Waterboro Market & Café in East Waterboro, Maine, began life as a 900-square-foot store that gradually grew into the 6,300-square-foot location it is today.
David Pendleton, executive and facility manager for Town Line Deli Inc., which does business as Waterboro Market & Café, had worked for the previous owner for two years before purchasing the building and store with three other investors.
The original building had two businesses operating out of it, and “shortly after we purchased it in 2017, we took over the entire building when the other tenant left to bring our footprint to 1,800 square feet,” Pendleton said.
But even doubling the square footage wasn’t enough to bring Pendleton’s vision for a unique convenience store to life. “We owned the adjacent property too, and began the process of looking at numerous store layouts in and out of the state,” he said. He took inspiration from major retailers and smaller regional ones, plus other mom-and-pop locations. The result is the current Waterboro Market & Café, which Pendleton strives to set apart with its unique offerings.
A Store That Stands Out
One of Pendleton’s goals is to be the first to have trendy items, like new drink flavors and snacks.
“We aim to be like a mini-version of Buc-ee’s with your not-typical convenience store items,” Pendleton said. “We dabble in a little bit of everything because we’ve got the square footage to do that.”
For example, Waterboro Market was the first in the area to stock freeze-dried candy. The store also tries to do as much business with local companies as possible. It stocks handmade bags from local crafters and Wicked Joe and Benbows Coffee that come from two Maine businesses. “Plus, if a customer asks for [something], we try to bring it in for them,” he said.
On the foodservice side, Nana’s Kitchen turns out fried chicken and other comfort foods, such as shepherd’s pie and chop suey, which are available in the hot and cold grab-and-go cases. In addition to the homemade comfort meals, the store has its own pizzas and subs.
A beer cave stocks a wide variety of options, including around 50 SKUs from 15 local breweries. Kombuchas, craft sodas and CBD-infused drinks round out the beverage selection. One unique area of the store is an energy bar, where customers can add flavorings to Red Bull.
It’s the People
It’s not surprising that Pendleton ended up with his own convenience store, given his background—his grandmother owned a restaurant, he previously worked for Irving Oil and he co-owned a single convenience store several decades ago. In between those jobs, he worked in other sectors, but he kept coming back to the convenience store industry.
“It’s the customers that pulled me back,” Pendleton said. “When you do it right, you develop a loyal following. It’s that one-on-one connection I treasure.”
With its location near a lake, campground and dirt bike track, Waterboro Market gets customers from a wide geographic area. “We might see some only once or twice a year, but we remember them and they remember us, and always stop by when they’re in town,” he said.
Pendleton said his core group of employees are the linchpin of the store. “Most of them have been with us since the inception or very close to it,” he said. “They give us 110% and we give them 110%. They know management, including myself, aren’t afraid to jump in and help.”
It’s that hands-on attitude that has made workers stick around, he said. “Our employee retention is great. Even our seasonal workers who started out working for us in high school often come back during the summers from college.”
He taps long-time employees to train the newcomers. “We do up to 40 hours of training per employee, depending on how quickly the new workers catch on,” Pendleton said. “Plus, all of our employees are cross-trained in all positions because we don’t want anyone to say, ‘That’s not my job.’”
Pendleton hopes customers leave Waterboro Market & Café with an overall good impression of how courteous the employees are. “We want them to stop in here and get everything they need, from fueling up their car to fueling up their body,” he said.