SOUTH PORTLAND – A Facebook post made by a prospective neighbor may have tipped their hand, but the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles confirmed Tuesday that it is looking to relocate from the Maine Mall in South Portland up Payne Road to the Gateway Shoppes by Cabela’s, in Scarborough.
Kitchen & Cork, which opened at the Cabela’s in May 2008, just as the economy nosedived, admits it’s been tough sledding. An Aug. 12 posting by store owner Jane St. Pierre at first made it seem like she had reached the bottom of the hill, but then it quickly turned around to genuine excitement for the future.
“This plaza has seen its ups and downs with storefronts opening and then within a few years having to close their doors,” she wrote. “We kept our hold mostly, we think, because people were cooking at home more and putting their money into better cooking equipment.”
A thank-you to customers for the years of support was then followed by “BIG News!!”
“The owner of the property came in the store on Friday to let us know that we were getting a new neighbor in November. The Department of Motor Vehicles is moving their mall location and will reside next door to Kitchen & Cork,” wrote the company, adding an expressive, “Wow!!!” in anticipation of the increased foot traffic the motor vehicles office would bring.
However, on Tuesday, Patty Morneault, deputy secretary of state for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, said nothing is certain at this time. Still, she did confirm that the state is negotiating with New England Expedition – Scarborough LLC, owners of the Gateway Shoppes.
“We are in talks but nothing ha0s been determined,” she said. “The balls are still all up in the air.”
Morneault did say November would be the right time for a move, if it happens. All nine employees at the mall location, behind Macy’s, where the bureau office has been for “at least the last 15 years,” would make the transition, said Morneault.
Reasons for the potential move include the opportunity to be in “a new, updated facility” with better wiring for “more technological capabilities,” as well as the lure of a site closer to an interstate exit, she said.
“Also, the layout of the office space there would enhance the customer traffic flow,” said Morneault.
Craig Gorris, senior general manager of the mall, was away from the office and unavailable for comment Tuesday. In his absence, the mall’s senior operations manager, Keith Stone, declined to confirm the potential loss.
“I am not at liberty to give out information about our tenants,” he wrote in an email.
Greg Feldman, vice president of the Gateway Shoppes parent company, Feldco Development, could not be reached for comment before deadline.
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