Come take a trip with me back in time, not too far back, just far enough to see whether you remember some of these former Wiscasset businesses. All of the pictures were taken to accompany stories I was writing for the newspaper and appear in black & white since the newspaper rarely printed color pictures back then. 

Let’s start with Roland’s Barber Shop located on Main Street and just down the street from the Wiscasset Post Office. It was owned for many years by Wiscasset’s Roland Stults. After retiring from barbering in 1980 Roland moved to Florida where he became a successful real estate agent. The building at 106 Main Street has changed little over the years. It’s first floor is now home to Coastal Maine Cuts offering barbering and family hair care. 

Recognize the next picture? It’s Mike’s Log Cabin, a grocery store that also sold pizza, sandwiches and had a breakfast counter. Mike Kelley of Pittston opened Mike’s Log Cabin in the 1971 and is pictured here shortly before he enlarged the building. The store has changed hands several times since Kelley sold it in 1995. Located at 475 Gardiner Road, it’s now home to Market 27, an agency liquor store. I was sad to read that Mike Kelley who continued to reside in Pittston just recently passed away at age 86.

The former Wiscasset Texaco was on the corner of Main and Lee streets not far from the fire station. It was a full-service filling station selling gasoline, tires along with offering minor automotive repairs. For many years now this building greatly remodeled has been home to the Clipper Mart selling convenience store items and Exxon/Mobile gas. Something you might not know is this same building was once home to a Subway franchise.

Remember J & C Auto Parts Inc.? It was located alongside the south bound lane of Route 1 near Page Avenue. After closing, in the 1970s, the building was vacant for a time before Wilfred “Fred” Belanger of Fairfield bought it in 1981. Belanger remodeled the building inside and out and opened the Sea Basket Restaurant specializing in fried Maine seafood dinners and lobster stew. Some time ago the restaurant changed hands but is still going strong today and still called the Sea Basket.  

The former Wiscasset General Store was located on the corner of Hooper Street and Gardiner Road. I say former, because it was completely destroyed by fire. When this picture was taken in the late 1970s it was owned by Wiscasseters Robert and Kay Fairfield. They added the agency liquor store when they expanded the building. In the 1980s the Fairfields sold the store to Jim Benedix Sr. of Gardiner who renamed it the Wiscasset Quik Stop; the name the business continues to use, although under different ownership.  

We’ll finish with a picture of Mainly-Pine Country Store on Route 1 now home to the Wiscasset Antiques Mall. Robert Nicol of Boothbay opened the Maine-themed gift store in the 1970s. It was later expanded to carry men’s and women’s apparel, winter wear and Quoddy Moccasins. Robert’s son, Peter Nicol, carried on the business after his father retired.

Phil Di Vece earned a B.A. in Journalism studies from Colorado State University and a M.A. in journalism at the University of South Florida. He is the author of three Wiscasset books and is a frequent news contributor to the Boothbay Register-Wiscasset Newspaper. He resides in Wiscasset. Contact him at pdivece@roadrunner.com