In-person retail has been in a serious decline for a long time. An industry that was once the lifeblood of commercial districts all across the country has seen mass closings since the mid-2000s, including Maine- and New England-owned chains that were staples of shopping excursions for families throughout the latter half of the 20th century.
While many downtowns have experienced revivals thanks to a renewed interest in small businesses and some Maine chains like Marden’s and Reny’s continue to flourish — Reny’s will open its newest store soon in Bangor — most of the stores we used to shop at are long gone.
Here are six Maine or New England-based chains that you probably remember shopping at. What are some of your favorite memories of these classic stores? Did you do back to school or holiday shopping or work at any of these places? Did we miss a store you loved? Leave a comment below or email us at [email protected] to share your stories.
LaVerdiere’s
Founded in 1922, closed in 1994
This Waterville-based drug store chain was much more than a pharmacy. LaVerdiere’s at one point had 70 locations in northern New England, and as Stephen King described it in his short story “The Sun Dog,” it was more of a “jumped-up five-and-dime than anything else.” It was most famous, perhaps, for its enormous selection of Halloween candy and costumes during the fall, followed by an equally large array of toys and gifts for Christmas. What kid didn’t enjoy rifling through the store and fruitlessly begging their mom or dad to buy them something?
Ames
Founded in 1958, closed in 2002
At one point, Ames was the fourth-largest department store chain in the country, behind Walmart, KMart and Target. The Connecticut-based discount retailer had stores in small cities and rural areas across the eastern U.S. and the Midwest, including 26 locations in Maine, from Caribou to Calais to Wells. It was well known for offering discounts to shoppers aged 55 and over,and, like its main rival Kmart, was a full-service department store.
The company went bankrupt in 2001 and closed for good in 2002. Many former Ames stores are now Ocean State Job Lot locations. A mysterious Ames Stores website and associated social media accounts emerged last year that claimed that 35 new Ames locations would open across the country in 2026, though no other information about the supposed revival of the chain has been made public since then.
Porteous
Founded in 1873, closed in 2003
At one point, mid-market Maine department store chain Porteous had two of the busiest and most popular shops in the state: a flagship location on Congress Street in Portland and one of the original retailers to open in the Bangor Mall in 1978. Porteous had slightly higher-end apparel and home goods in its 10 locations across Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. By the late 1990s, however, it couldn’t compete with stores like Kohl’s. The Congress Street location closed in 1991, and the last remaining Porteous stores in Bangor and Presque Isle closed in 2002 and 2003, respectively.
Filene’s
Founded in 1881, closed 2006
The original Filene’s was in Downtown Crossing in Boston and was a New England shopping destination for many decades until the 1970s, when it began expanding into shopping malls across the eastern U.S. It opened stores in the Maine Mall in 1983 and the Bangor Mall in 1998, but its presence in the state was short-lived — both the Bangor and Portland locations closed in 2006.
Zayre
Founded in 1956, closed in 1990
Among the very first tenants at the Broadway Shopping Center in Bangor was Zayre, a discount department store chain based in Massachusetts. It opened in Bangor in 1961 alongside the newly built shopping center, one of eventually 13 Zayre stores in Maine from Madawaska to Saco.
In 1988, the underperforming Zayre chain was purchased by Ames, and the original company instead began to focus on its more profitable store: TJ Maxx, which had also opened on Broadway in Bangor in 1977. The Bangor Zayre became an Ames in 1988, which closed in 2002, and TJ Maxx expanded into that space in 2004.
W.T. Grant
Founded in 1906, closed in 1976
At its peak, there were 28 W.T. Grant locations in Maine — one of the largest retail chains in the state, with a huge presence in Aroostook County, where there were six stores. The Massachusetts-based chain was ubiquitous and famous for being a throwback to an earlier era in that it offered store-branded products like electronics, sporting goods and clothing.
Up until the 1950s, W.T. Grant stores were mainstays of downtowns, including on Congress Street in Portland and Central Street in Bangor, which opened in 1948. The company later expanded into shopping malls in the 1960s. It struggled to compete with chains like KMart, however, and the company went bankrupt in 1976.
