South Portland bags Bull Moose

SOUTH PORTLAND — One of Maine’s most successful retailers, Bull Moose, will open its 11^th store this fall in South Portland.

Company founder Brett Wickard said last week the former Blockbuster Video building at 219 Waterman Ave., which he bought March 21 for $1.2 million via holding company Green Crossing Blue LLC, will be built out to 11,000 square feet (from 7,000), rivaling the 13,000 square feet of the company’s flagship store, on Payne Road in Scarborough.

“Actually, the floor space of the two stores will be virtually identical, because Scarborough, as our distribution center, is a lot of storage,” said Wickard. “However, because we think Knightville is more of a community shopping center than the usual strip mall, we will keep our minds open to what people in the community want and need.”

Founded in Brunswick in 1989 as an independent music store, Bull Moose now boasts 175 employees at stores in Bangor, Brunswick, Lewiston, North Windham, Portland, Sanford, Scarborough and Waterville, and in New Hampshire in Portsmouth and Salem. It’s corporate office is on Arbor Street in Portland, in the historic Engine Company Number Nine firehouse, built in 1903, which also houses subsidiary company, Crickery Wood, a reseller of point-of-sale equipment.

Although only the Bangor and Scarborough stores offer books, the company offers all its products, including movies, video games and comic books, among other pop-culture entertainment items, online at www.bullmoose.com. Wickard said he expects the South Portland store will be stocked with a larger-than-usual assortment of toys and games, in addition to music, movies, video games and books.

“It’s a great, big project for us,” said Wickard. “We expect this store to be even more ‘Bull Moose’ than any other Bull Moose.”

Work on the new location, designed by Foreside Architects of Portland, is set to begin “any day now,” said Wickard, under the supervision of Gorham-based Great Falls Construction.

Wickard said he expects the renovation will create 50-75 construction jobs, while he intends to hire 15 permanent positions, from entry level to management, to staff the store when it opens in “late fall.”

Bull Moose is still, “about two months from hiring” for the new store. Prospective applicants should watch the company website for an announcement, said Wickard.

“We are psyched to be opening a store in the Mill Creek area,” he said. “Both the city of South Portland and the community have been fantastic to work with. We look forward to building a store that is another bright spot and another big draw for that area.”

The Blockbuster video store, which sits on a 0.83-acre lot assessed with the current building by the city at $1.02 million, closed April 15. The South Portland Planning Board unanimously approved Bull Moose’s expansion plans at its July 10 meeting.

The expansion will occur at the rear of the building, facing the Casco Bay Bridge, which will then become the main entrance, with expanded parking and bike racks. The latter, added at the suggestion of the planning board, was “enthusiastically” endorsed by Wickard, he said, in hopes of creating a neighborhood feel.

Jon Platt, owner of nearby neighborhood bookstore, Nonesuch Books, has been away on vacation and could not be reached for comment. However, Wickard said he hopes the presence of a Bull Moose will help, rather than hurt the smaller stores sales.

“We think Nonesuch is a great store and we hope a rising tide lifts all boats,” said Wickard. “We believe in ‘cooptition’ and working together, and we think that if we can bring people to the area and make it an even better area to go shopping at, that will help everyone.”

Bull Moose briefly flirted with a South Portland launch last fall with the Borders Books & Music store fell victim to a corporate collapse. Wickard expressed interest in the time at bidding on the lease for that store, near the Maine Mall, but never got the chance when a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge favored a 14-store deal worked out with Birmingham-based Books-A-Million.

“We would’ve looked to the area regardless,” said Wickard, noting that his interest in a South Portland location did not begin with the Borders bait. “We see a lot of opportunity in the Knightville/ Mill Creek area. We’re the kind of that will sit for years and then when we see a good opportunity, we’ll go for it.”