Store ‘n More adds a game room and more food selections

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — When retired schoolteachers Bob and Carla Bragan opened The Store ‘N More in May 2011, there weren’t many places for teens to hang out with their friends in a safe environment. “They’d try to skateboard and get chased away,” Bob Bragan recalled. “They’d hang around the parking lot and people would get upset.”

Observer photo/Mike Lange

    EXPANSION — The Store ‘N More manager Angel Bragan, left, and owners Bob and Carla Bragan are pictured in their new game room.

    So they decided to add a pool table, video games and some dining tables to their East Main Street store for snacks or just socializing. “That’s the ‘N More,” he added.
    The Store ‘N More building has been a fixture in downtown Dover-Foxcroft for decades. Most recently, it was the home of Monument Square Mercantile and AMB Video. Going back even farther in time, it was an Esso gas station, Bob Bragan said.
    “We were originally at the Citgo station across the street, and Angel, our daughter-in-law, was manager there for six years,” he explained. “When this property came up for sale, we grabbed it.”
    Carla Bragan noted that many of their loyal customers followed them. “One reason we added the tables to the game room was for the folks who like to gather in the morning for coffee,” she said. “We make everyone who comes through the door feel welcome.”
    Bob Bragan said that a mother of one of the teens who wanted to shoot pool at the store recently stopped in to check out the place. “I think she had a vision of the old pool halls when they were mostly smoky barrooms,” he said. “She came away pretty impressed.”
    As Angel Bragan put it, “We’d rather see the kids doing something here than doing nothing someplace else, and eventually getting in trouble.”
    More features at The Store ‘N More include Maine State Lottery tickets; an expanded menu, including breakfast sandwiches and mini-pizzas; postage stamp sales, photocopying and fax service; and a bargain bin of previously-released movies.
    When at all possible, The Store ‘N More also patronizes local businesses. For example, 20 pounds of propane from Merrill’s is only $19.99 exchange.
    So for those looking for a chilled six-pack to go, a hot cup of freshly-made coffee or a friendly game of 8-ball, The Store ‘N More is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.
    There’s plenty of parking in front of the store, and customers can also check out their new arrivals and weekly specials on Facebook.