MacLeod’s Restaurant has been a "culinary institution" in Bucksport for over 20 years. Owner George MacLeod attributes his restaurant’s long success to three basic ingredients. The first is location. "Bucksport is an easy jaunt from Bangor, Ellsworth, and the peninsula for people who want to ‘get out of town’ for the afternoon or evening. And International Paper, of course, brings in a steady source of loyal customers all year round."

In addition to the restaurant’s favorable geography, MacLeod’s has a broad appeal that reaches across diverse clientele. "Most smaller restaurants fall into one market extreme or the other–either high-end gourmet or a low-end, price-driven menu. We made a decision a long time ago to stay in the middle." In terms of his menu, MacLeod says, this translates into "simple recipes and ingredients, with an added flair in flavoring and presentation. We specialize in what I call comfort food–served in a comfortable setting."

The third ingredient to the establishment’s success, MacLeod says, is his loyal staff. "We’ve had people who have been with us for over 15 years, which is very unusual in the restaurant business."

George MacLeod’s own longevity in the business is somewhat of a surprise to him. He decided to open MacLeod’s after managing the original Benjamin’s Restaurant in Bangor, another "culinary institution" during the 1970s. "I thought I’d be doing this for three or four years, and I’ve been here 20." Apparently downtown Bucksport, like MacLeod’s Restaurant, is a comfortable place to be.

The community most certainly did want them. The 1916 building, a longtime local landmark, had been vacant for several years and hadn’t been used as a theatre since the 50s, so the purchase was a welcomed relief. "People gathered outside and cheered when we took the plywood off the windows," Weiss says.

The not-for-profit company’s move from Blue Hill to Bucksport proved to be a good strategic move. "We’ve found Bucksport to be a great crossroads. When we do a show, it attracts people from many area communities." Events at the newly-renovated Alamo Theatre, which features seating for 120 and full handicap accessibility, are perhaps the most public of Northeast Historic Film’s endeavors. But the organization also houses a fascinating collection of motion picture film and videotape relating to northern New England. And, thanks to its many supporters, NHF’s important archiving work has continued to grow.

"We’re extremely pleased with the level of support we’ve received from the community in the years we’ve been here," Weiss says. "It is most definitely home."

A resident of Winterport, Lacher had worked for Mr. Paperback’s parent company, Magazines Inc., before setting out on his own. Lacher coupled that background in professional bookselling with a decidedly local approach to business. "There are only two of us working here, so you can’t help but get to know your customers."

While Lacher has "regulars" from outlying towns such as Orono, Hampden, and Castine, most of Bookstacks’ customers come from Bucksport and surrounding towns. Lacher’s customer service philosophy, like his reason for opening, is disarmingly simple: "We try to treat our customers exactly the way we’d like to be treated when we walk into a store."

Locally oriented special events–like opening early and serving a free continental breakfast during the first day of hunting season–are part of the Bookstacks milieu. That highly personalized approach, Lacher believes, is downtown Bucksport’s greatest strength. "When MacLeod’s Restaurant gets really busy, for instance, they’ll send people over here and call them when their table is ready."

Such "absolute community," as Lacher calls it, is what makes selling books in downtown Bucksport both a business and a pleasure.

Community Pharmacy
Steve Zanardi, Director of Pharmacy Operations
Community Pharmacy’s mission, like its name, is straightforward–to help local customers take good care of themselves by providing them with quality goods and personalized service.

Community Pharmacy has grown quickly since it opened its first branch in Dover-Foxcroft in 1998. When the time came to expand their locations, Pharmacy Operations Director Steve Zanardi looked for a town with a straightforward approach to new business. He found it in Bucksport. "The town officials, and Mike Ruel in particular, took a real ‘can-do’ approach to getting us opened." In addition to Bucksport, Community Pharmacy now has branches in Randolph, Saco, Madawaska, Fort Kent, Eagle Lake, Houlton, Raymond, Fairfield, Gorham, and Scarborough.

Zanardi attributes his company’s success to Community Pharmacy’s highly personalized approach to customer service. "We see ourselves taking an increasingly active role in helping customers manage their health," Zanardi says, such as sponsoring a growing array of proactive services including screening clinics.

He sees the same proactive streak in Bucksport’s efforts to continually improve the climate for new and existing businesses. "This town is on the move," Zanardi says. "We’re glad to be part of the community."

Union River Boat Company
Owner
The first thing that attracted Union River Boat Company to the Buckstown Heritage Industrial Park was the name of the park. Bucksport acknowledges and supports industrial activity and considers industry as part of the town's heritage. Bucksport is a place where people have worked hard for generations to produce ships, agricultural products, homes and roads and buildings, and paper. We have been welcomed to Bucksport officially and unofficially. The Economic Development Committee and Town Council welcomed our application and helped us with the permitting process. Local people I meet show genuine interest in our work and several have hired on already.

Bucksport is beautiful but it is not just a pretty place. From our building we see rolling fields and thick woods. Two miles away is a pretty and functional downtown and a lovely riverfront, but Bucksport is also a place with many working families who understand the industrial workstyle and value producing quality products. Bucksport also has affordable housing for working people so that our local hires have more time to be home after work instead of on the road. There is room for growth in this park, and there are still some acres zoned for industry on the waterfront, so we can hope and grow!

Bucksport Mill
Bill Cohen, Communications Officer
The Bucksport mill has been a part of the Bucksport landscape for more than 75 years.

The mill, located on the banks of the Penobscot River, offers a broad, diverse selection of groundwood papers available to meet the needs of publishers, catalogers, advertisers, and commercial print producers. The Bucksport mill is known for its quality lightweight coated paper which is used in 24 of the nation’s 25 leading publications and catalogs including: TIME, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, People, Good Housekeeping, Victoria’s Secret, Lillian Vernon and L.L. Bean, Land’s End, Better Homes & Gardens and Money.

Bucksport’s facility was started in 1930 and it’s approximately 800, employees operate the four paper machines that are capable of producing over 1400 tons per day of light weight coated groundwood papers for offset and rotogravure printing.

Bill Cohen serves as the mill’s Communications Officer and says, “That it’s people, not machines that make quality paper.” In an increasingly competitive marketplace, Bucksport succeeds because of its employees’ commitment to safety, the environment, total quality and customer focus. Certainly, the size of the paper machines and the modern technology employed is impressive”, but according to Bill Cohen, “none of our success could occur without the skill and dedication of the Bucksport employees, who produce some of the finest lightweight coated paper in the world.”