Wild Oats Bakery and Café has been nestled in the heart of Brunswick's Tontine Mall for 20 years. The bakery's owners have deemed it time to (as the Wild Oats Facebook page happily proclaims) "celebrate a facelift." Wild Oats will be closed, however, from September 25 to October 1.
"We knew we needed to grow and expand; we've always wanted to make [Wild Oats] all-around more energy and time efficient for staff and customers. Rather than simply painting a fresh coat of paint, we are going to work out all of the kinks and bring efficiency to the business," said Becky Shepherd, who founded Wild Oats with her husband in 1991.
Next week, efficiency will come to Wild Oats in the form of a new walk-in cooler, freezer, grab-and-go cooling system, hot-case, sandwich counter, panini machine, smoothie station, display cases, check-out counter, tile flooring, ceiling, lights and rearranged floor plan. The Shepherds, as well as Becky's brother Tim Atkins, have been designing the new layout for months and preparing fixtures for weeks without depriving their loyal customers of daily muffins.The closure will allow workers to replace the floors, repaint walls, install new fixtures and relocate the compressors to the roof.
Shepherd explained, "We're moving the compressors to cut down on heat and energy use and decrease noise in the eating area."
By October 1, Wild Oats will experience approximately a 30 percent increase in floor size. This expansion will occur toward the front of Tontine Mall, into a space lately vacated by The Kids Room, a children's clothing shop. The bakery recently added a large indoor seating area and skylight in a location left by Gamestop. Shepherd acknowledged Tontine Mall owner Dan Catlin's hand in the bakery's recent growth.
"The owner of Tontine is providing the financial means for new infrastructure and code upgrades. Because we've been in business for so long, there are new regulations to adhere to. Wild Oats is covering the cost of new equipment, staff [and] menus."
Ultimately, the new space will be used to separate customer seating and production space from the pay station.
"It's currently really confusing for new customers; where to order, pick-up and pay," stated Wild Oats Manager Louisa Edgerton, who has been with the business for 13 years. She explained that the new wide-open display and sales section will contain a clear flow from ordering station to pick-up counter and finally the cash register. Edgerton expressed excitedly, "It's been fun to hear a lot of positive feedback regarding the renovations."
The Bouchard sisters and sisters-in-law, a group of five women who meet at Wild Oats every Monday morning to enjoy cups of coffee and each other's company, were among those who shared positive responses to the expansion.
"We come to Wild Oats because it's centrally located for parking and there's always a place to sit. The new room is great; now it's less noisy and more private," expressed Ruth Klein, a Bouchard sister, Bowdoin bartender and auditor of Bowdoin French classes.
Bowdoin Professor Patrick Rael, a Wild Oats regular for the past 15 years, shared similar enthusiasm regarding expansion, "It's great to see an individual, homegrown business that's not a chain do well in this town, particularly at this time. Personally, I come to Wild Oats more for the environment than for the food. You can buy a bagel or muffin anywhere, but you can't get a big table or quiet room."
Stan and Peg Tunnell, vacationers from North Carolina, seemed more excited by the expansion of Wild Oats' menu items (the addition of pastries, panini, smoothies, refrigerated dinners and frozen breads) than the new floor space. "The food brings us back. We'll keep coming back because we find it's consistently good and fresh," said Stan.
Employee Riley Wing described Wild Oats' positive presence in the community and explained its customers' satisfaction: "Good food makes people happy. So, you could say Wild Oats is a business that makes people happy."