Drive: Manchester, NH to Falmouth, ME

"Words are like sheepdogs herding ideas.” ~Daniel Dennett

August 22: Spent most of the day in the lobby of the Super 8 Motel in Manchester, New Hampshire using their free wireless Internet connection and updating my blog.

Then drove to Falmouth, Maine, where former brewer Pete Leavitt lives with his family. I arrived in time for a late grilled chicken dinner with Pete, his wife Marie and their two boys. I stayed with the Leavitts for three nights while I visited breweries in nearby Portland.

The above photo is from Friday night, August 24. The Leavitts were visited by their Rhode Island friends, Geoff Greene, Christy Chase and their two boys. (That makes four young boys in the house. Yikes!) As you can see the grown-ups are enjoying a feast of Lobsters that were steamed in ocean water. Pete and Marie know a thing or two about good food! (Photo above, L to R: Geoff, Christy, Pete and Marie.)

Pete was my Assistant Brewer at Triple Rock Brewing Co. way back in 1989-90. After brewing at Triple Rock and its sister brewery Twenty Tank, Pete attended the Siebel Institute. Then he went on to consult and later opened three locations for Sunday River Brewing / Stone Coast Brewing Co in Maine and New Hampshire. He left brewing about ten years ago, spending time in semi-conductors and wholesale gourmet foods.

Now Pete's smack dab in the middle of an exciting new project: He will open a gourmet foods retail store in early October called Leavitt & Sons Specialty Grocery. Pete plans to sell anything delicious that is smoked, cured, fermented, or aged. That includes all my favorite foods like good beers, wines, cheeses, sausages, and imported yummies like truffle paste. I even got to taste some of the samples Pete and Marie are deciding upon. Yum!

After dinner Pete showed me his business plan. On Friday morning he took me to see the building. De-construction of the interior is currently underway, with reconstruction occuring in September.

Pete located Leavitt & Sons in a stand-alone white building at the corner of Route 1 and Depot Road in Falmouth, an upscale neighborhood of Portland. It looks like a great location with lots of drive-by traffic.

The photo at right shows Pete with the "& Sons" part of Leavitt & Sons. Jake (far right) starts First Grade next week and he's very excited to learn math so he can run the cash register. Jake tells me he can't wait to get his new business cards. He's only six years old. I wonder what his title will be? Jimi (in front) is three. Jimi smiles a lot and isn't too concerned about his business cards just yet.

Pete's got great plans for the store including a show kitchen that will prepare take-home gourmet lunches and dinners. If you like high quality food and beverages, get yourself to 37 Depot Road in Falmouth, just outside of Portland, Maine starting in October.