Courtesy / Town of Freeport
The former Bartol Public Library building is at 55 Main St. in Freeport, next to LLBean's Bike, Boat & Ski Shop.
July 9, 2021
MOFGA makes Freeport pop-up store permanent in historic town building
Image / Google Street View
The former Bartol Library, at 55 Main St., Freeport, is now home to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association's Maine Organic Marketplace.
By Maureen Milliken
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association has opened a store in Freeport, down the street from the pop-up the group operated last year after the Common Ground Country Fair was canceled.
The Maine Organic Marketplace, at 55 Main St., is in the town-owned building that once housed the Bartol Public Library and has been empty since Abercrombie & Fitch moved out in December 2018.
The store sells local and organic products from MOFGA vendors, and will also provide educational programs starting this fall, the organization said in a news release.
“One aspect of the store will be to create a community space open to all in Freeport,” said Lucy Cayard, MOFGA’s southern Maine outreach coordinator. “MOFGA is thrilled to have a more permanent location in southern Maine as part of our goal to continue to expand access to local and organic products and sustainably made goods.”
In November, MOFGA opened a popup store at 48 Main St., in Freeport, a three-month solution for vendors who were taking an income hit from the lack of an in-person Common Ground Country Fair, MOFGA's flagship annual event.
But the pop-up was also a pilot for something more permanent. "This store allows us to bring an idea we’ve had for several years to life,” Sarah Alexander, MOFGA’s executive director, said at the time. Alexander said that the organization, which has more than 500 producer and agricultural members, was looking for ways to expand its presence in southern Maine.
The new store is in prime shopping and foot-traffic space, at the edge of the L.L.Bean retail complex, next to the L.L.Bean Bike, Boat & Ski Store.
A win-win for MOFGA, Freeport
The new MOFGA market space is in 6,600 square feet of the building, which opened in 1906 as one of 1,600 Carnegie-funded free public libraries across the country. The building served as Freeport's Bartol Public Library until 1997, when the library moved and the town began leasing the building for retail. Abercrombie & Fitch was the most recent tenant, leasing it for 18 years before moving out in December 2018.
In 2019, the town issued a request for proposals for the building, looking for a tenant that could provide more of an "experiental" presence. The RFP noted a shift in retailers from space the size of the former library.
"Specifically, a shift from mass market, discount retail-based tourism toward experiential tourism (including retail) has been shown to be effective nationwide," the RFP said. "Locally, the town has seen encouraging signs among businesses that have aligned their business model with this philosophy."
Given the historic building's use for 90 years as a public library, the town was "open to considering diverse uses of the property other than retail." Weighted evaluation criteria in the RFP gave value to proposals that would help diversify the local economy and provide a tangible benefit to the community.
When the RFP wasn't successful, the town listed the building for lease through Porta & Co. in July 2019. The building has been used occasionally for events in the past two years, and last winter was a weekend makers' market hosted by the Falmouth and Cumberland farmers' markets.
MOFGA's focus on Freeport community use and the educational aspect of its plan aligns with what the town was looking for when it issued the RFP. The space also meets MOFGA's greater goals of increasing its presence in southern Maine. The organization is based in Unity, in northwest Waldo County, about halfway between Waterville and Belfast. It has more than 500 agriculture and producer members.
Courtesy / Maine Organic Farmers and Gardners Association
The Maine Organic Marketplace, 55 Main St., Freeport, sells Common Ground Fair merchandise as well as Maine-made organic items.
Bringing Common Ground to southern Maine
The store opened earlier this month and currently features goods from 20 vendors, selling Common Ground Country Fair merchandise as well as MOFGA member products. Maine-made hand-crafted goods in the store include maple products, tea towels, goat’s milk soap, body care products, tea, woodworking and more. The store's products will change throughout the year, particularly seasonally, the news release said.
After last year's virtual fair and online market, the organization plans a live Common Ground Country Fair at its fairgrounds in Unity on the traditional last weekend of September. The fair has drawn 60,000 or more people in recent years, but will limit attendance this year and tickets will have to be bought in advance by fair-goers.
The 2019 fair had 58,028 attendees and featured 160 farm and maker vendors. There were also 670 exhibitors and 775 educational workshops, demonstrations and performances by artists.
The organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and is looking to raise $50,000 in new and renewing memberships by Sept. 1. It has made changes to its membership levels and benefits to draw in more of a variety of members, and is holding a membership Q&A webinar at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 13.
MOFGA members will get early access to Common Ground Country Fair ticket reservations. Ticket sales will open to the public Aug. 9.
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