September 10, 2015
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NONPROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID GORHAM, ME PERMIT NO. 10 VOLUME 21 NUMBER 17 SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 SINCE 1995—A FREE, VOLUNTEER-RUN, BIWEEKLY COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER Sebago Brewing It’s No Bull, Nicely’s Has Closed Co. Submits Plans for Mosher’s Corner SHERI FABER Staff Writer In 1998, when there were few local breweries, Sebago Brewing Company opened a brewpub near the Maine Mall. Later they opened three more locations in Portland, Photo courtesy of Brenda Nicely Kennebunk, and Gorham. Sebago Brewing is now looking at purchas- After many years in business in Gorham and Portland, Nicely’s Market has closed permanently. Owner Brenda Nicely has yet to detdetermineermine ing property at the intersection of what will happen with the bull that stood on the roof for many years. Mosher Road (Route 237) and lower Main Street (Route 25) across from MALLORY CAMPBELL had morphed into a small food store family to us,” says Brenda. Martin’s Point Health Care and Beals GHS Student Intern with a large deli making breakfast, piz- The Nicely family decided to sell Ice Cream. zas, and hot or cold sandwiches. the building when Kyle decided he They plan to construct a 25,000 After many years of business in Brenda and Felgar Nicely opened did not want to take over the business square foot building that would serve Gorham, Nicely’s Market, located at the store May of 1985. Brenda and her when Brenda retired. The adjoining as the company’s corporate head- 397 Ossipee Trail, closed for good on son, Kyle, ran Nicely’s since Felgar’s business and credit union will remain quarters and would include a tap August 31. The store had seen three passing in 2006. Involved in the com- open, but the store will be empty. house (with a beer-centric menu), a generations of families and various munity since they opened, Nicely’s As for the bull statue on top of the tasting room, an event/function cen- changes in the community, all while sponsored a little league team for many store, Brenda is unsure what to do ter, a brewery, corporate offices, and smelling like coffee, eggs, and bacon years, along with sponsoring cars at with it. The bull was the only piece manufacturing and warehouse space. every morning, and pizza and Italian Beech Ridge. The business employed taken from the original store opened They also plan to have an ATM facility sandwiches in the afternoons. between five and nine staff members, in 1945 in Portland. at the entrance run by a local bank Nicely’s Super Market began in depending on the time of year. “I had over 20 calls a day asking so customers can do basic banking Portland as a grocery store with a “Nicely’s has always been a place what was going to happen to the bull transactions without having to drive small deli, but as time went on and where the neighbors gather, especially or if it was for sale,” said Brenda. “A into downtown Gorham. people started to cook less for them- first thing in the morning, for coffee large financial company in Boston Specifics on the plan also include selves and enjoyed dining out more, and to socialize and discuss what’s wanted it to put on their top floor…. a beer garden, with an outdoor the deli expanded and the market happening around town and in the section, as well as a high-ceiling downsized. When Nicely’s closed, it world. Many of these regulars are like CONTINUED ON PAGE 2 lounge, a 30 by 40 square foot func- tion room and a patio of the same size. The dining room will be 42 by 70 square feet and the dining room Town to Hire Real Estate Broker patio will be 30 by 45 square feet. The three lots, all owned by Susan SHERI FABER Preble Street, and 77 South Street, as 2. The broker must have held an Duchaine, have been merged into Staff Writer well as sixteen acres on Deering Road. active Maine real estate license for one parcel along with the adjacent The properties at 21 Main and 10 the past 10 consecutive years. house and lot at 560 Main Street. Although the town of Gorham Preble Streets had originally been 3. The broker must have sold at This property was most recently is not in the real estate busi- purchased by the town with plans to least 20 properties in Gorham during zoned for five multi use buildings ness, in recent years the town has turn them into additional parking for the last two calendar years but there are currently no plans to found itself with properties to sell. Main Street businesses. The 21 Main 4. The broker must be willing to proceed with that project. Without a realtor to promote the Street property has since been sold accept a commission no greater than Sebago Brewing is seeking sale of these properties, the town to Amato’s, which plans to raze the six percent. approval of a contract zone since has not had the resources to effec- building to create additional parking 5. The broker must be willing to the current zoning does not permit tively merchandise them. for their business. Amato’s is giv- list and actively attempt to sell all breweries. Although two sides of the Some property became town ing away the building for free, but it properties provided by the town dur- property are already roadside com- owned due to the failure of an owner must be relocated from the site. ing a two-year period. mercial, a contract zone is needed to pay property taxes. One example is The Town Council has voted to Interested brokers must submit let- for the brewery component. the former fraternity building on the approve the selection of a realtor ters of interest that will be screened According to Kai Adams, founder corner of Preble and Elm, which has who would handle the sale of town- against the selection criteria. of Sebago Brewing Company, the been totally renovated and now hous- owned properties. The criteria for Applications will then be submit- Town Council was “very positive” es NESA, a locally owned embroidery the selection of a realtor include ted to the Finance Committee that about the project. In fact, in their and silk screening business. Other the following: will recommend a broker to the Town September meeting, they referred examples where the town purchased 1. The broker must live in Gorham Council to handle any real estate sales the proposal to the Planning Board properties included 21 Main Street, 10 and pay real estate taxes in Gorham. for the town for a two-year period. as the next step in the project. Adams noted that Sebago Brewing has been looking for a new site for NEW PRESCHOOL OPEN FOR insidetheTimes several years and that there are still BUSINESS IN GORHAM a lot of steps before a final decision 15 Blotter 15 Classified 5 Municipal 8 School SEE PAGE 3 is made. 15 Calendar 13 Community 3 Profile 6 Sports NEWS FROM AUGUSTA BRINGING THE NEWS TO ALL OF GORHAM PO Box 401, 77 South Street Minimum Wage Continues As Hot Gorham, Maine 04038 Phone and Fax: (207) 839-8390 [email protected] www.gorhamtimes.com The Gorham Times is a free volunteer-run Topic at State House community newspaper distributed every other Thursday to more than 100 pick-up sites SEN. AMY VOLK cases, that would mean conforming willing to compromise, the bill died throughout Gorham. them to federal law. between the chambers. —— During the course of the last ses- Ultimately, what ended up hap- Raising the minimum wage is not an News [email protected] Sports [email protected] sion, we dealt with several bills seek- pening was the committee voted out issue that is going away anytime soon, Features [email protected] ing to make changes to Maine’s mini- as whether or not to increase it to $12 Of Interest [email protected] mum wage. As the Chair of the Labor, an hour is expected to be presented Calendar item [email protected] Commerce, Research, and Economic to the voters as a referendum question Raising the minimum wage is not Advertising gorhamtimesadvertising@ Development Committee I had the in 2016. That is one of the reasons I gmail.com or 839-8390 opportunity to work on these bills, and an issue that is going away anytime believed it was important to deal with School News [email protected] —— minimum wage policy in general, very soon, as whether or not to increase the issue this year, so that it could be closely this session. Among the propos- done purposefully and with input from SUBSCRIPTIONS als brought in front of the Legislature it to $12 an hour is expected to be stakeholders. While I believe referenda $15/year in Gorham; $20/year elsewhere $10/year for college subscription were bills to eliminate the exemption are a valuable tool, I do worry about presented to the voters as a —— on the minimum wage for tipped work- emotionally charged issues with large referendum question in 2016. General Manager Maynard Charron ers, several proposals to increase the economic impact being ultimately based Editor Karen DiDonato minimum wage, and a bill to disallow on how well a campaign is run. Business Manager Stacy Sallinen municipalities from raising the mini- It is possible that we could bring the Advertiser Coordinator Stacy Sallinen mum wage on their own. two separate reports on LD 92, “An issue back for the second session when Design/Production Shirley Douglas Following the public hearing on mul- Act To Increase the Minimum Wage the Legislature reconvenes in January.