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By Faith DeAmbrose
After a winter of seeing the closed doors at the Castine Variety, many in the community may welcome the news that it will reopen in a limited capacity for the July 4 weekend.
The store’s new owner, Elizabeth Mabie, said she plans to open slowly, offering things like ice cream, coffee and a light breakfast at first and then adding additional offerings as she can. “I think the community will be understanding,” she said, “because many people really just want it see it open.”
Mabie said she has already received tremendous support from the community and that many people have stopped in to talk with her as she has been setting up shop. She said she intends to foster the same kind of family atmosphere that made the Variety a popular destination for decades and once she gets her hours and menu situated, she will plan for a grand opening.
Mabie recently graduated from Maine Maritime Academy with a master’s degree in international business and felt she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to operate the vacant business. Mabie purchased the business from previous owners Lynn Evans and Ray Nualla and leases the space from Jim Jennings.
In a recent interview, Evans said he was very excited to see the business reopen. He thought Mabie could give the business more time than he or Nualla could and said she would be a terrific asset to the community.
Mabie is in the process of hiring staff but intends to be a full-time fixture behind the counter and involved in the daily operations as much as possible. Although a phone has not yet been connected nor have the hours been finalized, Mabie did say that the purchase of the business came with the recipe for the store’s award-winning lobster rolls.
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