idership on Amtrak’s Downeaster has exceeded projections since passenger service was extended to Brunswick and Freeport last fall. But have those numbers translated into increased profits for Maine Street businesses in Brunswick?

Most shop owners say they have seen, at least anecdotally, an increase in revenue or foot traffic since the train started local service on Nov. 1, 2012. Trackside establishments such as Scarlet Begonia’s and Byrne’s Irish Pub do the most obvious volume of rail-related business, but their location makes them an unreliable yardstick by which to measure the ripple effects of Amtrak visitors.

However, although shop owners and workers say they often can differentiate train passengers from other visitors, very few make an effort to track sales or chart customers based on mode of transit. Of those who do, all say that it’s too early in the train’s existence to make a quantifiable assessment of its effect upon their bottom line.

Still others attribute whatever sales increases they’ve seen to changing seasons, economic recovery or both.

But, come the summer tourist crush, all say they hope for a boost from the rails.

Here is what’s being said:

— Shelly Norman, manager of Wilbur’s Chocolate at 143 Maine St.

“We get a lot of customers from Maine Eastern Railroad’s passenger trains, but we’re waiting for summer to come to know about the Amtrak passengers. We have a lot of locals and we do a lot of repeat business, but I’ve been seeing a lot more new faces, too. I marked coupons with a ‘T’ that we’ve left at the train station, and I watch for those after people have used them in the store. Winter normally is our busiest season, but (the clerk who works most of the Monday holidays) said Patriots Day was very, very busy. Much more than usual. We’re hoping that this summer’s train trips bring lots of people in.”

— Clerks Chelsie Glover and Pam Perry, Cool as a Moose, 128 Maine St.

“It’s hard to know (how many customers are train riders). Through the winter we have pretty much our core customers. But now we’re waiting to see, when the weather gets nicer, if more people will venture farther down Maine Street once they get off the train,” Glover said.

— Gayle Baker, clerk, Jenney Station Tobacconist, 105 Maine St.

“It wouldn’t make any difference to us, because most of the people who ride the train wouldn’t stop here. They can’t smoke on the train, and so many of the people who ride on it work in buildings where they can’t smoke anyway. Mostly our customers are older folks who’ve been coming here for years to buy their tobacco.”

— Sharon Smiley, owner, Local, 148 Maine St.

“We opened in July 2012, and we’re getting a lot of weekend traffic from Boston; we do tend to ask where people live or where they are coming from. Brunswick is becoming a weekend destination. A lot of our business is Saturday and Sunday afternoons for lunch, but we also get a lot of people who ride the train here and stay at the Inn at Brunswick Station or The Brunswick Inn (on Park Row). They come in for wine and cheese to take back to their rooms. I’d estimate that the train accounts for maybe 5 percent of our business.”

— Co-owner Beth Leonard, Gulf of Maine Books, 134 Maine St.

“It’s definitely having an effect, but I can’t quantify it,” Leonard said. “It’s probably mostly on weekends, when we get a lot of people who aren’t from Brunswick, but we don’t ask everybody.”

Clerk Stevie Petroff: “I only work on Tuesdays, but I’ve noticed an influx of customers I’ve never seen before. You can tell they’re new by the way they walk in and the way they look around, trying to figure out where to find what they want. I just figure they must be off the train.”

— Paul Harrison, owner, Little Dog Coffee Shop, 87 Maine St.

“Our business is up a little bit from this time last year, but it’s by such a small percentage that it’s impossible to determine exactly why. For us, once the weather gets nicer, then we’ll be able to tell how much of an effect (the train) has. I can tell (visitors from locals); you’ll get groups of tourists, then you’ll get the seasonal visitors that you recognize every year. It’s whether the numbers of random people increase that will be (the indicator). I think that’ll be more evident when we get a little further into the season.”

jtleonard@timesrecord.com

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