Every good story starts with a "once upon a time", right? Here's ours...
1981 - the Beginning
Dean & Kathy Bureau
Founders
Once upon a time, years before the natural food movement became popular, Dean and Kathy Bureau decided to open a health food store. They had no business training or experience running a store but simply hoped to provide a healthier alternative to conventional grocers in a "cozy shop" at fair prices.
The first location was small..... really small. And the first years were a struggle for the fledgling business, but slowly, over time, the store started to grow, expand, and build a very loyal customer base. From those humble beginnings and that first very tiny storefront in Winslow, to the much larger current location in Waterville, Uncle Dean's has become the premier destination in central Maine for quality-conscious customers looking for value and simply GOOD FOOD!
“My philosophy is a little different. I don’t think good food should make you go broke.”
1982-2015 - Growing and Expanding
Starting out....
growing and expanding.....
2016 - Following in the Bureau's Footsteps
Fast forward 35 years to January 2016 as a new chapter of this tale begins.
Jim and Katie had always hoped to put down roots in Maine. Katie has family in the state. And, as is often the case with visitors, Jim had felt a pull toward Maine since his first trip here 25 years earlier. The couple and their six children had been looking into and excited by the prospect of buying a family business when the opportunity to purchase Uncle Dean's arose. Coming from a small farm themselves, complete with a menagerie of animals, the store felt like a great fit in terms of lifestyle and their love of simple, fresh, delicious food. The Bureau's were looking to retire and pursue other interests, and so the proverbial reins were handed over, and the page turned.
The adventure continues.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water that sends out its roots out by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
