Historic store ‘closed forever’ following owner’s retirement
By Russ Reed, Jim Keithley
Click here for updates on this story
SACO, Maine (WMTW) — A historic general store in Saco that has existed for nearly 100 years has been closed following the retirement of its owner.
First opened in 1929, the Way Way Store at 93 Buxton Road was owned and operated by several generations of the Cousens family until it first closed in 2003.
Saco couple Peter and Bridget Scontras then reopened the Way Way Store in June 2011 and operated it over the past 14 years.
“Basically, it was like the Kennebunk rest stops are on the (Maine) Turnpike or any other rest stop. You come here, you get gas, you’d buy food, you’d go to the bathroom, take care of yourself, and then you’d be off on your trip because there was no turnpike,” Peter Scontras said. “This was it. This was your stop.”
The Way Way Store closed early for the season in October 2025 following the death of Bridget Scontras, who had Parkinson’s disease.
“I can’t do it without her,” Peter Scontras said of his late wife. “I can sell the products, but, emotionally, she’s not with me and being together for 61 years is something you never forget. I can’t do it. I’m not going to do it.”
In a post shared to the store’s Facebook page on Saturday, Peter Scontras announced the store is “closed forever” due to his retirement.
“Finally retired with gratitude,” Scontras said in the post.
Peter Scontras had retired from teaching when he and his wife thought of purchasing the Way Way Store to use the vacant building as a roadside spot to sell and rent kayaks and canoes. But when he went to Saco City Hall to acquire a permit, the city planner pitched him a different idea.
“He started talking to me and says: ‘Have you thought of reopening the store?’ I said: ‘You’re crazy. I’m retired,'” Scontras said in a 2013 interview with Maine’s Total Coverage.
Peter Scontras said he was met by gratitude from the community when he reopened the Way Way Store, which still sold penny candy but also served ice cream and offered blueberry pies, maple syrup and pumpkins. The business was also kept going by Scontras’ original idea of selling and renting kayaks and canoes.
The inside of the Way Way Store was always filled with antique signs and products, which Scontras referred to as his candy.
“I’m going to miss the people. I’m going to miss the kids and the experiences and the stories, and the camaraderie and the feeling of happiness, and seeing people come in and say, ‘Oh wow, look at this! This reminds me of my childhood,’ and then they leave with a smile,” Scontras said.
The Way Way Store is about 3 miles away from Saco’s Mill District, the economic hub of the city in the early 20th century. That trip from the mills to the general store is how the business got its name.
“Back then, this store was quite a distance from the downtown and not that many people came out this far unless they were on a trip,” Scontras said. “So someone would ask someone: ‘Where are you going today?’ ‘I’m going to check out that store that’s way, way out there.’ So the name stuck: Way Way.”
The Way Way Store has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since December 1995.
Scontras said he will post a sign later this week that simply reads: “Store closed. Retired. Thank you.”
“We had a good run. We brought a lot of happiness and joy to a lot of people,” he said.
For Scontras, and a lot of other people in the Saco area, this is an end of an era.
Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.