Immediately after Matt and Cheryl Curtis bought a sporting goods store in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1989, they began adding supplies for climbers, campers, hikers, paddlers, and skiers. Then, they did the same six years later with a shop 20 miles north in Ellsworth, also keeping the mainstream sports equipment among the inventory. The business that has grown from the original store to two more storefronts in its 28 years doesn鈥檛 shy away from adopting new initiatives to keep the community and staff always trying something new, whether it鈥檚 giving new life to used shoes or hosting pop-up holiday shops.
鈥淲e stay open to what our customers want to try,鈥 said Kelly Cochrane, Cadillac鈥檚 operations manager. 鈥淪ome of these things aren鈥檛 always easy, but they鈥檙e just who we are and we stay true to them. We don鈥檛 ditch ideas because they take a little bit of effort.鈥
Open to New Ideas
What鈥檚 on the menu of initiatives one year might not be back the next year at Cadillac. Cochrane said the employees are constantly saying yes to new ideas, staying open-minded as well as realistic that their pitch might not always stick.
It鈥檚 how the store launched the 鈥渘o bag drawing鈥 decades ago to reward eco-conscious customers who bring their own reusable bags, which Cochrane said has cut bag orders by up to a third.
They also added a holiday gift wrapping station (very popular) and a footwear recycling program, in which customers donate used shoes to charities and people in need.
New this year, the store is hosting free kinesiology taping lessons and other self-care clinics taught by professionals.
Last year, the store cleared some of its merchandise racks to make room for local artisans to sell handmade jewelry, wooden benches, and centerpieces around the holidays. Cochrane said, 鈥淚t was fun to feature products created in our neighborhood and to have a bit more of a social evening鈥攆riends were stopping in to see friends.鈥 But she added that the stores won鈥檛 have the same room for the pop-up market this year, and sometimes it鈥檚 OK to pivot to something else.
Adapting to Seasonal Needs
Most retail shops bordering the waterfront in Bar Harbor, Maine reduce hours during the winter. But Cadillac keeps the doors to its two shops open. Ski rentals鈥$20 all day for boots, poles and skis鈥攂ecome popular during winters with lots of snow, but most years, they service the tourists with the basics. 鈥淚n Bar Harbor, we become the, 鈥極h, my gloves blew out, I need gloves鈥 stop,鈥 Cochrane said. One block from the original 900-square-foot storefront on Cottage Street, Cadillac runs a smaller specialty shop selling apparel solely from Patagonia and The North Face because it鈥檚 an authorized dealer.
The coastal stores see the most foot traffic between May and mid-October, whereas the inland Ellsworth location peaks from a more permanent population November through April. 鈥淲e鈥檙e on a high traffic road in the middle of a bunch of other services,鈥 Cochrane said. 鈥淪o it鈥檚 convenient to pull in and to learn about backpacks or headlamps.鈥
Heart of Service
As one of the main shops supplying visitors to Acadia National Park and a handful of state parks, Cochrane says Cadillac鈥檚 role in the community is to make trying new outdoor sports accessible.
The bike repair team regularly fixes up old bikes for folks who have fallen on hard times and need a means of transportation鈥攋ust one of many examples of Cadillac serving the two communities.
They also offer opportunities for people to try new sports by hosting a ton of demos. During the summer months, they haul their kayaks and stand up paddleboards down to Ellsworth Harbor Park鈥檚 waterfront every Thursday evening to get both customers and employees out onto the water. They also host demo days for snowshoes, cross country skis, bikes, ice skates and even tennis racquets.
鈥淲e try our darndest to support as many local bike rodeos, where kids learn about bike safety, tennis tournaments, and 5Ks as possible,鈥 Cochrane said.