The owners of Frisbee’s Market in Kittery Point, Maine, say it is the oldest continually operating grocery store in the United States. The store opened in 1828, and the adjoining restaurant, Cap’n Simeon’s Galley, contains beams dating back to 1680. Today, Frisbee’s is the only store located in Kittery Point.

But Frisbee’s and Cap’n Simeon’s have been closed since early February, and the Route 103 property is slated to be auctioned on Friday, April 24. The property went into Chapter 7 bankruptcy this winter after owner Cindy Frisbee failed to pay creditors. 

But a group of concerned residents hopes to purchase the property at auction and revive the historic businesses. Former town councilor Dennis Estes and six other Kittery Point residents have united to form Point Partners LLC, which will pursue the parcels “to the final bid” if the current owner cannot secure it before auction day, Estes said.

“(We) were very concerned, as were a lot of citizens in Kittery Point and around the Seacoast area, about the demise of an institution like Frisbee,” Estes said. “All of us are very much familiar with the Frisbee store and the restaurant.”

Estes said the group’s goals are to maintain the property’s historic character and “to explore the best way to bring life to the store building and the restaurant.” If successful, he is not sure if the group will seek to reopen Cap’n Simeon’s in its current form, but he does hope to reopen Frisbee’s Market. “We certainly are very interested in being able to secure with the property the Frisbee name.”

A number of interested bidders previewed the property on April 7. Estes fears that if his group is outbid, the new owner could decide to do something completely different with the building and abandon its historic value.  

Keenan Auction Company lists the property as three parcels totaling less than one acre. The market and restaurant will be offered together along with “personal property, store contents antiques, and restaurant equipment,” according to the company.

“For the first time in over 181 years, one of Maine’s favorite coastal landmarks will be offered for sale at public auction,” an auctioneer’s note reads. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to purchase a Maine landmark business at auction prices.”

The auction is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. on April 24 at 90 Pepperell Road (Route 103), Kittery Point, Maine.

trans-gender discrimination bill clears the House

The N.H. House of Representatives narrowly approved a bill last week that would prohibit discrimination against citizens based on gender identity. House Bill 415, which cleared the House by a single vote on April 8, will now go before the state Senate.

Sponsored by state Rep. Edward Butler (D-Hart’s Location), the bill adds “gender identity or expression” to the list of terms included in New Hampshire’s “Law Against Discrimination.” State law already protects people from discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race, color, sexual orientation, marital status, familial status, physical or mental disability, religious creed or national origin.

Supporters of the bill, including Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), a co-sponsor, believe the wording is necessary to protect people who suffer discrimination because of their sexual identity and the way they express it with clothing or makeup.

But opponents believe the bill paves the way for sexual predation by potentially allowing people of either sex to enter public bathrooms of the opposite sex. Conservatives refer to HB 415 as the “Bathroom Bill.”

Republicans say the bill’s one-vote victory in the House underscores the importance of filling an open Senate seat in District 3 with another Republican. The seat was vacated after former Republican Sen. Joseph Kenney unsuccessfully ran for governor last year and was later deployed to Afghanistan for military service.

“The House vote on the Bathroom Bill shows how important one vote truly is,” Republican State Committee chair John H. Sununu said in a statement. “It is critical for the voters in State Senate District 3 to understand that they can’t let the Democrats gain another vote in the Senate or we will see more radical bills like this coming out of the Legislature.”

It is uncertain whether Gov. John Lynch will sign the bill into law if it clears the Senate. 

liquor bill gets revisions

A bill that would offer more protection to bar and restaurant employees who serve intoxicated patrons has stirred up controversy on the Seacoast. But opposing sides appear to have reached a compromise with recent amendments to the bill’s language.

Senate Bill 103, sponsored by state Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth), would alter the state’s prohibited sales law to protect bartenders from being penalized for over-serving patrons if they had no way of knowing the patrons were intoxicated.

State law currently prohibits salespeople from serving alcohol to intoxicated individuals, regardless of whether the customer shows signs of intoxication. Under the original language of SB 103, the state would have penalized salespeople only if they “knowingly” served an intoxicated person. Police and liquor enforcement personnel opposed that change, arguing that it would be nearly impossible to prove whether a bartender knew someone was intoxicated.

Under the latest revisions, the bill would make it illegal for a salesperson to serve alcohol to an “individual who is visibly intoxicated or who a reasonable and prudent person would know is intoxicated.”

Representatives on both sides of the argument appear satisfied with the compromise.

The bill has passed through the Senate and is now under review by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee. If passed, the law would go into effect in January 2010.