Ginny’s Natural Corner
Ginny’s Celebrates Seven Years and New Location | September 2019
By Maria Landry
Virginia “Ginny” Jewell never intended to open her own health food store. In fact, the first time someone suggested it, she recalls saying, “Are you crazy? I don’t even know how to apply for a license.” But before she knew it, she had not only applied but been approved for a business license.
“From the time the first person said I should open a health food store until the day I opened, it was six weeks,” Jewell recounted. That was back in 2012 after the closure of the Spice of Life health food store in Skowhegan, where Jewell had worked for many years.
Fast-forward to 2019, and Ginny’s Natural Corner is celebrating not only its seven-year anniversary but also the grand opening of a new, much larger location at 217 North Avenue. After nearly four years downtown on Water Street—and before that, three years at her original location in the Skowhegan Plaza on Main Street—Jewell moved her store to the new digs in May.
“It’s exciting,” Jewell said. “I have so much space—three times as much as before, not counting storage space. I want to fill it!”
Jewell has noticed increased business since the move. To meet demand, she has boosted staff hours and hired an additional employee.
“We’re finding that some customers who were here once a week are coming three times a week,” she said. “We can see that customers are actually browsing instead of running in and out. We’re seeing longer shop times and larger purchases. We’re seeing a lot of our older customers coming back. We’re seeing mothers bringing their kids in more—they can get their kids in and out of the car so much easier.”
She noted that the Water Street space was a good transitional location but she simply outgrew it.
“We’re able to do so much with this building. We’re thinking about doing classes.” She noted that over the summer Somerset Career & Technical Center brought in a group of students to learn what it’s like to run a small business. “I was able to talk to this group of youth in this summer program because we have the space.”
Jewell has a lot planned for the coming years—including eventually buying the North Avenue building, which she currently leases—but she’s taking it “slow and steady.”
“There’s a lot of awesome stuff happening over the next couple years as we expand,” Jewell said. “We’re able to really tailor the store to meet the community needs. My next goal is to get another produce cooler and bring in a lot of the local cheeses.”
She said they’re constantly adding to the herbs and spice section, with more than 250 currently available.
“I love it,” Jewell beamed. “I can take pride in the space.”
As the weather turns colder, she’s looking forward to having the extra room for her winter free soup gatherings that generally happen Thursdays from noon to 3 p.m.
“We started with misfit vegetables that we saved,” she said. “Then it just grew. We had people drop off bowls and spoons. We had people donate money so I could buy crackers or bread. … It started off with our homeless population. Then we had the kids from the high school coming over, we had people from the insurance company, we had people asking, ‘Free soup? Is that for anybody?’ Yes, it’s for anybody. It’s wonderful.”
Just as the free soup afternoons snowballed into something bigger and better than Jewell originally dreamed of, so too has Ginny’s Natural Corner.
“This last move, I had to do a lot of self-evaluation,” she confessed. “When you move to a space this big, it’s a whole other commitment. When you look at buying a building, it’s a whole other investment. This is serious business.”
Jewell says her faith helps her make those tough decisions.
“I’m a Christian. I’m a very religious person. For me, this is the path that I think was chosen for me. The doors kept opening, and I walked through.”
Visit Ginny’s at 217 North Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., for a seventh anniversary, grand opening, and fundraiser celebration. There will be spaces available for a $5 donation for local crafters, businesses, churches, and more.
