NORWAY – Once a length of sparsely filled store fronts, over recent years Main Street Norway has evolved into a neighborhood of diverse independent retailers. Each has its niche and they look out for each other.

“When I moved to the area 20 years ago, Norway was so different,” recalls Adrienne Cote, who this month celebrated the two-year anniversary of opening her bookstore The Tribune. “It was like a ghost town. Now, all the store fronts are full.”

Anchored by Stephens Memorial Hospital at one end and Norway Savings Bank towards the other, Main Street is enjoying a local renaissance of sorts. Its success didn’t happen by chance, but through the dedicated work of Norway Downtown, the non-profit group tasked with executing a vision for the town.

“We’ve used a guide that was developed back in 2005,” said Andrea Burns, past president of Norway Downtown and current chair of the group’s Development and Design Committee. “Back then, if you drove through town after five in the afternoon everything was closed. There was no energy. The businesses weren’t integrated. We worked to change that.”

Among the principles of a guide, officially called The Strategy to Enhance Main Street for Norway, Maine, was to develop a growth and support system for the town, to support local retail business development, and gain a reputation that would attract visitors.

“The businesses here are collaborative,” said Cote. “If a customer is looking for something specific, I can direct them across the street or make a recommendation. We look out for each other and our customers.”

Cote bought an established business (formerly Books N’ Things) in 2018. Since then she has focused on ways to better serve customers of The Tribune. It continues to serve as Norway’s performing arts ticket agent. Cote added a space on the second floor dedicated to reselling brand-name clothing, called The Attic. She carefully selects titles to serve varying reader tastes. She estimates that 70% of her inventory is books and the remainder other gift items, with a healthy concentration that encourages kids’ learning and play. Recently she added a kitchenware nook.

“I moved the cookbooks to a dedicated corner and added associated items,” Cote said. Some are offerings from Stonewall Kitchens that she was already carrying. She also brought in locally crafted cookware items like spatulas and spoons, looking to provide options for summer customers who will soon return to their lake homes and camps.

Darlene Dadian-Gray decided to follow her passion for minerals and gems into retail, opening The Raven Collections – what she calls a “rock shop” – in 2013 with her husband. While their business is decidedly niche their customer base is diverse, ranging from the metaphysical to the scientific-minded.

“We focus on unique pieces,” Dadian-Gray said. “Fossils, geodes, jewelry. Home décor using crystals. I’m always learning, looking for new things to feature.

“Early on we relied on Facebook and word of mouth to get the word out. And we’ve built a local following. We are a brick and mortar business. People have found us and return to buy more.”

Dadian-Gray and her husband Ernie moved to Oxford Hills back in 1990 and she too recalls the days when Main Street in Norway was fairly empty.

“Main Street has really bounced back,” she said. “With more people working in Norway we see lots of walkers and browsers during the day. There is plenty of parking for shoppers, choices of restaurants. And we love our store here in the Opera House. As the renovation continues upstairs it will only get better.”

Dadian-Gray’s retailing experience must be gratifying for people like Burns and other volunteer associates at Norway Downtown to hear. It is exactly what the organization set out to do.

“Our goals were to build a welcoming locale and street-scape,” Burns said. “We wanted to develop a neighborhood that invited foot traffic. To create visually appealing outdoor spaces and maintain Norway’s historical character as an authentic village experience.

“We had terrific mixed-use institutions in close proximity to start with. The hospital is down the street, the banks, the library and the churches, they provide a stable base that our downtown is building on. The restaurants, they allowed for simultaneous independent retail growth.”

One of the oldest retail kids on the block is the art supply and frame shop 100 Aker Wood. Arthur and Barbara Traficonte opened the store in the mid 1980s, which has serviced the needs of artists and collectors for more than 35 years. Today the family business is run by son Steve Traficonte.

“In the early years my parents struggled to establish the store,” Traficonte said. “But we’re in a position where we can compete with online stores and the big chains. From a creative idea to a finished piece of art. Our customers have come from all over, as far away as Florida.

“We provide them with a level of service and knowledge that they can’t get at places like Hobby Lobby or A.C. Moore.”

Traficonte speculates that part of 100 Aker Wood’s continuing success may be attributable to a sense of internet fatigue, a point that matches the vision of Norway Downtown.

“I can help a customer who wishes to slow down,” he said of his customers who pursue drawing. “People come in here and they can browse. They can see, touch and experience what we sell. They can’t find that on the internet.”

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