Waterboro Market & Café in East Waterboro, Maine, began life as a 900-square-foot store that gradually grew into the 6,300-square-foot location it is today.

David Pendleton, executive and facility manager for Town Line Deli Inc., which does business as Waterboro Market & Café, had worked for the previous owner for two years before purchasing the building and store with three other investors.

The original building had two businesses operating out of it, and “shortly after we purchased it in 2017, we took over the entire building when the other tenant left to bring our footprint to 1,800 square feet,” Pendleton said.

But even doubling the square footage wasn’t enough to bring Pendleton’s vision for a unique convenience store to life. “We owned the adjacent property too, and began the process of looking at numerous store layouts in and out of the state,” he said. He took inspiration from major retailers and smaller regional ones, plus other mom-and-pop locations. The result is the current Waterboro Market & Café, which Pendleton strives to set apart with its unique offerings.

One of Pendleton’s goals is to be the first to have trendy items, like new drink flavors and snacks.

For example, Waterboro Market was the first in the area to stock freeze-dried candy. The store also tries to do as much business with local companies as possible. It stocks handmade bags from local crafters and Wicked Joe and Benbows Coffee that come from two Maine businesses. “Plus, if a customer asks for [something], we try to bring it in for them,” he said.

On the foodservice side, Nana’s Kitchen turns out fried chicken and other comfort foods, such as shepherd’s pie and chop suey, which are available in the hot and cold grab-and-go cases. In addition to the homemade comfort meals, the store has its own pizzas and subs.

Continue reading about Waterboro Market & Café in the July 2025 issue of NACS Magazine article “Maine C-Store Offers ‘A Little Bit of Everything’.”