🔒Ellsworth’s downtown upswing: New eateries, venues and shops enhance the city as a destination

On a recent Friday, Gabrielle Conners, the owner of Chloe’s Café in downtown Ellsworth, was dolloping dough onto a pan to bake mini-scones for a catering gig. The air is suffused with delicious bakery aromas. It’s an inviting setting — a cozy spot with a dining area and the kitchen open to view, part of a short strip of eateries and retailers on Water Street, across from the Union River. Opening a year ago, it quickly attracted customers for breakfast and lunch, delivery and on-site and off-site catering — one of the latest small businesses to spring up in downtown Ellsworth over the past couple of years, including eateries and retail that add to an existing collection of things to do and places to go for local residents and visitors.

“It feels like Ellsworth is shifting from a pass-through service center — and in part, it is that — to a destination with its own identity and momentum and increased activity,” says Twila Fisher, the city’s director of economic development.

Downtown vitality

The city is a year-round community and an important service center for Hancock County. As a crossroads for some of the state’s biggest tourist attractions, Ellsworth, with a population of 8,800, is en route to Acadia National Park, Bangor, the Downeast and midcoast regions and the Blue Hill and Schoodic peninsulas and Deer Isle. The city is also near assets like airports, higher education, health care systems and recreational opportunities. A downtown advocacy organization called Heart of Ellsworth has been working with the city and other partners to enhance the downtown’s economic vitality. “We’re leaving phase one and entering phase two,” says Cara Romano, Heart of Ellsworth’s executive director. “Phase 1 was about events, place-making and identity-creation. Now we’re working with the city on real structural change, like housing and space inventory, marketability, capital investments and land use.”

Historic designation

Recent economic development activities include achieving designation as a Main Street America community in 2024. This year, the downtown district received National Register of Historic Places designation.

“This designation is an important step in strengthening Ellsworth’s downtown as an economic and cultural center,” Charlie Pearce, the city manager, has said. “It creates new opportunities for investment, supports our local property owners through access to historic tax credits and reinforces the value of preserving the character that makes Ellsworth unique.” The historic district consists of 44 buildings, of which 38 contribute to the district’s historic character. The national designation is considered key in positioning Hancock County’s largest city, for economic and cultural growth.

As part of that push, a coalition of partners is planning to document underused spaces, redevelopment-ready properties and opportunities for upper-floor housing in the downtown district, with a goal to guide investment, policy and development strategies. Another goal is to attract developers, investors and new businesses by providing accessible data about downtown properties and development potential. “One of the biggest opportunities we have in Ellsworth is within our existing buildings,” says Fisher.

‘Play for popcorn’

Entrepreneurs are taking note. At 142 Main St., a prominent downtown building called the Newberry Exchange, four small businesses have divvied up the cavernous, open-layout space. After working in hospitality settings and retail managerial positions, Katina Stanwood opened Black Moon Public House. “I got tired of working for everyone else and asked, ‘What does Ellsworth need?’” she says.

Fit-up included installing a hefty 1890s bar and redoing the original tin ceiling and wood floor. Seating includes comfy couches. The menu features signature cocktails, Maine brews and “elevated bar food.” The pub hosts local and regional musicians booked by Stanwood’s life partner, Steve Peer, a local musician with industry connections. A bluegrass band from Tennessee recently contacted him: They’d be touring through Maine and could they come and play? “If they’re in Maine, they’re always looking to fill, say, Tuesday night. ‘We’ll play for popcorn,’” Peer jokes. “Of course, we treat them better than that.” He adds, “That commitment to music is a really good business model.”

Backdoor bagels

Stanwood’s baker and kitchen manager, Kara Bickford, wears a second “toque” — operating her own business, Honey & Lace Baking Co., out of the pub’s space. Bickford recently launched Sunday Morning Bagels at the Backdoor at the Black Moon, with an honor payment system, featuring fresh bagels, cinnamon rolls and other treats. Bickford opened Honey & Lace in 2019 as a licensed home bakery in Sedgwick. Outgrowing the space, she moved to Black Moon last summer, now operating a licensed commercial bakery for catering, retail and wholesale production. “I am thrilled with my new digs,” she says. Another business there is a gift shop called Trio. Then there’s Vinyl Vogue Music & Records, where owner Matt Manry offers new and used records, receivers, turntables, accessories, wall art, clothes and more. Originally from Atlanta, Manry visited Maine 12 years ago and never went home. Working in Portland, his side gigs included electronics repairs, collecting records and selling them online.

His move to Ellsworth resulted from a notice Peer had posted, seeking a music-related enterprise to help fill out the Newberry Exchange. Manry had enough inventory from his online record business to start a brick-and-mortar shop. Ellsworth welcomed him. “When we were opening and putting out the word, I had a lot of people give me their records,” he says. “They weren’t doing anything with them. They thought it was cool their stuff was going somewhere.” Electronics and guitar repairs fill out the business. “I had no idea how big that would be,” he says.

Kitchen junkets

Tucked into a side road parallel to Main Street, the Conscious Café is run by Jesse Steiger, who seeks to foster a sense of community. “Tonight we’re doing a pizza night. We’ll have live music after that,” he says. Hailing from Massachusetts, then Vermont, Steiger’s background includes farming and cooking. During a challenging period in his life, he moved to Ellsworth. At the café — occupying part of a building owned by another business, Steamy Buddha Yoga — Steiger features Asian-themed items like chai and “Buddha bowls” and events like community dinners and pizza nights.

“We do kitchen junkets on Monday nights — potlucks with 25, 30 people,” he says. “We move the tables, do a sing-along, have good musicians.” Advertising by word-of-mouth and social media, Steiger gets local residents and wants to figure out how to bring in more drive-by traffic. “Google is the other way people find me,” he says. “They look up ‘coffee’ and then they come here.”

Jamaican flavors

Acadia 876 Bar and Grill, a morning-to-midnight spot featuring familiar dishes from lobster to omelets, was recently getting ready to roll out Jamaican breakfast items like saltfish and peanut porridge. Jason Fowler and Clive Tyrell hail from Jamaica — 876 is the island nation’s area code — and started the eatery after working in restaurants and hospitality in the U.S. for years. In 2022, Fowler became a co-owner of Pat’s Pizza in Bar Harbor.

Last year, a Main Street building that formerly housed a Mexican restaurant became available. Renovations included new paint, furniture and signage. The restaurant employs 28 and is looking to hire more for the summer. “We really appreciate the support of the Ellsworth community,” says Tyrell. Elsewhere on Main Street, the Sweet Spot showcases baked treats like cream horns and chocolate croissants. An attached candy shop has shelves and walls lined with buckets and jars of sweets, including a “fill a box for only $5” candy buffet.

Owner Carolyn Corro started the business at her house in 2016, eventually moved to another location, then to Main Street. “We have people come in who play chess a couple of times a week,” says Corro, who was recently unpacking a shipment of candy. “We have moms with little kids. We had a day camp come in yesterday, 12 kids. A couple of veterans come in a couple of times a week, sit here, get their coffee and their breakfast.” With brick-and-mortar sales, online ordering and deliveries, the business is busier than ever. “I’ve done so well that I’m ready to retire,” says Corro.

‘Purradise’ cooler

Back at Chloe’s Café, Conners has boxed up some baked scones and is getting ready to put more in the oven. The café is named after her first cat, the sign has a cat outline on it and she keeps a cat adoption board on the wall. “It was a nice name and it sounds good with café, so we went with it,” she says. “And we do cat themes like catnip cooler and ‘purradise’ cooler.” Conners grew up in Machias but moved to Ellsworth 12 years ago and managed a local restaurant, working mostly nights. When she started her family, she wanted to be her own boss and have a better schedule. With Chloe’s, she has a hit, offering a breakfast and lunch menu and bringing in customers such as the professionals from nearby offices, as well as robust delivery orders. She rents out the space and caters for events like baby showers. “It’s been great,” she says. “We’ve done really well.”