Fish Bones Grill resumes lunch service

Lunch orders come out of the kitchen Wednesday at Fish Bones Grill at 70 Lincoln St. in Lewiston. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Lunch is a great opportunity to sample a restaurant you’ve been wanting to go to. The menus are usually simpler, with smaller portions and a sweeter price.

Fish Bones Grill at 70 Lincoln St., at the end of Bates Mill 6, is open for lunch after a prolonged hiatus, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Owners Paul and Kate Landry said they are excited to invite customers old and new back to the popular spot to sample the new lunch menu. Some of the restaurant’s popular items are included along with some items offered only at lunch. The lunch menu is available online at fishbonesgrill.com.

Three weeks into the relaunch, lunch was busy and steady Wednesday, with plenty of good smells wafting out of the kitchen.

Customers have lunch Wednesday at Fish Bones Grill at 70 Lincoln St. in Lewiston. The popular restaurant is once again serving lunch, after a prolonged hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

It’s taken this long to bolster their staff enough to take on the extra four-and-a-half hours of service.

“It was just time,” Paul Landry said, adding employees agreed. “We have enough people.”

Lunch is offered Tuesday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Many restaurants still struggle with staffing three years after the onset of the pandemic, forcing virtually everything to close for weeks. The hospitality industry has been especially hard hit but there are signs staffing issues are leveling off, especially among restaurants and bars who take care of their employees and pay them well.

Landry said overall their business has recovered, but it’s still not at pre-pandemic levels. It’s a positive sign to see the resurgence of a popular eatery that is adding hours of operation, not reducing them.

Walgreens closing Union Street location in Auburn

A sign is displayed Wednesday inside Walgreens store at 61 Union St. in Auburn announcing it will permanently close Monday. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Walgreens will permanently close one of its Auburn locations Monday. A company spokeswoman said there were a number of factors behind the decision to close the store at 61 Union St., including the “existing footprint of stores, dynamics of the local market, and changes in the buying habits of our patients and customers, among other reasons.”

Walgreens said it is working to “retain impacted team members at nearby locations.” The company did not say why the closure is happening on short notice.

Pharmacy patients at the Union Street store should have received, or will soon receive, a letter in the mail advising them of the closure and to let them know any prescriptions will automatically be transferred to the store at 698 Minot Ave.

Walgreens also has stores on Main Street and Sabattus Street in Lewiston.

All three major pharmacy chains in the country are closing stores in an effort to save money, according to a report in Forbes. Rite Aid, which is preparing for bankruptcy, has proposed closing between 400 and 500 stores. CVS has shut 300 stores and plans to shut 600 more by next year. Walgreens, the largest pharmacy chain in the nation, announced it would close 150 stores and reduce operating hours at an additional 1,100 stores.

The report said customers feeling the pinch of inflation are bypassing the chain drug stores for grocers and discount stores such as Walmart.

Amy Griswold arranges the window display Wednesday at Dube’s Flower Shop on Lisbon Street in Lewiston. Griswold recently purchased the longtime business with Abigail Jones-Skrabak. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Dube’s Flower Shop has new owners

A landmark in downtown Lewiston for nearly 90 years, Dube’s Flower Shop at 195 Lisbon St. recently changed hands. New owners Amy Griswold and Abigail Jones-Skrabak bought the shop from Skip and Debbie Girouard in May but the announcement came in mid-September.

The new owners said customers can expect a blend of the familiar and fresh. “Our commitment extends beyond maintaining the status quo,” Griswold said. “We aim to weave modernity into tradition, embracing new possibilities while remaining grounded in the essence that has made Dube’s so beloved.”

In a news release, the new owners tout a “revitalization” of offerings that will bring a contemporary touch to classic arrangements. They also offer praise for the workers who have made the store a success and plan to add new talents to the team to help infuse fresh energy and creativity into Dube’s operations.

Dube’s has been a locally owned and operated florist business since the 1930s.

Hertz locations in Auburn temporarily closed

Hertz confirms it has temporarily closed its locations in Auburn due to staffing shortages. The primary location is at 1120 Center St., with a concession at the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport.

In an email response from the company’s media relations department, Hertz said, “We are still serving private aviation customers at Auburn-Lewiston Airport and Center Street customers at local auto dealerships who are getting vehicles repaired there.”

Jonathan Labonte, chairman of the airport board, said Wednesday that he was unaware of any disruption of service at the airport concession, adding the rental car company doesn’t stage vehicles on site, but transports them to the airport upon request from airport customers. He emphasized that people needing a rental car from Hertz can make an online reservation and pick it up at the airport.

Hertz said it plans to reopen both locations soon.

The Buzz offers quick hits about trending area business happenings. Have a Buzzable tip? Contact business writer Christopher Wheelock at 689-2817 or cwheelock@sunjournal.com