HOULTON, Maine – Houlton’s downtown is bursting at the seams with entrepreneurs, new shops and a wicked hip art vibe.
Rounding out the Aroostook County town’s sometimes offbeat offerings will be the addition of a full-body paint and henna tattoo shop and a tie-die and silk screen shop, both slated to open later this month.
The two newcomers, Ritual Ink and True Cyan, will be moving into the Shiretown Gaming Center building on Main Street along with locally famous Das Haus baked goods who will be setting up shop on Saturdays in the gaming center’s pop-up space.
The 3,000 square foot first floor of the historic gaming center building, known to many as the former Fischman Mall, is home to the Shiretown Gaming Center where cosplay, Dungeons and Dragons and Werewolf the Apocalypse are regular fare, the Shire Ale House and restaurant as well as a handful of artisan-owned businesses.
Roxanne Bruce, who co-owns the building, the gaming center and Shire Ale House with her husband, Patrick Bruce, has taken the lead in bringing creative offerings downtown by providing a temporary pop-up space for budding entrepreneurs as well as leasing space and sometimes shared spaces in the building to new and often start-up businesses.
“It’s a great place for a small business to get an affordable space and get underway,” Bruce said.
Right now Bruce is working on raising additional funds to finish the second floor as a small business incubator of sorts, she said.
“We want to be the place where you can learn how to run a business, start small, get your feet underneath you and get you out on the street on your own,” she said. “Cooks on Maine was here first and she outgrew the space and then Erathan Emptor was here and outgrew the space.”
Ritual Ink, owned by tattoo artist Rich Bettencourt, will offer full-body art painting, henna and other temporary art tattoos and real tattoos once the space is licensed for tattooing. According to Bruce, Ritual Ink should be ready to open by the end of the month.
Christina Carroll, owner of True Cyan tie-dye designs, was recently awarded an Aroostook Creative Network mini grant as part of the Maine Art Commission for her creations. And along with Bruce, they are already planning True Cyan’s first tie-dye party, Bruce said.
Das Haus owner Suzie Belle Hiltz is well known among the Houlton Community Farmer’s Market crowd and others who have been ordering from Hiltz for holidays and special occasions,for her breads, large soft pretzels, cookies and pies.
This year, she decided to keep things going year round and much like on farmers market Saturdays, she brings her fresh made wares downtown to the gaming center building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
On a recent Saturday Hiltz brought extra cookies for her cookie kits and homemade soft pretzels baked that morning.
“I have some new customers and my regulars are starting to realize I am over here,” she said.
Erica Ziegman’s crystal and rock shop, Erathan Emptor, has long had a huge Etsy following.
Nonetheless, earlier this year Ziegman opened a shop in the gaming center building and she quickly became much more than a curiosity. With so much interest in not only her vast supply of crystals and rocks, but also her classes, Ziegman recently moved out of her shared space at the gaming center and into her own 1,200 square foot downtown shop at 3 Union Square, the gray building that overlooks the downtown triangle.
As far as the Shire Ale House, they will be offering an elaborate Thanksgiving Dinner for patrons who might not want to cook and they have added lunch deliveries to anyone living in the 04730 zip code, Bruce said.
