FARMINGTON — Pyro City Maine plans to open its seventh fireworks store in Farmington in the spring.

Owner Steven Marsons is purchasing the former Goodwin Well and Water Services building at 696 Farmington Falls Road, he said Tuesday.

A site review application for the retail store will come before the town’s Planning Board at its Jan. 11 meeting, Code Enforcement Officer Steve Kaiser said.

“It is a winter project for us,” Marsons said. There’s some painting to do and another door to install for fire code regulations.  

The store will likely open by late February or early March, he said. During the winter, the stores are open Thursday through Saturday. Then, the number of days open and employees expands up to five from May through October, he said.

Marsons plans to hire locals and will post job applications once the opening gets closer, he said.

“We are a very community-oriented business. We are looking forward to demonstrating our reputation as a good Maine company,” he said. “We are also a destination business.”

As people drive to the location to purchase fireworks, they will likely also stop in Farmington for something to eat or to buy gas, he said of a potential boost to the local business climate.

Marsons considered the empty building in Farmington over a year ago but instead decided to open a store in Windham, he said. Stores are also located in Winslow, Manchester, Ellsworth, Edgecomb and Presque Isle.

This fall, he was traveling to Kingfield to inspect a fireworks site and saw the building was still for sale. The owner chose to sell to him rather than another interested party, he said.

Marsons owns the retail fireworks stores and a second business, Central Maine Pyrotechnics, which provides professional fireworks displays.

“Of course July 4 is big for us, but the company produced 250 firework shows in five states this year,” he said.

The company regularly does shows at Sugarloaf, Carrabassett Valley, Kingfield, and did the show at the Farmington fair last September. He already has 147 requests under contract and expects there will likely be another 250 shows next year.

Many of the employees in his six locations work with the shows, some as apprentices. They are familiar with the products and know what they can do. They try to help the consumer understand how to use it and achieve what they want to do in a safe manner, he said.

Using fireworks safely is a part of the sales. Videos on each product are available so customers can see how to use them. These run in the store all the time and employees question customers about their experience and plans for the product. They are well trained and teach about safety, he said.

Marsons’ stores sell a good-quality product called Black Cat. Imported from Asia, it has a better value and quality, he said. The Black Cat company has been in business for 63 years and is well known across the United States because of the quality instilled in the product, he said.

Because of the number of stores, the business can purchase higher quantity, and with so much inventory, offers quality fireworks at better prices. The store will even guarantee the product, he said.

“If it doesn’t light or work properly, we’ll take it back,” he said.

The Farmington Falls Road location provides the high-volume traffic Marsons looks for along with the potential spending habits of area customers to purchase the product, he said.

The site is a good location on the outskirts of town with space between properties and plenty of parking, he said. The store will be monitored 24 hours a day with security and a fire system, he said.  

His company goes the extra effort to provide a secure place to display fireworks and allow people to come in and feel safe. It is run as a very professional store, he said.

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