3 days Ago
Kate Madore, left, and Maggie Barnard stand behind the counter Tuesday at their business, Little River Coffee, at 11 Union St. in Lisbon Falls. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal LISBON — Women in Lisbon and Lisbon Falls no longer work as they once did by the hundreds at the Worumbo Mill in the early 20th century.
Today, women entrepreneurs are moving toward a position of dominance in the business community and helping to reshape it. They’re opening everything from Maine’s first 100% woman-owned brewery to restaurants, a coffee shop, a specialty sausage shop, consignment store, an insurance agency and a pet hospice and palliative care practice. Out of about 65 brick-and-mortar businesses in Lisbon, 55% are owned or partly owned by women.
Nationally, a 2024 Wells Fargo study on the impact of women-owned businesses put the figure at 39%. “Diversity is key to what we want to be here in town, and I think it’s important that we have a good mix of businesses ..
. with all types of business owners,” Economic and Community Development Director Ross Cunningham said. The statistics come from a quick calculation by Cunningham, who said more are in the pipeline.
Of the six businesses he’s working who want to open in Lisbon, four are owned by women. Desaray Hayes, left, and Jess Hoyt are seen Jan. 27 in their Two Moms Diner in Lisbon.
The breakfast and lunch spot is in the former China Inn at 222 Lisbon St. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal file In the next few weeks, Desaray Hayes and Jess Hoyt will open Two Moms Diner on Lisbon Street — an area that is key to the town’s development plans amid a population growth rate of 7.8% between 2010-2020.
The two young mothers who have 12 children between them said being a woman-owned business is something they are passionate about. They’re already working with another woman-owned business, Grazi to Go, to source gluten-free muffins for the diner. And the woman Hayes sold her food trailer to plans to open it as a breakfast stop.
People head toward businesses Tuesday on Main Street in Lisbon Falls. Out of about 65 brick-and-mortar businesses in Lisbon, 55% are owned or partly owned by women. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Kate Madore and Maggie Barnard have been close friends for years and always talked about opening a coffee shop together.
“Right after COVID-19 it just seemed like if we don’t take the moment now, there’s never any perfect time,” Madore said. “I don’t think our dreams were super specific. We were like, we want to own this coffee shop.
We sat around drinking coffee, trying to manage our kids together.” They moved ahead with their plans to open Little River Coffee but were shocked when they took their loan application and business plan to get financing. “Our first business loan was basically rejected with a note that we were kind of overcommitted as mothers,” Madore said.
“The quote is, ‘We don’t think you can handle it,'” Barnard added. “They thought, how can two women with 10 kids between them possibly do this?” Madore said. It was a woman banker who rejected them.
They took the exact same business plan and paperwork to another lender and were approved. Madore said they didn’t get upset but admit the rejection sent a message: “Perception. People’s idea about what you’re capable of and where you belong and what your duties are in priorities.
” Three years on and the business and owners are doing just fine. “I love it. It’s been a collaborative process, I think, with our customers.
Our space has grown as they have grown with us,” Madore said. Christine Cain poses Tuesday behind the bar at her business, Olive Pit Brewing, at 16 Main St. in Lisbon Falls.
Out of about 65 brick-and-mortar businesses in Lisbon, 55% are owned or partly owned by women. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Christine Cain managed a Starbucks in Auburn for seven years and Barnes and Noble in Portland for 10 years. She now owns and operates Olive Pit Brewing, the first 100% woman-owned brewery in Maine and the first brewery in Lisbon.
Cain said she started noticing the abundance of women entrepreneurs early on as she was looking for a location for her brewery. She bought the building from Kerry Conroy, a longtime business owner in Lisbon Falls who owns The Sausage Kitchen and real estate. The two met through networking.
“She liked the fact that she could support another female entrepreneur, particularly a 40-slash-50-something entrepreneur at the same age, and that she could support someone else in kind of starting a new venture in town, a female entrepreneur,” Cain said. Cain thought there were already too many breweries in Portland, plus she didn’t want to commute and wanted a more affordable environment in which to launch her business, which is why she chose the Lisbon area. Three years after opening she thinks she has become part of the town’s fabric.
“(The) community is definitely very supportive and has definitely noticed, commented on the community that I’ve created,” she said, referring to the welcome environment at the brewery, and how it’s a place for people to gather for events and live music. Tracy Farrington is seen Tuesday at her business, Lisbon House of Pizza, at 688 Lisbon St. in Lisbon Falls.
Out of about 65 brick-and-mortar businesses in Lisbon, 55% are owned or partly owned by women. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal Tracy Farrington just bought Lisbon House of Pizza after working there for 35 years. She and her boyfriend will also own and operate an express site at the Mobil gas station on Lisbon Road in Lewiston.
They have five children between them and she finds herself busier than ever. “That has always been my dream — I’ve always wanted to own this place,” Farrington said. But buying it was a bit of a shocker, she admits.
“I just thought, ‘well, it’s gonna be easy,'” she said. “I’m gonna just go to the bank, and I’m gonna ask for the money, and then that’s all.” Not exactly.
She sleeps less now and worries about details of the business she never had to think about before. “Once you take over all the little things that we didn’t notice, all the things he did, all the things she did, you know, because they did it for many years,” Farrington said, referring to the former owners. Ross Cunningham, Lisbon’s director of economic and community development, stands Tuesday in his office in front of photos of all the new businesses opened in the past two years, most of them owned by women.
Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal She said Cain and the other local business owners work with one another, as well as Cunningham, to better the business environment in town. After a cold, uncertain winter that has been tough on many businesses, the owners sat down for breakfast to discuss how to get customers back out. Ultimately, they said, it’s not about the gender of the owner, but about business and working to put new life into the community.
Still, it always helps to have other women business owners who know what they’re going through. “We have some good groups and we do have forums to toss ideas around and support one another,” Cain said. “And why eliminate a possible source of support and information?” A woman crosses Main Street Tuesday morning in Lisbon Falls.
Out of about 65 brick-and-mortar businesses in Lisbon, 55% are owned or partly owned by women. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal We believe it’s important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way.
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