Way Way Store in Saco celebrates 105 years

SACO — Step inside the Way Way Store and you’ll feel like you’ve gone back in time – way, way back.

The Way Way Store, so named because the location at 93 Buxton Road is nearly three miles away from Main Street, and when the business was founded 105 years ago – that was considered “way way” away from the downtown.

The Way Way store was opened by the Cousens family as a general store and gas station. It closed in 2003 and was reopened in 2011 by local historian Peter Scontras and his wife, Bridget, both retired teachers.  The store now sells candy, ice cream, cold drinks, nostalgia items and antiques. The couple also sells canoes and, in the fall, pumpkins.

“We’re only the second owners in 105 years,” said Peter.

Driving down Buxton Road, the store is hard to miss. Pillars made of concrete with stones scattered throughout stand in front of the building decorated in a red and white block pattern. Two gleaming, refurbished antique hand-crank gas pumps sit in front of the building, a reminder of when the store was also a gas station. Next to the building is a landscaped sitting area.

While the outside is something to behold, if you’re a kid, the real treasures are inside. A rainbow of penny candy sits inside two glass and wood display cases. The candy counter is original to the store, said Peter. He points to the sliding door on the backside of the counter where the wood has been worn from decades of use.

“The history of this place announces itself in subtle ways,” he said.

 

In front of the candy counter is a wooden box – the same wood box that children stood on to get candy decades ago when the Cousens family ran the store.

During a recent interview at the store, two generations of a family visited the store. The mother, who once stood on that very same box, took a picture of the daughter standing on the box while Bridget rang up her total on a cash register – one of the few modern concessions Scontras has made since taking over the store.

There have been a few changes since Peter and Bridget Scontras have taken over. A wood floor now covers the hand poured concrete, and though different, it still has an old-timey feel. Every change made at the store has been thoroughly evaluated by Peter, who makes sure he gets the blessing of the Cousens family, who still own the property.

“We’re just the temporary stewards until its next chapter is revealed,” he said.

If you’re looking for a cookie-cutter store with bright lights and a quick in and out experience, you won’t find it at the Way Way Store.

“That’s not my style. This is my style,” said Peter, standing next to an antique Electrolux vacuum cleaner that is for display only. Customers are greeted and engaged in conversation, and often get treated to a quick history lesson from Peter as he demonstrates a hand-crank record player or explains how a vintage portable washing machine works.

 

The Way Way Store opened in 1916 out of a barn and in the late 1920s, the Cousens family built the existing structure with handmade concrete blocks. The building, with its unique architecture, is on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The store served the same purpose as service plazas on the Maine Turnpike do today,” said Peter.

Buxton Road, or Route 112, was a major artery from downtown Saco to neighboring towns, he said. Travelers could stop and get gas, get their oil level checked  and add air to their tires, and also buy clothing, groceries, drinks, penny candy and snacks and use the outside that was once located behind the store, said Peter.

 “They could even get their hair cut,” he said.

The guest book that Peter and Bridget have maintained at The Way Way Store is recording some of the shop’s current history. There are signatures from people who went there as a child and brought their children or grandchildren back. Many have heard about this unique shop from watching one of the many news reports or reading one of the several articles about the store that can be found online. 

“It brings them to a time that was much simpler and less complicated,” said Peter. “You can’t get your youth back, but you can bring back memories.”

The Way Way Store is currently operating under fall hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. For more information, check out the Way Way Store on Facebook.

Publisher Liz Gotthelf can be reached at newsdesk@sacobaynews.com.