Dad's Place closes in Norway

NORWAY — The owner of Dad's Place of Norway has shut the doors.
"I just can't make it financially go," said Linda Larrivee of the convenience store at 26 Main St.

Larrivee, a New Hampshire resident, leased the building from her sister and brother-in-law, Larry and Diana Roy of Mechanic Falls, who operate Dad's Place in that town, but the two businesses are separate, Larry Roy said. He said Dad's Place in Mechanic Falls is thriving and has no plans to close.

Customers arriving at the Norway store were met with a simple hand-scrawled "closed" sign on the locked doors Monday morning.
Larrivee said she was losing $2,000 to $3,000 a week when she leased the store nine months ago.
"I truly believe the little guy just can't succeed anymore. The chain stores can get through the hard times," she said as a Central Maine Power Co. employee stopped to ask how he would get in the store to read the meter.
Larrivee said there were a number of problems as time went on. Hostess, the makers of snack cakes, refused to deliver products because Dad's Place wasn't selling enough, so she was forced to drive to Auburn each week to buy the treats. Cigarettes had to be paid upfront in the amount of $10,000 a week, and some suppliers would only deal with her on a cash basis, she said.
"Enough is enough," she said.
Roy, whose family has owned Dad's Place in Mechanic Falls for some 25 years, bought the Norway building in 2004 and ran it as a second Dad's Place until November 2008. He said Larrivee leased the building under a different legal entity and did business as Dad's Place.
Roy said that when he left the Norway business in 2008 it was viable. "She had difficult times," he said.
ldixon@sunjournal.com

Leslie Dixon/Sun Journal

Linda Larrivee stands outside Dad's Place of Norway on Main Street after closing her business this week due to the economy.

- Leslie H. Dixon