A Rockport couple’s plans to build a new Aroma Joe’s coffee shop in downtown Bucksport were approved by the town’s planning board with little discussion Tuesday night.
Mark Breton and Gwendolyn Hudson bought the property at 80 US Route 1, next to the town’s Dunkin’, with plans to build a roughly 1,000-square-foot drive-thru location.
The couple hope to break ground in the spring and open in the summer of 2026 if permits and Maine Department of Transportation approval moves ahead as expected. Breton and Hudson plan to have the current dilapidated home onsite torn down Saturday morning, they said before the meeting.
The Aroma Joe’s expansion is set to bring another new business to downtown Bucksport, which has seen numerous restaurants open or change hands this year. It also marks another step in the Maine-based franchise’s recent expansion into the eastern half of the state.
Aroma Joe’s sells coffee and espresso drinks, smoothies, pretzels, pastries and a line of “Rush” mixed energy drinks.
Breton and Hudson said before Tuesday’s meeting that the Bucksport location will be their first franchise; they were introduced to the chain by their children, and see the brand appealing to a younger crowd with different offerings that may not necessarily crowd out Dunkin’ next door.
If anything, they expect the 17-car drive-thru to help alleviate some of the traffic on Route 1, and believe local demand is greater than supply for coffee shops.
Concerns about worsening traffic that can already back up into neighboring Orland during peak tourist season were a theme during the planning board’s review, with two neighbors asking for route changes. Those decisions are up to the state department of transportation, because Route 1 is a state road, code enforcement officer Luke Chiavelli said, but the town can share the requests with the department ahead of a pre-scoping meeting for the plan.
Planning board members approved the local site plan with little discussion after reviewing how it met town requirements.
Feedback has been positive since the couple announced their plans in October, Breton said before the meeting, and they want to be “good stewards” of the property.
“The town of Bucksport is awesome,” he said.