Portland’s Neighborhood Markets Going Strong [PHOTOS]

With all the Clashin' Bashin' going on last week, thought I should wait til now to put up the location of last week's #PortlandQuest.Last week, I gave you a couple clues to the Portland Quest location. One guy thought I got into his basement to take a photo.

One of my co-workers who is kind of new to the area was driving up Stevens Avenue and saw a cool sign out of the corner of his eye.  A wooden sign. On a shop, between two striped awnings.  He said I should Vulch over to Stevens and find out about the sign and the place where it hangs. He couldn't remember where it was, exactly, on Stevens: "I veered right off Forest Avenue, went past UNE, past a big cemetary, and a shoe repair place. The sign is right there."

Yeah, it's Pat's Market and Cafe, pretty much equidistant from either end of Stevens. Been there since 1917... Jamie, Pat's son, told me the sign we see, made by Sundance Signs in New Hampshire, replaced one that the weather got to.  And the work Sundance did, in my opinion is superb.  The sign is made of wood with super weatherproofing on it, now, and it swings gently in the wind--with small floodlights on it in the evening.

Elliot, Jamie's son, who helps manage the family store, told me even before his grandfather, Pat, started the store, his great-grandfather owned Sanitary Meats on Newbury Street, downtown.

Although, signs like the one in front of Pat's are less prevalent than they used to be, (I've found only a couple in all of Portland), as are family-owned grocery stores, they still exist!  Check these out, and let's be proud that Portland supports and truly loves places like Pat's on Steven's Avenue.  And, there is such a desire by Portlanders and Mainers to own their own businesses, it's pretty inspiring. Just recently, the Hilltop Superette reopened on Munjoy Hill after a fire forced the former Colucci's Market to close in February 2013.

Here are just a few of the locally owned family grocery stores in Maine:

Friends & Family Market - Ellsworth

Rosemont Market & Bakery - Portland and Yarmouth

Wentworth Family Grocery - Northport

Nature's Way Market - South Berwick

What do you think of Portland's neighborhood markets? Are you glad they are still around? Share your comments on our web site and on our Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #PortlandMarkets.