Bangor

New business

Paul Cook, owner of the new Antique Marketplace & Cafe, announced that the store will open officially Friday Oct. 8, with grand opening festivities during the weekend.

Cook said the two-floor, 15,000-square-foot marketplace at 65 Main St. downtown will feature more than 100 display areas with antiques, rare books and collectibles. The first floor Espresso Cafe, he said, offers a quiet place to relax and enjoy coffee and pastries.

“The location was empty for years,” Cook said. “I felt it was time to bring something new and exciting to the downtown area, and the open space in the old, historic building seemed to lend itself to the booth arrangement typically used by antique dealers.

“My goal was to create a place that will do great business as well as offer an interesting and pleasant place for area businesspeople and residents to gather,” he said.

Cook, president of Maine Real Estate Management in Bangor, has been overseeing renovations on the building since last spring.

“The city is delighted about the new Antique Marketplace and Cafe,” said Sally Bates, a business and economic development officer for Bangor. “To have a seven-day-a-week retail market in such an important space on Main Street is going to be a great draw for the whole downtown area. I congratulate Paul Cook for having the vision and energy to pull this project together and the imagination to go beyond the ‘usual.'”

After its grand opening, the antique marketplace will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the cafe from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. To obtain more information, call 941-2111, or visit antiquemarketplacecafe.com.

Portfolio development

Penquis Community Action Program Resource Development Center will offer “Starting Your Core Knowledge Portfolio” for child care professionals from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 6, at Penquis CAP, 262 St., Bangor.

Session topics will include the uses of the portfolio in professional development and how the portfolio can transform into college credit.

Other information includes procedures for documenting learning, orientation to the Maine Professional Registry, introduction to the child development associate certificate and how to keep track of hours of training.

Registration for the class is $15. To register, call 973-3533.

Retiring YWCA director

The longtime executive director of the Bangor-Brewer YWCA retired Sept. 30.

Lynda Clyve’s last day at the helm of the organization came just one day before the YWCA embarked on its new joint venture with the local YMCA.

The transition to the Bangor Y is expected to involve some restructuring, according to Rob Reeves, chief executive officer of the joint program.

Clyve, who had been executive director of the YWCA since July 1, 1985, had been a Y member for 32 years.

She was named to the board of directors in 1970 and held a number of positions in the organization, including a term as board president.

Department expansion

T.J. Maxx, located in the Broadway Shopping Center, is expanding its accessories department. The store will continue to offer brand name fashions for home and family at discounted prices.

The expanded accessories department will offer additional handbags, fine jewelry and luggage.

“Accessories add excitement and pizzazz to a wardrobe and speak volumes about a person’s taste and style,” said T.J. Maxx spokeswoman Laura McDowell. “With the increasing variety of fashion choices available, and the success of these product categories, we felt customers would embrace a larger accessories department.”

Bangor Savings Bank

Scott Kenney of Bangor, an investment officer at Bangor Savings Bank, has been promoted to assistant vice president. He worked as an intern at Bangor Savings bank while in college and four years ago joined the bank full time as treasury analyst before advancing to become a portfolio manager.

Kenney holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine. Recently he received the prestigious Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is a member of the Boston Security Analysts Society and the Maine Security Analysis Society.

Economic Growth Council

State Rep. Sean Faircloth has been appointed by Gov. John Baldacci, House Speaker Patrick Colwell and Senate President Beverly Daggett to serve on the Maine Economic Growth Council.

Faircloth has led a number of efforts to improve economic growth, including authoring the research and development tax credit.

The Growth Council creates an annual report, “Measures of Growth,” regarding Maine’s performance among 58 measures related to the economy, environment and communities.

Union-made products

A Sept. 30 press conference was held announcing the grand opening of Justice Clothing at 48 Main St. downtown.

Eric and Mandi Odier-Fink, owners of the company, said their business would be a 100-percent sweatshop-free clothing store with everything from slacks and dresses to socks and mittens. Their entire inventory is union-made in the United States and Canada.

The Odier-Finks launched their company 11 months ago with a Web site.

Not only are they partial to the Maine climate, the couple said, but “Bangor is a welcoming community that is home to the Clean Clothes Campaign with lots of great folks working to end sweatshops. It was just a good fit.”

Bangor development

A development firm from Chestnut Hill, Mass., has struck a deal with the owners of a 50-acre parcel off Stillwater Avenue.

John Corbett of W/S Development Associates has confirmed his company’s plans to acquire the parcel from the heirs of the Irene L. Averill estate. The parcel, recently rezoned commercial at the heirs’ request, is being eyed as the site for a multimillion-dollar retail shopping center.

Corbett said he was unable to disclose what anchor or other retailers might be moving in.

New manager

Dale McMindes has been named the new manager of the Bangor Wal-Mart. McMindes, who has more than 11 years of retail experience, began his duties earlier this summer.

“The chance to work here in Bangor is a great opportunity for me,” said McMindes. “My commitment is to work with our associates to serve our customers and to be the best partner for this community that we can be.”

McMindes began his Wal-Mart career in 1992 in the assistant manager training program in Melbourne, Fla. After completing the program, he was promoted to assistant manager in Okeechobee, Fla., a position he also held in Stuart, Fla., and Vero Beach, Fla. He was promoted to co-manager of the store in Vero Beach, which was the last position he held before being promoted to store manager and moving Bangor.

McMindes replaces Brett Walters who has been manager of a Wal-Mart store in another location.

In Vero Beach, McMindes volunteered on the civilian advisory committee for the Commissioners of Indian River County. As part of Wal-Mart’s commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the communities it serves by being personally involved with the community, he plans to pursue involvement in the Bangor Chamber of Commerce and to support the community through Wal-Mart’s Good Works community involvement program.

Bucksport

Businesses for social responsibility

Michael Shuman, author of “Going Local” and vice president of Enterprise Development at the Bucksport-based Training and Development Corp. was a featured speaker at Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility’s third annual fall conference. The conference was held Oct. 1 at the Hutchinson Center in Belfast.