Bucksport’s small commercial stretch on U.S. Route 1 is now home to two drive-thru coffee chains right next to each other: Dunkin’ and, as of 5 a.m. Monday, Aroma Joe’s.
Business appeared brisk at both locations late Monday morning. When Aroma Joe’s owner Mark Breton arrived at 4:15 a.m., a line was already around the building, he said.
His first customer had been staked out since 3 in her pajamas, waiting to secure an opening-day gift he had advertised on Facebook.
“I think it’s just going to be a preference thing, you know,” he said of the two locations. “It’s no different than having two gas stations next to each other.”
The Bucksport location is another step in the Maine-based company’s swift regional expansion and one of two new commercial developments coming to Bucksport. The other, a Tractor Supply Co., has yet to start construction on a lot just to the east that Breton and his wife, Gwendolyn, were initially interested in before learning it was already under contract.
The two coffee chains court different demographics. Aroma Joe’s, offering a vast array of often neon-colored “Rush” energy drinks along with lattes and food, is geared toward younger consumers. Breton said he thinks the two will share business, pointing out three cars pulling into the neighboring parking lot while just one waited in line at his window.
Customers, meanwhile, didn’t seem to have formed strong opinions yet one way or the other.
Julie Ridley of Old Town, who parked at Aroma Joe’s to buy a coffee from Dunkin’, said she made her choice that morning because the older location had a restroom she could use. In the future, she’s not sure how she’d choose where to go, she said. It would depend how she felt that day.
Joey Doyon stopped at Aroma Joe’s with his wife, Isabelle, on their way to deliver a cabinet from Winterport Marketplace, their antique store in that town. He said his choice would come down to which store has the shorter line.
“I just like coffee,” he said.
Some residents have been concerned about how the additional stores will affect westbound traffic on Route 1, which can back up significantly, especially during the tourist season.
A nearby road project appeared to contribute to slowdowns Monday morning, but Breton said he hasn’t seen issues so far, and expects the two lots to relieve traffic, if anything. His staff went out to waiting cars with menus to help lines move faster when necessary.
While he expects Aroma Joe’s and Dunkin’ to get along, Breton sees a nationwide trend of “drive-thru coffee wars,” with comparable brands in other states jostling for the same market. That’s not the case here, he said, but where it is, Breton believes the difference comes down to marketing.
He’s been very active in promoting the new location on Facebook and has tried to drum up hyperlocal support, he said, bringing him tens of thousands of views online and earning recognition from corporate, which made the rare move of sending its mobile van to the location that afternoon.
Breton is also hoping to lead an effort to repaint a fading mural in downtown Bucksport with community involvement, he said.
Aroma Joe’s location at 80 Route 1 is open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. Breton also plans to add DoorDash delivery in the future.
