Questions about Caribou Maine (Fairfield, Fort Fairfield: school, college, office)

[dmyankee]

Originally Posted by Maineah

There are some who cruise the roads with a beater pickup and a six pack at dusk HOPING a moose will step out in front of them. If you hit it you own it. It may mangle some meat but half a moose for free is worth the price of a beater pickup anyday! And you don't need to be in some stupid lottery!!

You must have seen my brush bar! More fun than shopping for meat at Hannaford's.

[Maineah]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

You must have seen my brush bar! More fun than shopping for meat at Hannaford's.

Tastier and better for you to boot!

[Jacker]

I am looking to relocate with my wife and two kids and thinking of purchasing the theatre for sale. What can you tell me about the area and the theatre and if it would be a good decesion! I would liek to run a family oriented theatre that would serve the community.

[Bydand]

Well I am sad to see that Vanessa and her husband are selling the theater. They renovated it 6 or 8 years ago now if I remember right. Nice little 4 screen theater that they set up cheap for families and was always busy. It had been closed a few years when they bought it because Presque Isle had brought in a big 8 or 10 screen Theater when they built the mall. When Vanessa and Hubby bought the Caribou theater they were the only independent theater in the entire area. Priced it cheap, offered good movies, and low concession prices and they eventually took all the business away from the new multi-screen. so much so that the big one closed down and they tore it down to put up the Lowes. Now that the Braden is back open in downtown Presque Isle I would suspect that they are struggling again in Caribou. There isn't really anything else downtown anymore and nothing else to come into town in the evening other than a movie. Presque Isle has more going for it and I would bet they have taken a lot of business.

Personally when I lived there I liked the Caribou theater much better than anything else around. Nice sound, good screens, comfortable seating, decent concessions. Parking is plentiful, easy access to the location. The only downer about it is the location of the ticket counter to the front door. On a busy, new release you can find yourself standing outside waiting to get in and buy a ticket. I have driven by more than once because the line is long and I wasn't about to wait outside on a -30 degree night for a ticket.

Caribou itself is an odd little place though. Several nice communities around it, but the town itself is very odd. Run by a couple families really, that for the most part isn't too bad, but it get's old after a while seeing how they sometimes use a heavy-hand in their dealings. Best thing you could do is go visit several times and really talk to people in the area. Talk to the present owners - they are very nice people and really will shoot straight with you, if you shoot straight with them. Act like you are doing them a favor by even looking at the property, and they will cool and turn strictly business in a heartbeat.


Didn't you ask about this about 1 1/2 years ago here also?

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by Jacker

I am looking to relocate with my wife and two kids and thinking of purchasing the theatre for sale. What can you tell me about the area and the theatre and if it would be a good decesion! I would liek to run a family oriented theatre that would serve the community.

I agree with the previous poster, it's a cute little theater, perfect for a family business IF it is making money. If you look at a map, it's the most northern theater in Maine, but there are theaters in Canada, just across the border that show movies in English.

[maineguy8888]

I live in Caribou. The point about Presque Isle's theater reopening is valid. It means that business at the Caribou theatres has returned to its "normal level", and this should be taken into account.
Caribou does have things going on in the downtown, and I am involved in a community task force to continue to focus on the downtown area in terms of usage and activity. We have succeeded in stopping an effort to allow first floor apartments in the downtown (one of the building owners wanted the zoning changed). This means we will have the opportunity to have the downtown continue to fill a traditional role (shops, services, entertainment, offices, etc.). Parking is also ample in the downtown and theater area, and is currently being adjusted to allow for more efficient use. (A new store opened across from the theater and needed to know that the parking situation was adequate).
One tip for any future owner: the weeks where there are four "R" rated movies impact profitability. This has happened. There must be at least one G or PG rated movie for families or young people to be able to go to.
I was born and grew up in Presque Isle, and lived there for many hyears. I have to say that I'm very glad to live in Caribou. There is a real community spirit here that is missing in Presque Isle. For example, both cities celebrated their sesquicentennial this year, and despite being slightly smaller than Presque Isle (and not having UMPI and NMCC to do the lion's share of the work), Caribou's yearlong celebration put Presque Isle to shame. (The parade had almost 150 entries).

[maineguy8888]

By the way I sent you a direct message.

[bangorme]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

I was born and grew up in Presque Isle, and lived there for many hyears. I have to say that I'm very glad to live in Caribou. There is a real community spirit here that is missing in Presque Isle. For example, both cities celebrated their sesquicentennial this year, and despite being slightly smaller than Presque Isle (and not having UMPI and NMCC to do the lion's share of the work), Caribou's yearlong celebration put Presque Isle to shame. (The parade had almost 150 entries).

Just some historical information about the area. There used to be at least 3 theaters north of Presque Isle. Now there is only one. You would think that's good news, but several things have occurred that have severely impacted Aroostook County, the largest being the closing of Loring AFB. That not only took tens of thousands of movie goers out of the area, but also decimated the economy. What is left in Aroostook County is a lot of poverty.

I went to UMPI, then returned 25 years later for three years to live in Caribou. I loved the area. Caribou is a nice safe community with a stable (but smallish) middle class. Within the last 10 years tourism has picked up due to four wheeling and snowmobiling, so I would think that could be used to get business. But your main large group of movie goers are at the University of Maine in Presque Isle and it's going to take some innovative thinking to tap into that market from Caribou.

[maineguy8888]

Originally Posted by bangorme

Just some historical information about the area. There used to be at least 3 theaters north of Presque Isle. Now there is only one. You would think that's good news, but several things have occurred that have severely impacted Aroostook County, the largest being the closing of Loring AFB. That not only took tens of thousands of movie goers out of the area, but also decimated the economy. What is left in Aroostook County is a lot of poverty.

I went to UMPI, then returned 25 years later for three years to live in Caribou. I loved the area. Caribou is a nice safe community with a stable (but smallish) middle class. Within the last 10 years tourism has picked up due to four wheeling and snowmobiling, so I would think that could be used to get business. But your main large group of movie goers are at the University of Maine in Presque Isle and it's going to take some innovative thinking to tap into that market from Caribou.

A lot of what you say is correct, but the part about there only being a lot of poverty in the County is not. I left in 1995 (like many others) and you could not have found one person who didn't think that there would soon be tumbelweeds blowing down the streets. "The last one to leave, shuts the lights out"............that kind of thinking.
Much to my amazement on returning after ten years away, it is far different than every one thought it would be. I don't know how, but there is a real resuregence taking place, and the decades-long sense of doom that hung over the County is gone. Not that there aren't real problems, but those who come up here now are usually amazed (including my father-in-law, who is from Toronto and is used to living the "high life" all over the world.)

[Bydand]

Originally Posted by maineguy8888

A lot of what you say is correct, but the part about there only being a lot of poverty in the County is not. I left in 1995 (like many others) and you could not have found one person who didn't think that there would soon be tumbelweeds blowing down the streets. "The last one to leave, shuts the lights out"............that kind of thinking.

Absolutely right. When Loring pulled the plug there was a real feeling of "Oh no, now what do we do?" for a LOT of people. Some of the old timers just commented that "The County was here before Loring, we'll be here after Loring." What happened was NOT a total collapse of the local economy. Some businesses closed, but for the most part those were ones that really deserved to go out of business. Most of them that closed preyed on the young Airmen from Loring and took advantage of young people, many away from home and parental guidance for the first time. Locals didn't do business with them because we all knew they were crooks, fresh meat from Loring left and there went their entire customer base. They were forced to close their doors, most locals just thought: Good Riddance!

Wealth and abundance all over now? NO, but there never was, even when Loring was going full strength. There now is actually more diversity of business in the way of services, and stores than there was back in 1991/2 when they announced the base was closing.