Biddeford natural food store to start a new chapter

The sign over New Morning Natural Foods in downtown Biddeford is about to change.

Sheila Ouellette has been running the Main Street staple since she and her late husband, Paul, opened the store 50 years ago. The store will change hands at the end of the month, but the transition marks a continuation rather than a departure, as ownership will remain in the family.

Oulette’s second cousin, Chase Caras and his wife, Kelsey, bought the store and will rechristen it "Cousin's Natural Foods."

“We've only been in the picture for about a year, but we came here actually for a grander picture, which is to purchase the store,” said Caras, “It will continue to be a family-owned store, but will be under a new name, new ownership.”

Ouellette was pregnant with her first child when she opened the health food store with her late husband on May 8, 1976. The Ouelettes were pioneers of the organic whole food movement, selling brown rice, bulk beans, miso and tofu before organic foods skyrocketed in supermarkets. USDA reports conventional grocery stores did not catch-up with health food stores until the mid-2000s.

Going from fringe to mainstream took patience and perseverance. Pioneering the organic whole food movement in downtown Biddeford meant surviving textile mill decline, closures and downtown vacancies. It meant the family staying anchored on Main Street to provide the community with local fresh food.

The Ouellettes were “two people with a vision who really wanted to make an impact on the health of the community," says Delilah Poupore, executive director at Heart of Biddeford, a nonprofit dedicated to the development of downtown.

As Biddeford’s textile mills closed during the second half of the 20th century, downtown businesses struggled alongside them. By the 1980s, vacant storefronts and foreclosures had become common.

Twenty-seven vacancies existed on Main Street in 2011 when Poupore started as director; now she counts eight vacancies downtown. She credits businesses like New Morning Natural Foods with showing other business owners how to thrive in Biddeford.

“There was nothing here downtown where New Morning took a chance,” said Alexander MacPhail, executive director of the Biddeford and Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He said the store adapted through bad times like mill closures and good times like downtown’s revitalization.

“Downtown Biddeford has added 146 net new businesses, 199 net new full-time jobs, and 634 housing units since 2016,” said Poupore, who recently reviewed business reports from the past decade.

“My parents had to be a draw unto themselves,” said Ariel Peacock, “a destination.” They couldn’t rely on foot traffic; it didn’t exist. By attracting health-conscious shoppers to downtown Biddeford, the Ouellettes helped build the steady street activity seen today.

Peacock grew up in her parents’ health food store and now manages the Kennebunk location with her brother Jeremiah. Along with their sibling Ryan, the Ouellette children were homeschooled by their mom. Peacock said her parents never applied pressure to work for the family business, but the kids did go to the store every day for lunch.

Before Peacock’s mother dedicated her time to homeschooling her children, she focused on teaching the community. “Sheila has kind of created a legacy here with her cooking classes,” said Caras. Ouellette was already teaching people how to cook for their health when a health food boom hit the country in 1984.

Her parents’ slow and steady business in Biddeford took years to cultivate, said Peacock. She detailed how the Ouelettes started noticing an abundance of checks from towns south of Biddeford. After puzzling out a place further south, the store opened a Kennebunk location in 1995.

Founding family members want to focus energies at the Kennebunk location. The family envisioned an extended family member taking over the original location, a dream Peacock says came true thanks to her cousin and his wife.

Caras and his wife were not living in Maine when Ouellette brought the opportunity of ownership to them. The couple had just bought property in Florida where they ran a small café and cleaning company. Keeping the health food store in the family became the reason they left their lives in Florida to move to Maine.

While health food is a broad category, the rapid growth of organic food sales illustrates the increasing consumer demand for products long associated with natural food retailers. Organic food sales in the United States rose from an inflation-adjusted $38.6 billion in 2012 to $65.4 billion in 2024, according to the USDA.

Growing with the needs of the community, the Ouellette’s changed with the times. Ten years ago, the refrigerated produce section in Biddeford did not exist. Today, both locations stock fresh fruits and vegetables daily.

The family responded to the fact that more people were moving into the old textile mills downtown, said Poupore. The addition of fresh foods, supplements and household items, made it possible for customers to do all of their grocery shopping at New Morning Natural Foods.

While both locations like to keep the shelves stocked, keeping up with trends like garcinia cambogia and blue spirulina can be tough.

“We had a shortage of cottage cheese at one point,” said Caras, “We still kind of do because of trending high protein diets.”

Other Biddeford businesses to hit the 50-year milestone include Riley’s Bakery and Pizza By Alex. These places serve traditional offerings while evolving with the times. Reilly’s Bakery serves the donuts and pastries they are famous for but added a huge design business to the mix, according to Poupore. This March Pizza By Alex paired with Heart of Biddeford and turned into a pop-up gallery for a storytelling event. Poupore sees these long-term businesses as anchors for the people of Biddeford and tourists alike, and she is delighted to see them evolve.

Peacock would like to thank the community for supporting her family’s business for the past five decades. The thanks should come from the community, said Chamber of Commerce director MacPhail. Having a health food market in the center of downtown Biddeford is a blessing, he said.

Today, Peacock is the general manager of New Morning Natural Foods’ second location. There are “definitely no plans to sell,” said Peacock. She enjoys working at the Kennebunk store, and her daughter sees that joy. Peacock admits her 9-year-old already wants to take over as store manager.

This piece was produced through the training and support of Journalism New England’s Career Lab. Amanda Carter is a Community Reporting Fellow in the career lab. She resides in Old Orchard Beach.