KITTERY POINT, Maine — The vision for the town dock area at 88 Pepperrell Cove, the former Frisbee’s Market and Cap’n Simeon’s Galley took a major step toward completion this week with the opening of Provisions at Pepperrell Cove.
Provisions is a small general store in what was a former yacht club around the back and underneath of what was Cap’n Simeon’s facing the town dock. The store is run by Ann Kendall, a retired York school teacher and Kittery Point resident. The store is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
“It’s truly what the community wanted. They walk in and just love how it feels and they find things they need. Plus, I’m getting to meet more people in the community and that has been a wonderful experience for me,” Kendall said. “We needed the store back, we missed having a store that you want to go to get that odd thing you need. Especially because I live right here, I notice how busy it is, more so in the summer, but you just don’t want to go back out to get the one thing you forgot and now you can come here and get a fantastic view.”
Kendall said she wants the community to tell her what they would like to see the store stocked with beyond all the essentials to buy in a pinch. She said one example was the community’s desire to see an ice cream window incorporated into the store. She also said she would be featuring freshly made sandwiches by May 1.
[Kittery planners give the OK for former market to be converted to restaurant]
However, Kendall said one of her favorite features of the new store is its connection to the past with the installation of the old shelves from Frisbee’s Market. According to Donna Ryan, project manager of the Pepperrell Cove redevelopment, the original Frisbee’s Market was inside the Cap’n Simeon’s Building, which will now be known as The View at Pepperrell Cove and will serve as a function and party space that can accommodate up to 150 people. The View will be run by AJ’s Wood Grill Pizza co-owner Eides Ares and will host its first wedding this weekend.
“It was critical for us to incorporate as much as we could from the legacy the Frisbee’s left into our project and we were able to share all of this with Mr. Frisbee before he passed away and he knew all about our plans,” Ryan said. “If you think about it, the Frisbee Market has been in the family since 1828, making it the longest family run-store continuously in North America. What you don’t often hear is where the store originally was. The Frisbee family had a store in (The View building) way before 1828, but this building was the original building.”
Ryan is responsible for running what will be known as Frisbee’s Wharf at Pepperrell Cove, which will be an outdoor restaurant on crushed oyster shells adjacent to Provisions. Ryan said it will feature freshly caught seafood right off the on-site wharf opening May 15. It will have two fire pits with lounge seating and have transient moorings for visitors who want to boat to the restaurant.
The other members of the Pepperrell Cove Group include Eides’ husband Henry who will run the Bistro 1828 at Pepperrell Cove restaurant, located in the former Frisbee’s Market, which is set to open in July and Carla Goodknight, founder of CJ Architects of Portsmouth.
“I’m feeling ecstatic. It’s all about to come together,” Ryan said.
Marie Williams of Kittery Point said her oldest daughter worked in the former Cap’n Simeon’s and said she was happy to see the property revitalized.
“It’s great to see the area coming back to life,” she said. “They have invested a lot of time and energy to make this a reality so I hope they’re successful.”
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