Grocery on MDI’s ‘quiet side,’ a family-owned staple for generations, listed for $2.3M
Courtesy / Swan Agency Real Estate
Gott’s Store, a staple of the Mount Desert Island town of Southwest Harbor for 77 years, went on the market Monday for $2.299 million.
A fourth-generation family-owned convenience store that’s been a staple of Southwest Harbor for 77 years, serving both locals and visitors year-round, went on the market this week for $2.299 million.
The property is listed by Terri Musetti Needham of Swan Agency Real Estate.
“Would you like to own one of the oldest standing businesses on the island,” Needham posted on Facebook. “Amazing sales and it comes with a house for employees!”
Local residents posted surprised reactions in the comment section.
“Never thought that would happen,” said one.
“The end of an era,” said another.
Called Gott’s Store and located on well-traveled portion of Route 102 between Southwest Harbor and Tremont, on the “quiet side” of Mount Desert Island, the business offers grocery and take-out, beer and wine, produce, a meat counter, daily lunch specials and pizza. A gas station is out front.
Gott’s Store, which has an address of 111 Bass Harbor Road, is a popular stop for early-rising fishermen in the area. Out back is a commercial kitchen that has long turned out items such as grab-and-go sandwiches and baked goods such as whoopie pies and cookies, as well as pizzas. Seafood items include lobster and crab rolls, clams and scallops. An ice cream window is open during the summer. Kitchen personnel have typically started cooking well before dawn and store hours go from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“Amazing opportunity to own one of the oldest running businesses on Mount Desert Island,” the listing says. “This store has been a staple of Southwest Harbor for 77 years serving both locals and visitors year-round.”
The 4,800-square-foot store is situated on 1.79 acres. There’s a 996-square-foot, 3-bedroom 1-bath home on the property that could provide employee housing or additional rental income. The structure was built in 1944.
The sellers are Jennifer Gray and her father, Timothy Gott, Needham told Mainebiz.
Needham has received one query so far from a local party interested in the listing.
In a Sept. 9 post, Gott’s Store said the kitchen was very understaffed and might have to cut back on the items it could make.
The family-owned island institution was opened by Ava and Ronald Gott on Oct. 8, 1944, according to a 2019 article in the Mount Desert Islander. The store remained in the family through four generations.
At one time the store operated 24 hours a day.
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About ten years ago I took my family to a vacation rental in Lemoine and the following year to Tremont. A server at a local restaurant told us of a place that sells whoopie pies “as big as your face”. We then went to Gott’s and ate the best whoopie we’ve ever eaten. Nine years later and still nothing comes close to Gott’s pies. I was saddened to read Gott’s was sold and even sadder with the possibility of their whoopie pie not being sold anymore (because of an employee shortage-based on the above article).
In a week we will take the 10 hour drive north for our third trip to MDI. I hope the new owners are continuing the tradition of making the best whoopie pie ever.
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