Business Spotlight: Regional Transportation Program

Although the large white bus with the blue and green lettering “Lakes Region Explorer,” spotted traveling along the Route 302 corridor is a familiar sight, some may be surprised to know about the many service options it delivers. This service is operated by Regional Transportation Program (RTP) and makes designated stops in Bridgton, Naples, Casco, Raymond, Windham and Portland.  “In addition to the specific stop areas, The Lakes Region Explorer will also stop anywhere along Route 302, as long as it is a safe place for the rider to board or depart from the bus and does not obstruct traffic flow,” explained Belinda Hutchinson, RTP’s Transportation Supervisor.

A one-way trip costs only $3 while children and senior citizens 65 and older pay $2. Monthly pass discounts are available. The Explorer provides four round trips each weekday along with Saturday service between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The bus is equipped with 24 seats plus accommodations for two wheelchairs, along with a free wi-fi connection for those who need to use their laptops; a bike rack; a GPS tracker system for riders waiting for the bus; and emergency alerts related to delays and weather cancellations.   

The Maine Department of Transportation applies federal transportation funds to support this public service. The five towns served by the Explorer also make annual financial contributions.   

Aside from operating the Explorer, RTP has provided demand/response service with its buses, vans and volunteer drivers for senior, disabled and low-income residents of Cumberland County since 1976. Hutchinson stated that “RTP provides a ‘Shopper Shuttle’ for seniors each Friday morning on a small eight-passenger van that travels from Bridgton to Windham, stopping at places such as Windham’s Walmart, Reny’s and grocery stores.” 

“RTP also provides demand/response services for those who can’t drive themselves,” stated Deb Fritzson, RTP’s Finance Manager.  “In some situations, this requires going to an individual’s home and providing personalized rides for those who require life-saving medical needs such as dialysis and chemotherapy. However, as a non-profit, there are limited resources and funds, and this is where we highly value volunteer drivers, especially in the Lakes Region Area.”

Fritzson continued, “Can you imagine not owning a vehicle, having to go to dialysis or chemotherapy and trying to get yourself to public transportation before and after the appointment. In these circumstances, it could be a matter of life and death. We will be there to help these individuals despite the challenges we face. This is the reason why volunteer drivers are so important to RTP.”

RTP receives many transportation requests to doctor, physical therapy, and other medical appointments on a daily basis from many who are elderly, veterans and those facing an extreme health crisis. As the population continues to age, the requests are increasing. But, unfortunately, volunteerism has plummeted in the past 10 years.  “When I began my role at RTP nine years ago, there were approximately 75 volunteer drivers in RTP’s volunteer driver pool,” Hutchinson said. “Today – there are only 20.”

What many may not know is that volunteering with RTP is easy. An individual gets to set their own schedule, receive free training, gets to choose as few or as many riders as they prefer and how far they wish to travel while receiving a reimbursement rate of 44¢ per mile. “That money can add up,” stated Fritzson. In addition to the reimbursement the volunteers receive, they will immediately see the positive effects of their efforts for a good cause. “Helping those who are most vulnerable is probably the greatest benefit to be a volunteer driver for RTP,” Fritzson said.

Current volunteers have stated that socialization is a key reason why they have joined the RTP team. “One volunteer who retired recently told me he was getting really bored since he stopped working,” Hutchinson said. “He said he likes being around people, and volunteering gives him the opportunity to not only help others, but to help himself. At the end of each day, he feels as if he has accomplished something good, developed a friendship – and best of all – is no longer bored.”

To be a volunteer driver, you must pass a criminal history and DMV check, have had a license in the U.S. for at least five years and drive a safe vehicle. Free training will be provided.  Whether you are retired, a student, or someone looking for a way to give back to their community and want to join the RTP volunteer team, call today 207-615-0393 or email: dbeesley@rtprides.org.  For more information about RTP, the Lakes Region Explorer, or other services RTP provides, contact Hutchinson at 207-615-0391 or bhutchinson@rtprides.org.  Also peruse their website at rtprides.org or find us on Facebook.

Business Spotlight: Bavarian Chocolate Haus by Michelle Libby

For almost a year, Bridgtonites and other nearby Maine towns have known a little secret about a place to get authentic German chocolate and the best caramels and toffee in the region. What once was only available in North Conway, New Hampshire, is available at 2 Cottage Street, behind the Firefly Boutique in Bridgton.

Bavarian Chocolate Haus is owned by Scott Ferrari and his spouse, who bought the North Conway based store in October 2008 from the first owner, who had started the candy shop in 1991. The building stands out with its unique style based on houses in the Bavarian region of Germany.

“[The name came from] the combination of the style of the building, the German chocolate recipe and the surrounding area in North Conway,” Ferrari said.

The original owner was a chocolatier and he created a list of recipes and passed them on to Ferrari, who agreed to keep the quality of the candy by using many of the original recipes.

“Your fudge, caramel and toffee can make you or break you,” Ferrari said. “There’s a lot of work to that, using quality control and strict standard practices to make it right.”

Bavarian Chocolate Haus still makes its homemade fudge in copper kettles. The traditional method and the recipe, using heavy cream, sugar and milk, make the fudge unique and creamy. There are at least 10 different flavors.

“We have over 100 different candies,” Ferrari said. Each of them is made in either the North Conway store or the Bridgton shop. However, both stores carry the full compliment of candies. Ferrari, as well as truffle-makers David and Lorraine, make more than 20,000 pounds of candy each year.

They make golden-vanilla caramels in plain chocolate or with Maine sea salt. They make their own almond toffee, called buttercrunch, with dark or milk chocolate. They make turtles with pecans or cashews. There are unique hand-dipped fruits like apricots, pineapples, orange peels and ginger. Try the nut clusters with a choice of almonds, cashews, hazelnuts or pecans. There are also pistachio, apricot and almond barks.

The most popular candies are the almond toffee buttercrunch. The second favorite is the caramels and third, the turtles. There are so many more delights to discover in the store. Try a cinnamon spice patty or a peanut butter cup. There are 15 different flavored truffles; some are spiked with alcohol like Bailey’s Irish Crème, Amaretto, or go without the alcohol and try a Maine sea salt or a Maine Blueberry Habanero truffle.

“I’ve always been a chocaholic. I had thought about [opening a shop], but didn’t expect to do this,” Ferrari said. After 30 years in the medical field, he was ready to make the life change from Massachusetts to the White Mountains of New Hampshire and now into Maine.

“I love food and I love to cook,” he added. “What I love about this business is when I worked in the operating room, I was helping people but reached a point where it was time to help others in a different way. I love making people happy with chocolate. People come in happy and leave even happier. They become a kid in a candy store.”

Ferrari and his team are always creating a new truffle flavor or other confection including our newest fudge flavors chocolate coconut and our Mount Washington Medley Fudge. This is a vanilla based fudge, and mixed into it are maraschino cherries, pecans and rum soaked raisins.  They also created a version of needhams from a family recipe gifted to them from a Maine native.

The secret to their success has been the loyal following who say that they can tell the difference from other chocolate shops and big store candy.

The demand for good chocolate was so loud from Maine, that Ferrari and his spouse decided to move into the lakes region. The Bavarian Chocolate Haus is a regular feature at the Fryeburg Fair and the shop in Bridgton has been busy. “More folks from Maine insisted we open a shop in Maine. They said, ‘We don’t have anything like this in the Sebago Lake part of Maine,’” Ferrari said. They decided on Bridgton because of its revitalization and transformation. They want to be a part of that.

Bavarian Chocolate Haus chocolate can also be found at local businesses, bed and breakfasts and hotels in Maine and New Hampshire. There is also an online store, where products can be shipped all over the country. The website is presently going through a major redesign to make getting chocolate even easier.

“We make it easy for people to get a hold of our candy,” Ferrari said.

For more information or to order candy online, visit www.BavarianChocolateHaus.com, email BCH@BavarianChocolateHaus.com or call the stores at 603-356-2663 in North Conway or 207-647-2400 in Bridgton. Find them on Facebook.

“We look forward to seeing you in our shops,” Ferrari said.

Business Spotlight: Corn Shop Trading Company by Michelle Libby

Nestled among the idyllic shops on Main Street in Bridgton is the Corn Shop Trading Company, a
local mom and pop store that has made itself a place for unique gifts, useful items and some of the best fudge around. Owned by couple Pam Stock and Mark Grenda, the Corn Shop Trading Company is in its 18th year.

There is no shortage of things to look at in the deceptively large store. Whether pottery engraved with the name of a favorite lake is what one wants or perhaps stocking stuffers to help Santa, there is something for everyone.

“We try to do as local as we can,” said Pam. Items in the store are from local artisans from the area, then they carry items from Maine, then products from New England and a few from around the world. They try to keep items from local artisans stocked. The Corn Shop is a popular place for tourists and those in the area.

The Corn Shop got its name from the Corn Shop Brook that runs behind the store. The location use to be a cannery for produce grown by locals. When Mark decided to open the store, he couldn’t think of a better suited name. Pam, a retired special education teacher, started working in the store full time only recently.

“There’s a feeling to this store. There’s a positive, happy feeling,” Pam has been told repeatedly.
When the health food store shut down, Corn Shop started selling the most popular products like Dr. Bronner’s Soaps and local honey and syrup to meet the demand of citizens in town. The Corn Shop carries a large selection of Willow Tree figures, shot glasses, Northwoods Naturals, mugs, pottery, socks, T-shirts, and the list goes on and on.

Products are sorted into sections like nautical, pets, art, the popular Christmas section, and kitchen; 14 sections total. There is a selection of Native American jewelry, art and spices for smudging.
When shopping, Mark suggests three trips around the store. Once looking up, once looking in the middle and once looking low. It is impossible to take everything in with one circuit.
“You’re allowed to come back,” Pam said with a laugh. Everywhere one turns they see something else they can’t live without.”

Most people don’t leave without buying some of the famous fudge. Mark has been making fudge in the store for the last eight years. Although the base fudge comes from Calico Cottage Fudge, the flavors Mark makes are his own recipes. He worked on the pumpkin fudge for five years to get it right. It tastes like a pumpkin whoopie pie. He makes blueberry, eggnog, coffee and maple syrup depending on the month.

“We’re better than everyone else,” said Mark. “We ship fudge all over the world.” They have a fudge of the month club that entitles the customer to sign up for all or a selection of months to have a one pound package of fudge show up on their doorstep in the middle of the month. This is perfect to send to family out of state or someone who summers in the area.

Short on gifts? Corn Shop Trading Company can provide those unique gifts that can’t be found anywhere else. Beer soap? Incense? Personalized soap with pictures of Bridgton? Post cards to send home? They have all of this and more.

They have wrought iron hooks and other primitive looking items. One customer told Pam, “I knew I could get what I wanted at a reasonable price.”

Signs naming the lakes and towns in the region are in the store, and they can also be customized for no additional charge. The kitchen section is extensive with linens, woven coasters, placemats and rugs. They also have an antique section with cast iron products and other not-to-be-missed items.

They have bird houses made in Bridgton, ski signs, pottery from South Paris, items from the Progress Center in Norway and bells from the New England Bell Company.

“They’re really special bells,” Pam said.

They carry a New Hampshire sticker line and Maine books.

“We have the best variety of products around,” said Mark. “There really is something for everyone.”
Corn Shop Trading Company is open seven days a week throughout most of the year. After January 1, they will be open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and school vacation weeks.

The Corn Shop is low tech, preferring people to come into the store or call them. They can’t be found on Facebook and they don’t have a website. They are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for the holiday season and normally they are open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with summer hours extended from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Don’t pass up a chance to stop in, it’s worth the trip.

Business Spotlight: Firefly Boutique by Michelle Libby

It’s a lovely drive to reach Firefly Boutique on Route 302 in Bridgton and once there, it’s not a place easily forgotten. Under the direction of owner Jessica Jones, Firefly Boutique is a rare collection of gifts and items to spark up a wardrobe or add pizazz to the everyday or provide flare when looking for something distinctive. 
 

The boutique has many collections from local artists featuring jewelry, clothing and upscale bags and purses. They have items from all over the world that Jones brings back from her trips abroad. The inventory is always changing, always shifting to new and different items that keep her loyal customers coming back week after week. 

“I like color. We all get stuck in a rut wearing black,” Jones said. She looks for items that are comfortable and classic and are made in the USA. “We have 50 different lines,” she added. Items come in extra small to extended sizes. “I never know what I’m going to find.”

Jones never expected to be in retail, although it was deep in her blood. Many members of her family, including her grandparents, had their own shops. 

With one year in the present location, on the main street through Bridgton, the business has grown tremendously since opening in 2009.  The over 1,200 square foot shop is packed from top to bottom with beautiful items for women of all ages.

 “People can get to us more easily and with two cafés nearby it makes even more of a good shopping experience,” Jones said. She compared her store to boutiques in California, Miami or New York. “It’s not typical of what you’d see in Maine.”  Words like unique, US made, fair trade and handcrafted describe what can be found in the two-room store. It is not a cookie cutter shop. Firefly Boutique carries items from Ivy Water’s Edge Gallery, Kim Vigneau, Sara Shepley Designs, Designs by Diana, Sally Bags and more. There are handmade children’s dresses by Ellia Manners, paper earrings, and Yushi clothing is the largest line they carry. 

The most popular items and one would argue the most distinctive, are the jewelry pieces featuring butterfly wings. The wings are from tropical butterfly farms within a rain forest and are gathered only after dying naturally, according to the artists who make the jewelry, then encased in glass and surrounded with sterling silver. 

“We have the largest collection in New England,” Jones said. 

Katelyn Jager, sales and Jessica Jones, owner (L-R)

There is also jewelry made from antique silverware, Czech glass, scarves, and Austrian Swarovski crystals that are made into gleaming wearable art, made in Guatemala. 

The store just started selling shoes and has a variety of accessories for any outfit.

“Because it’s unique, you can find special gifts and have them wrapped. We’re friendly and welcoming and we want to help,” Jones said. Jones is looking for professional groups of people to provide items for the store. She’d love to find a group of knitters to produce quality items and someone who makes top of the line handbags.  

Jones was named the Greater Bridgton-Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year last year. She is involved in many activities to promote the businesses in Bridgton. On June 23 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. there will be a Sip and Shop featuring wine tasting at Towanda’s and jewelry giveaways at Firefly Boutique. November 18 and 19th will be the Ladies Weekend Out in Bridgton with many shops offering giveaways and raffles as well as sales from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

“This should be a fun place to come to. We want people to enjoy their experience.

For more information on Firefly Boutique, check it out on Facebook, by email at: JessicaOJones77@gmail.com or call: 207-647-3672.