“I’m a people pleaser,” chef Carrie Michaud said Wednesday about the new offerings that she has been working on at Sam’s Bakery Store on Main Street in Lewiston. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Breathing new life into a shuttered store, the management team at Sam’s Italian Foods put their heads together and decided to reopen the store at 268 Main St., which closed one year ago. It was reimagined as a bakery store and opened in early February. The project appears to be catching on.

Opening just two days a week for three hours at a time starting in early February, Sam’s Bakery Store announced it will now be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

They have expanded their offerings to include special orders for Easter and have started offering catering.

Since the store reopened as a bakery “grab-and-go” concept, Director of Bakery Operations Kelley Sevigney told the Buzz there has been a lot of interest and they are reacting to customers requests, to the extent they can.

She said they’ve added pastries, cookies and muffins and will soon offer grab-and-go salads, sandwiches and pizza. Sevigney emphasized all the offerings will be pre-made and they will not be able to take orders and customize individual orders. They also plan to add other products, including pizza kits — everything for a make-at-home pizza.

Customers can order cheese and veggie platters, finger roll platters and more. Some items must be preordered, so check with Sam’s.

Sam’s has decided to do some of its catering out of the location, which has a commercial kitchen. The hope is to open part of the former dining room to accommodate small business meetings or similar gatherings.

To staff the increase in hours, Sam’s is offering extra time to current employees.

This story was originally published in “Mixers Nightclub & Lounge in Sabattus changes hands” 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