The Rising Tide Co-op market moved across the street, but their journey took more than a year from the date they purchased the building. It took four months to rebuild it from Strong’s car dealership to a market and more than $500,000 in contributions to open the doors.
Rising Tide is scheduled to open today (Wed., July 22).
The shelves are stocked, the produce is set out, the meats are in the case and the happy (and tired) volunteers are, well, happy.
Store manager Scott Cooper said it took more than 100 volunteers just a day to move the stock from their former location across the street. “They were a little faster than we anticipated,” he said.
The quick action means the customers of the natural foods store found their old friend closed for just a few days.
For Cooper and his army of volunteers, the new location means they will be able to put nearly twice as much “local, natural and organic” products on their shelves.
“This building, the former Strong Chevrolet dealership in Damariscotta, has served this community well since it was built in 1946. We wanted to continue that tradition of service,” he said.
In keeping with their commitment to the environment, some of the wood from the old building was recycled to build cabinets, while a volunteer fabricated some of the metal from the old heating system into a bracket for the outside sign.
The new Rising Tide will provide more space for other services, too.
“This new location allows us to expand our prepared hot foods section. We plan to feature different foods each day. For example, one day will be comfort food day, another Italian day, another Mexican day, in addition to our soups. The new café will feature seating for 24,” he said.
As always, 30 percent of the Rising Tide’s products will be Maine produced, including produce, meat, eggs, milk and cheese.
Cooper promises there will be more space for his biggest sellers: Lee Straw’s eggs and Little Lad’s popcorn.
