Business

Long-time Mount Desert Islander editor, Earl Brechlin has announced that he will be leaving the paper at the end of the month of August and taking a position as communications director for Friends of Acadia.

The Ellsworth Aroma Joe's celebrated its opening with a ribbon cutting on Thursday, July 20th. The franchise, located at 233 High Street in the Maine Coast Mall parking lot, is their 50th overall and the 2nd in the Greater Bangor area, with the other in Orono.

The Ellsworth Code Enforcement Office sent out letters on July 13 to abutters of the Maine Coast Mall, that a new restaurant is in the planning process and will be located behind McDonald's. The parcel was last used as an auto dealership. The project is expected to start August 1st and be completed by October 1st.

The Maine Department of Transportation will be hosting a meeting at the Bar Harbor Municipal Building on Wednesday, July 12th to discuss the Route 3 Bar Harbor Corridor Work with businesses who are located along Route 3.

The Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce held a Business After Hours on Tuesday, April 25th at the newly renovated Acadia Welcome Center in Trenton from 5 to 7 PM. The Side Street Cafe provided catering, beer and soda was provided by Atlantic Brewing. There were great giveaways and Jeff Dobbs won the 2 round trip tickets from Bar Harbor to Boston donated by Cape Air.

The Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce is seeking the public's vote in determining 3 awards that will be presented at the Annual Meeting on May 18th at the Acadia Event Center in Trenton. Your vote is needed for the New Business of the Year, Revitalization Award and Customer Service Award. You can vote buy clicking HERE

WDEA's Chris Popper sat down with Tony McKim, the President of First National Bank. McKim spoke about the new Dream First Rewards Program, the growth of the bank, and his CEO employee outreach program.

According to a story in the Portland Press Herald the Maine Lobstering Union voted Saturday, February 25th to purchase the wholesale operation of the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. This does NOT affect the restaurant or retail operation at the bridge leading onto and off of the Island.

Love them or hate them, the cruise ships visiting Bar Harbor have a HUGE economic impact on the Village of Bar Harbor. The University of Maine School of Economics published a paper on the economic impact from visitors during the 2016 season.

There's a new business in Ellsworth, Rush Hour Gaming located at the Mill Mall at 248 State Street, and they have Escape Rooms! What's an Escape Room? An escape room is a physical adventure game in which players are locked in a room and have to use elements of the room to solve a series of puzzles and escape within a set time limit. The games are physical versions of "escape the room" vi