Ellsworth

While the 51 applications for the Maine Family Business Awards aren’t a statewide survey, they offer the contest organizers another valuable window into how broader economic challenges are playing out inside Maine’s family-owned businesses.

“Twelve Maine Women: Portraits of Change” is a public art exhibit accompanied by a series of community programs celebrating the lives and contributions of female trailblazers.

"What began as a community vision for a creative, welcoming space has grown into a hub where people can learn from one another, share ideas and explore new possibilities," said Heart of Ellsworth’s director.

The platform, DiscoverEllsworth.org, aims to promote overnight stays and increase local spending while touting the area as a four-season destination.

The shopping center, on 9.2 acres, was built in 1953 on the U.S. Route 1A corridor between Bangor and tourism hotspots that include Mount Desert Island, Acadia National Park, the Blue Hill Peninsula and Downeast destinations.

“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 the city’s director of economic development.

A roundup of new hires, promotions and achievements at businesses, nonprofits, professional services firms and health care institutions in Maine.

The project will document 272 buildings within the downtown district to identify underutilized spaces, redevelopment-ready properties and opportunities for upper-floor housing.

The designation creates opportunities for investment and supports local property owners through access to historic tax credits.

The owner of an Ellsworth brewery told Mainebiz he is now adding gas prices to the growing list of challenges he's been forced to reckon with over the past couple of years, wary of what rising costs could mean for the road ahead.