NORWAY — A local organic farmer is hoping to expand his business from the greenhouse to a Main Street storefront.

Albert Judd, who runs Ordway Grove Farm at 8 Pleasant St., said he attempted to open a store in one of the sheds behind his house last year, but it wasn’t successful.

“I decided to rent out the store where C & C Meat used to be, at the Old Squire’s Complex on Main Street,” Judd said. “Right now, the plan is for me to open up the Ordway Grove Farm Store, where I’ll be selling organic food.”

While the store will offer the same organic produce that Judd has come to be known for in the region, he said that in order for his store to be economically viable, he can’t just make it a produce store.

“I have to have other products to sell to make it a viable store for me,” he said. “Selling from the stand is one thing. People know exactly what they’re getting. Plus, there’s no rent with a stand, because I own it. The store will be different. There’s going to be organic food other than the produce.”

Judd said he will grow organic produce year-round using two of his greenhouses.

“We’ll also have artisan breads and pastries made by local bakers,” he said. “All of the foods are going to be from Maine, and hopefully, from local people.”

Other foods that will be offered include fresh whitefish, purchased wholesale from the Portland wharves, and Maine roasted coffee beans.

Judd said he wanted to have a section of processed organic relishes and canned goods “made the old-fashioned way.”

“I want to use glass jars to store the food, like we used to do,” he said. “A lot of the recipes that I would use are my grandmother’s recipes.”

Judd said one element of his new store that he expects will be popular is the deli, which will be operated by Lisa DeStefano of Norway.

“I recently moved up here from Connecticut, and I miss a good Italian deli,” DeStefano said with a laugh. “I miss the breads, and the prosciutto and the salami. There’s a deli that I was particularly fond of in Connecticut that I would like to replicate on a smaller scale.”

She said the deli would include sandwiches with roasted vegetables, salads that incorporate organic produce and other food from the local farmers market.

“I totally miss that,” she said. “I’m hoping that someday, I can even start up a ‘soup of the day.’”

If all goes according to plan, Judd said he hopes to open the Ordway Grove Farm Store by the end of October.

“We want to open for Thanksgiving, so people can get some of their organic produce for the holiday,” Judd said.

DeStefano added that the storefront may still require commercial cooking licenses.

“We may have to put in a kitchen sink or a dishwasher,” Judd said. “There’s already counters in there. We don’t really need the sink or dishwasher for the organic produce side of things, because we clean all of the stuff at the farm and package it there. For the deli side, though, Lisa may need to meet certain standards.”

Judd said he hopes the larger store will help draw in people interested in organic food.

“I just want to make sure that we’re concentrating on foods that aren’t necessarily available in downtown Norway,” he said. “The whole place is new. I think it’ll be a good thing for the area.”

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net