L.L. Bean’s retail store is leaving Lewiston.

Despite the city’s white-hot love affair with the retailer, we all knew it was just a crush, destined not to last.

The temporary store opened in the fall for the Christmas shopping rush and drew shoppers to a retail space that’s been vacant since Ames closed in 2002. L.L. Bean says the store was a success and from the crowds we saw, we’d have to agree.

The Sun Journal’s Carol Coultas told readers Saturday that there are a couple of other retailers that are considering the location.

From our perspective, Bean’s success shows that the location, empty for three years, has great potential to attract customers. Too often, it seems, when a big-box retailer pulls out of a location, the spot sits fallow. The emptiness hangs like a curse on the spot, driving away potential tenants.

Lewiston and Auburn are experiencing a sort of retail renaissance. Near Exit 80 off the Maine Turnpike and at the Auburn Mall, there has been a flurry of announcements over the past year. Starbucks, Lowe’s, Kohl’s and Panera Bread are here already or on the way.

Lewiston-Auburn is a growing, changing market. The population is growing and the image of a stagnant, shrinking mill community is giving way to new energy and enthusiasm. The image of the Twin Cities is changing. With it, comes the notion that this is a great place to live and work, a message that’s getting out to people who haven’t looked at L-A in a while.

And people living and working here need places to shop and eat.

Some of the retail giants are taking notice.

We’re not sure who will eventually move into the space at the Lewiston Mall. But L.L. Bean has shown that it’s a spot that can work, that can draw shoppers and can make money.

Bean opened its store as an experiment in the L-A market; the community has proven itself capable of sustaining quality retail development.