Video, variety store moves down town

By Ben Austin
Staff Writer
    Houlton’s down town square will soon house its first movie rental and variety store of the decade, after Shiretown Video Variety makes it’s move to 41 Market Square.
Pioneer Times photo/ Ben Austin
MOVING IN — Store owner Steve Rogers will work through the week to get his business running in its new location on Court Street.  No date has been set for an opening day, but Rogers hopes to finish the transition and be up and going by the end of this week.
    Shiretown Video Variety, originally located on Smyrna Street, has been a steady business in town for a year and a half. Owner Steve Rogers is hoping that the new location will in the middle of town will help to supplement the business that he already has.
    “I just thought I’d be better off in the downtown area where there is a lot of things going on. I thought it would be better, and maybe I’d get a lot more walk-in traffic. We were kind of out of the way over there where we were,” said Rogers.
     The shop, which sells and rents out videos, will also bring a variety grocery store right into the center of the town, as Rogers keeps an inventory of groceries, soda, sandwiches, and steamed hotdogs. Rogers believes that his store will be just as beneficial to the square as it will be to him.
    “I think I’ll do good for the downtown area. No one down here does groceries or anything like that. It should be a big benefit for downtown because there is a lot of people who live down here and they have to go quite a ways to get a gallon of milk or a dozen eggs. I think it’s just going to be convenient for everyone,” explained Rogers.
    Shiretown Video Variety also does video repairs as a bonus. This can be very important for people around town who have home movies that have been damaged, or dvds that are scratched and do not want to re-purchase the video.
    “That’s been a big thing right now, repairing the videos. People buy them and they have to have them repaired once they get scratched up,” said Rogers.
    Rogers says that his store will offer basically the same items and services that they always have. There are also plans on the horizon for new attractions within the store to go along with the new location.
    “We want to get into pizza too. That’s something we’ll be working on right now, once we get this all squared away. There will be a few other new things coming and going. We’ll try new things and find out what people like,” explained Rogers.
    No opening date has been set for the store’s new location. Rogers stated that he believes the transition between buildings will be done in the next day or two, and hopes to re-open his business at the end of the week or early next week. Shiretown Video Variety will be open Monday through Saturday from 7a.m. to 10 p.m., and on Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.