FARMINGTON – Ron’s Market, which started out as a hot dog stand doing business during the Farmington Fair, is moving up in the world.
Last April Fool’s Day, Jon and Lois Bubier bought the liquor store and, since then, the two have not only revamped much of the building, they have also begun adding to the former liquor store and deli’s selection.
Although in the process of being rearranged, the deli and coolers full of beer and soda are still in evidence, much as they have been for more than 50 years, said Jon Bubier. Along with his wife, he said Thursday that the market has been a fixture of the neighborhood since before he was born.
Along with Heineken and Sprite, shoppers can now buy imported wines, an array of specialty beers brewed nearby and in locales as far afield as China and Belgium, and liquor of all sorts.
On a shelf next to the market’s specialty beer cooler, a row of empty bottles attests to one of Jon Bubier’s hobbies.
“I look for beer or any specialty item people ask for,” he said. “If it can legally be sold in the state of Maine, we can get it for you,” he added, explaining that when customers come in to the store looking for products he does not yet carry, he goes on a mission to find them.
The Bubiers, who have both lived within throwing distance of the market all their lives, bought the store partly in an attempt to create a more vibrant neighborhood market for themselves and their neighbors.
“We knew where we’d like to go with it,” Lois explained. They are in the process of adding and expanded grocery selection, and they focus on local products when selecting stock.
That includes local maple syrup, honey and beer, said Jon. In season, the market also offers fresh strawberries, blueberries, parsnips, fiddleheads and farm-fresh eggs and milk are delivered daily, said Lois. “We try to offer the store as an outlet for local vendors,” Jon Bubier said, adding he hopes in the coming year more independent farmers and other food and beverage producers will approach him.
Ron’s Market also sells stamps and has groceries ranging from cat food to cleaning supplies to frozen dinners.
For the Bubiers, who’ve worked together in past ventures, hashing out the day-to-day problems inherent in owning a store, from issues with employees to arranging displays, isn’t the daunting task many married couples might imagine, said Lois.
Their biggest gripe is the never-ending amount of work to be done, Jon said Thursday. One gripe was solved early on. When they bought the building, Lois said, customers would bring bags of cans and bottles through the store to the redemption center, and the smell was horrendous, she said. Her first move was to separate the center from the rest of the market and give it a separate entrance. “You can’t smell it anymore,” she said.
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