Ruby’s Place #ThinkGardinerFirst

“One thing we’ve learned is just how much people love bagels. We could potentially make a living off of just our bagels alone. They’re definitely our most popular item. We also offer gluten-free items as well as grab and go items. Typically we have soups, chili, corn bread, and frittatas. For the holidays we’re doing pies and dinner rolls by pre-order. One of us (Megan) does all the sweet stuff like the brownies, scones, and muffins while the other (April) likes to bake all the savory items like the focaccia breads. We get our cheesecakes from Mammy’s Bakery in Wiscasset. She’s a local baker as well, but basically everything else is made right here at Ruby’s Place.

It’s just us doing our thing and doing what we love to do and this space just couldn’t be more perfect for us. We felt ready to provide for our children and we are able to do that by doing something we love. We’ve been here three months now and the turnout and excitement of people, the support from the community, all the encouraging words, it just has been so surprising. We have regulars that come from the bank, Main Street, and some other businesses. It’s been really nice to get to know people. We know their orders when they come in or call. It’s also nice being our own boss. If one of us has to miss a day or needs to bring our kids in we make it work and we are there for each other in that way.

Everyone asks us what it was like opening during the pandemic but we’ve been fortunate to not have it affect us much because of the overwhelming support. If we had to pick one thing that we wanted to see eventually happen here, it would be expansion. We would really like to have a couple tables just for people to be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee and enjoy a donut, so we will have to wait on COVID to be under control for that to happen.” #thinkgardinerfirst

You can connect with Ruby’s Place on Facebook (@RubysPlace), by phone (207-588-7771), or by stopping in at 242 Water Street in Gardiner.