By Dominik Lobkowicz
Hilltop Stop owners Gary and Jane Gravel stand in their newly renovated Waldoboro location. The couple bought the former Goodnow’s Variety in an early February real estate auction. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
Hilltop Stop’s expansion to Waldoboro is nearly complete and the company’s location at Kaler’s Corner is expected to open at 6 a.m. on Monday, April 27, according to co-owner Gary Gravel.
Gravel and his wife, Jane, bought the former Goodnow’s Variety at auction in early February.
The space has essentially been entirely redone from floor to ceiling, and includes an all-new kitchen area, Gravel said.
“We ripped everything out of that kitchen and basically started fresh,” Gravel said.
The store will offer, in addition to convenience items and what Gravel says is the biggest, most diverse selection of beer in Waldoboro, the same menu of pizza, subs, burgers, and other items as the Damariscotta location, Gravel said.
Menus in both stores are also going to be changed next week, with baskets becoming a part of the menu instead of specials, and two new specialty pizzas added: a southwest chicken and bacon pizza, and a “Medomac” (Hilltop Stop’s version of a Big Mac pizza) with hamburg, onion, pickles, a special house-made sauce, and topped with lettuce after it’s cooked.
The menu will be available on Hilltop Stop’s two Facebook pages, Gravel said, as will the stores’ daily specials. Anyone interested in getting the specials faxed to them can call and be added to the list, he said.
The store will also offer baked goods made by the company – doughnuts, muffins, cinnamon rolls, and whoopie pies – as well as baked goods brought in from Isamax Snacks and other bakeries, Gravel said.
The beverage coolers were set with product on April 24, and most other products were also ready to go, Gravel said, but a few will be finished up next week.
Gravel said he already has seven full-time employees lined up for the new location, and is still looking for a couple more.
The redemption center at the Waldoboro store is going to be leased to The Bottle King, which bought out the former Hilltop Stop Redemption Center locations in Damariscotta and Newcastle.
Hilltop Stop in Waldoboro will be open Monday to Saturday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
For information, find Hilltop Stop on Facebook or call 832-7992 (PZZA).
