WATERVILLE, Maine — For Waterville resident Renee Cunningham, it was always her dream to own a bookstore of her own.
"I'd always had this kind of longing to see if I could have my own business and the hope was to combine two things: my passion for books and reading and my passion to be self-employed," Cunnigham said.
But after accomplishing that goal and opening up Oliver and Friends Bookshop in 2019, she said she struggled to maintain enough business to keep the store going through the pandemic.
"I could only [have] five people at a time in my store and we were unable to do author events which I had always hoped for and would've been a big part of marketing and bringing people to the store," Cunningham said.
With the help of a grant from the Central Maine Growth Council, or CMGC, though, Cunningham said she's now able to fill the shelves in her downtown with a variety of books for customers to enjoy.
"After having kind of been chugging along for a few years to know that I was going to be able to place all these huge inventory orders and really start here with a robust selection for the community," Cunnigham said while perusing through her selection.
According to Assistant Director of Economic Development for CMGC Gabe Gauvin, the bookshop is just one of several businesses in Kennebec and Somerset Counties that received financial support from a $250,000 grant made possible with help from Maine's Department of Economic and Community Development program.
"It's able to serve a diversity of business types from food service and accommodation to outdoor recreation and biotechnology startups," Gauvin said.
Grant recipient and owner of Maine Street Provisions Zach Brann said that support has allowed him to make a welcoming atmosphere in his shop and form strong connections with shoppers.
"We renovated the space. We put up lights, we put up track lights, we put up paint of course, and just things of that nature," Brann said.
With the support from CMGC, Brann said he and other businesses in Central Maine are going to work together to continue thriving.
"They've connected me with other business owners here on Main Street and we're excited about the opportunity to collaborate with those folks," Brann said.
The CMGC said they are also looking to provide business grants for another two to four businesses in the Central Maine area by the end of this year.
To learn more about the grant application process you can visit CMGC's website here.