Karen Rasmussen and her husband, Manny Peña, have been long-term owners of Taco Trio, a Mexican Restaurant in South Portland. The quality of their food and service have become a benchmark in the community and an ongoing reason for their continued growth. When they outgrew their first location, a perfect opportunity presented itself – as a much larger space just down the street, that would fit both their needs and the needs of their customers, plus some. Read More
Taco Trio – South Portland
Gathered Minds Media – Rockland
The most successful businesses are based on a problem that needs solving, oftentimes coming directly from the lived experience of the owner. For Branden Densmore, his journey through recovery and a near-death experience gave him the push to fully develop Gathering Minds Media, a coaching and consulting business for others in recovery who want to start and grow businesses. He also provides spiritual counseling to help people in recovery find and better follow their purpose in life. Read More
Bath Ale Works – Wiscasset
Pepper Powers and his wife Jean have been vacationing in Phippsburg, Maine for years. Originally from Maine, Powers moved to the Washington D.C. area where he worked at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Like many who vacation here, the couple had dreamed of making Maine their home again.
In late 2016, they decided it was time to create a plan to make it happen. Powers, a longtime homebrewer, wanted to start a brewery in Midcoast Maine. For guidance on the process to make this happen, Powers turned to Brad Swanson, recently retired business advisor at the Maine SBDC at CEI in Brunswick. Read More
Alchemy Chiropractic – Falmouth
Making adjustments can seem scary, but they’re an important step toward finding relief in the future. This can be said about life, chiropractics, and business planning alike! Dr. Sergey Terrio, DC of Alchemy Chiropractic knows all too well how making small adjustments can lead to healing and growth. Read More
Peace House Studio – Bath
Peace House Studio, the name conjures up a quiet space… someplace restful, to reflect, and be creative. But Peace House Studio in Bath Maine is anything but a quiet place for reflection as sewing machines hum and vibrant children’s clothing is manufactured, and an active family lives a life aligned with their values! Read More
Washburn Trailside – Washburn
Prior to former Washburn police officer Jarad Carney purchasing the Washburn Trailside in 2020, it was just another struggling small town gas station. But thanks to Jarad’s strong ties to Washburn, his values around community, and his understanding of the local seasonal industries the Washburn Trailside has become a true “one-stop” experience for locals and tourists alike. Improvements included successfully merging the local redemption center into the gas station and breathing new life into the associated restaurant, offering new and changing menus at the only restaurant in Washburn while staying true to the hometown-style Maine charm that has come to be expected. Read More
KV Tooling Systems – Augusta
Specialty products are produced using special tools, but when each of those tools is made up of extremely specialized parts, you’ll need the help of someone like Brian Beland from KV Tooling Systems in Augusta to make them for you! Beland started working with Maine SBDC at CEI Business Advisor Brad Swanson in 2001 when KV Tooling Systems was just him in a basement.
Over the past twenty years, they have developed a supportive working relationship and during that time Brian has created a thriving business producing tooling to meet a wide variety of industrial needs including those used in the production of COVID rapid tests! Swanson was working with Beland on the process of navigating his financing sources and uses for a business expansion when the pandemic hit, and everything was put on hold. Read More
Rick Osann Art – Bar Harbor
When Rick Osann retired as an art/theater/film schoolteacher in Southern Maine, he knew he wanted to continue creating art. He began painting watercolor landscapes in the 1970s and painted professionally in the stage, film and TV industry. Today, he focuses his work on Bar Harbor, Maine and Acadia National Park which provides endless inspiration. When he realized he had more paintings than wall space, he decided to start a business selling his work. Read More
Maine Tasting Center – Wiscasset
Andrew Gross and his family have one goal in mind: to bring together individuals and groups active in Maine’s food ecosystem. This is the inspiration for the Maine Tasting Center, a destination attraction featuring Maine-made foods and drinks through a tasting room, learning center, discovery center, and events. The Maine Tasting Center will allow tourists and residents to enjoy Maine’s unique food and drink offerings while expanding the educational awareness of Maine’s food associations. Read More
Temple Cinema – Houlton
An Aroostook county classic for over 100 years, the Temple Cinema in Houlton is one of the oldest continuously operated movie theatres in the state of Maine. Multiple renovations kept the original charm and stayed true to the historic value even after the switch to modern digital projection.