The old cash register, penny candy, wooden pickle barrels, tin toys, and perhaps most importantly, all the old Moxie memorabilia, will still be there, along with the old fashioned soda fountain, and all the other touches that make visitors to Fernald’s feel like they’ve stepped back in time.
Richards pointed out Damariscotta may now be the only small Maine town with two old-fashioned soda fountains; the other is at Waltz Pharmacy up the street.
Richards said he has always been a fan of old time country stores.
“When I was a kid, I used to fill up my little red wagon with returnable bottles and head down to the center store for penny candy. They had cold soda, candy, the deli, the meats and cheeses. I loved everything about it.”
He opened the original Fernald’s in 1990, in a storefront that now houses Darling and Delisle. The store is named after Richards’s grandfather and father, who, like Richards and his own son, Ricky, were named Sumner Fernald Richards.
Richards said his grandfather loved Moxie and used to delight his grandchildren by occasionally presenting them with “a miniature Reese’s peanut butter cup and a tumbler of Moxie.”
However, what Richards and his former wife, Pam, achieved with the original store was much more than a walk down memory lane.
Fernald’s quickly became what Newcastle’s David Morse called, “the heart and soul of Damariscotta.” It was a popular gathering spot for musicians, local business people, the theater crowd and others who delighted in the laid back, “anything is possible here” atmosphere.
“Sumner created an atmosphere of inclusion and acceptance that connected the community in a profound way. It was a real tragedy when Fernald’s left Damariscotta. It left a giant hole in the community,” Morse said.
Richards said he is excited at his return.
“I’m glad to be coming back. It’s a great opportunity. Damariscotta has really come into its own. There’s more action, and more events putting Damariscotta on the map. It’s more of a destination point than it was 10 or 20 years ago.”
Of the original store, Richards said, “It often felt like the sitcom “Cheers,” with all the regular characters and interesting conversations happening all the time.”
In an extension of the “Cheers” metaphor, Richards also said the store became a “second” office to local personality and former Bath Savings Institution Manager Charlie Ault. “We used to take phone calls for him all the time.”
Fernald’s was so rooted in the downtown Damariscotta scene that several of its sandwiches, including “The Skidompha,” “The Help Me Rhonda” and “The Shott in the Dark” were named after Damariscotta personalities, including long-time Skidompha librarian Ellen Welch, Damariscotta Pottery owner Rhonda Friedman and Miles Health Care Vice President Scott Shott.
Fernald’s quickly became family to many, and regulars watched the Richards’ two young sons grow up in the store. It was not uncommon to find their eldest son, Ricky, and younger son, Josh, behind the counter taking a nap, or running around the store entertaining customers.
Josh is now a high school student, and Ricky is off on the West Coast, but both may be around this summer to lend a hand.
From the looks of it, they will be needed. The town is so abuzz with the news, “Fernald’s is back.” “The response has been overwhelming, people calling, coming by, to say how happy they are,” Richards said.
In fact, on Saturday afternoon, as Hayden was painting the building’s entry way and Richards was outside hanging the sign, several people paused to share their excitement about Fernald’s return.
DaPonte String Quartet member Myles Jordan of Alna stopped by with his two sons and recalled that when his eldest son was just two years old, he was photographed for The Lincoln County News in the arms of one-time Fernald’s regular, the late Emile Landau.
“I’m thrilled to see Fernald’s coming back where it belongs, back home,” Jordon said.
A few minutes later, Damariscotta’s Doug Craig stopped by, wearing a Fernald’s t-shirt, and said, “Fernald’s was one of the reasons I moved to Damariscotta. I was looking everywhere from Brunswick to Camden, but Bruce’s Barbershop, Belknap’s Hardware and Fernald’s made me decide to move here.
“There’s no way to describe the Fernald’s experience. One day you might walk in and find three musicians playing in the corner. I used to commute to Connecticut in those days but I was always sure to leave Connecticut by 11 on Friday morning, because I had a 3 p.m. coffee date in the front window with Charlie Ault and Bob Reny. It was the highlight of my week,” he said.
Salvo said the new store would accommodate musicians, as well as feature couches, board games, outdoor seating and the “perpetual rummage sale, including antique kitchen equipment” that made the original store so popular. “It’s an institution,” she said.
Fernald’s is scheduled to re-open on April 1, but in true laid-back Fernald’s fashion, Richards said the fact that April 1 is April Fool’s Day, “gives us some leeway.”
