The buyer of a Blue Hill garden center plans to expand his Orland brewery operation there while continuing the garden center. Eventual buildout of a taproom is envisioned for the greenhouse.
Potamoi Holdings LLC bought the Mainescape Garden Center at 48 South St. from Mainescape Inc. for an undisclosed price.
Dana Moos and Nancy McKechnie of Portside Real Estate Group brokered the deal.
“He will have brewing equipment in a garage-type barn. But the tap room, where they will serve and have tables in the greenhouse, is so cool!” Moos said in an email.
Community fixture
Mainescape Garden Center was started by Don Paine, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1977 with a degree in landscape architecture, according to the company’s website. His family had long-established roots in the coastal Hancock County town of Sedgwick, and he soon started a design-build landscape business in nearby Blue Hill.
Additional production brewery equipment will go into an existing 2,500-square-foot barn on the bottom corner of the Mainescape property. PHOTO / COURTESY PORTSIDE REAL ESTATE GROUP
Mainescape was operated by Don and Althea Paine as a garden center for local gardeners and pet owners, as well as a community gathering place for events and locally grown produce.
“Our feelings are truly bittersweet,” the Paines said in a Facebook post in February. “Mainescape has been our baby for nearly 50 years, nurtured over time from the backyard and woods of an old farmhouse on South Street in Blue Hill to becoming a full service eclectic garden center for the peninsula community.”
They continued, “Handing it over isn’t easy, but our bodies and minds aren’t quite as agile as they once were.”
Long-time brewer
Spencer Janney, who owns the limited liability corporation that bought the property, hails from northern California.
“I fell in love with the brewing process long before I got into the industry,” he said.
Naiad Country Brewery in Orland was founded by long-time brewer Spencer Janney. PHOTO / COURTESY NAIAD COUNTRY BREWERY
He started working in the industry when he was 18, working at breweries of various sizes, including in Wyoming, Colorado, California and Australia.
In 2021, a relationship drew him to Maine. In 2023, he bought property at 15 Beechwood Lane in Orland, moved into a small building that he insulated and furnished with a woodstove and established Naiad Country Brewery. In 2024, he opened a seasonal outdoor taproom, too.
Naiad Country Brewery started two years ago at 15 Beechwood Lane in Orland, with a small brewery and a seasonal outdoor taproom. PHOTO / COURTESY NAIAD COUNTRY BREWERY
The word “naiad” pays homage to water nymphs in Greek mythology.
“The wonderful fresh water of Orland brought us to the area,” said Janney, who built the business with Anne Daley, who is a cook, grower and landscape designer.
Malty beer
Production includes darker beers and rotating experimental brews.
“I’m really into brewing easy-drinking malty beer,” he said. “I do a lot of English-inspired beers, German-inspired malty lagers.”
Production includes English- and German-inspired malty lagers using local ingredients. PHOTO / COURTESY NAIAD COUNTRY BREWERY
The focus is on using local ingredients, such as malt, a key beer-making ingredient, from Maine Malt House in Mapleton and Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls.
Naiad started as a two-person operation with Janney and Daley.
“We were running ourselves ragged,” he said. Eventually, “I hired on people I got to know as regular customers who expressed interest in being involved.”
Synergy
Last year, he realized he was maxing out much of the Orland infrastructure. The Blue Hill property is less than a 20-minute drive from Orland.
“The center of my heart is in creating community spaces for the real people who we engage with in our small communities, especially in this area of Maine,” Janney wrote in a Facebook post. “When I realized that it was time for Naiad to grow and saw that Mainescape was on the market, the gears started turning and I felt more and more like there was a singular opportunity for a beautiful synergy here.”
Naiad started as a two-person operation but soon hired on people the owner got to know as regular customers. PHOTO / COURTESY NAIAD COUNTRY BREWERY
The plan allows him to maintain the Orland operation as-is, while installing additional production brewery equipment in Blue Hill. To start, the installation will go into an existing 2,500-square-foot barn on the bottom corner of the property.
The garden center will continue to operate with the usual Mainescape employees. Janney said he plans to hire some new employees for key positions.
“When I realized an expansion for Naiad was necessary and I saw Mainescape was on the market, it took some creativity to make that work together,” Janney said. “And I thought it was quietly fitting for what I wanted to do. One of my biggest goals with the concept is to re-center brewing as an agricultural process and beer as an agricultural product.”
He continued, “In the U.S., we think of it as industrial product. But beer is made out of plants and emphasizing and elevating local ingredients and seasonality is the future of the industry.”
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