SOUTH PORTLAND – One of Maine’s most successful retailers, Bull Moose, will open its 11th store this fall in South Portland.
Company founder Brett Wickard said Wednesday the former Blockbuster building at 219 Waterman Ave., which he bought March 21 for $1.2 million via holding company Green Crossing Blue LLC, will be built out to 11,000 square feet (from 7,000), rivaling the 13,000 square feet of the company’s flagship store, on Payne Road in Scarborough.
Wickard said he expects the renovation will create 50-75 constriction jobs, while he intends to hire 15 permanent positions to staff the store when it opens in “late fall.” Founded as a music store in Brunswick in 1989, Bull Moose has grown to also offer movies, video games, book and comics, among other pop-culture entertainment items.
“We are psyched to be opening a store in the Mill Creek area,” said Wickard. “Both the city of South Portland and the community have been fantastic to work with. We look forward to building a store that is another bright spot and another big draw for that area.”
Bull Moose boasts more than 100 employees at stores in Bangor, Brunswick, Lewiston, North Windham, Portland, Sanford, Scarborough and Waterville, and in New Hampshire in Portsmouth and Salem. It’s corporate office is on Arbor Street in Portland, in the historic Engine Company Number Nine firehouse, built in 1903, which also houses subsidiary company, Crickery Wood, a reseller of point-of-sale equipment. Although only Bangor and Scarborough currently offer books, the company offers all its products online at www.bullmoose.com.
The Blockbuster video store, which sits on a 0.83-acre lot assessed with the current building by the city at $1.02 million, closed April 15. The South Portland Planning Board unanimously approved Bull Moose’s expansion plans at its July 10 meeting.
A 3-D architectural rendering of the new 11,000-square foot Bull Moose Music store coming this fall to 219 Waterman Drive in South Portland. Image courtesy Bull Moose/Foreside ArchitectsSend questions/comments to the editors.
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