In 2024, Maine business owner Reade Brower was forced to sell off a majority of the newspapers that he owned. He then tried to salvage four weeklies by combining them into one paper: The Midcoast Villager.
At a time when print media is on the decline — due to outlets jumping ship en masse to solely digital content — the staff of the newly minted Midcoast Villager recognize the vulnerability of their position.
“I’m quite glad that I still have a newspaper to work for,” columnist Glenn Billington told CBS News.
To subsidize their paper, which has a weekly circulation, the team decided to do something unexpected: Open their own cafe in the heart of their community.
“From the business standpoint, it achieves a sustainability,” Brower said of the Villager Cafe, which opened in April.
“The accountability issues and local sports and all that stuff is important to a lot of people,” he continued. “I don’t think that’s enough to sell and keep newspapers alive right now. I think it has to revolve around community. And what better way to serve community than to invite people here for food and to mix all this stuff together?”
At the Villager Cafe, customers can buy delicious blueberry pancakes, huevos rancheros, soups, sandwiches, and more — with revenue going towards the Midcoast Villager.
“It’s good, classic diner food, but a little bit elevated, which is I think kind of like our paper,” said deputy editor Alex Seitz-Wald, who can be found at the cafe every Friday morning, mingling with dedicated readers.
“Having a place where people can vent, or can say something, and have it be heard, I think is really valuable,” he said.
It’s also valuable in a literal sense. According to CBS News, their profits have shot up 40% since they opened their doors in April.
Midcoast Villager publisher Aaron Britt said that the staff had long dreamed of bringing their readers together in a shared physical space.
“We’ve always imagined the Villager as a vehicle for creating deeper community engagement,” Britt wrote in a welcome letter. “If we’re doing our jobs, you have the information you need to vote your conscience, you know what’s going on Friday night, you see your neighbor’s kid’s sports feats in print, and you meet someone doing something you didn’t even know you were interested in.”
Now locals have a place where they could talk to their neighbors — and the reporters themselves — about the latest community news over hot plates and cups of brew.
There’s a Friday morning news discussion group called “fresh brewed news,” a Midcoast Villager reading club, and “editor office hours” where cafegoers can request news stories they’d like to see in the future.
“The cafe is also a place for the Midcoast community to host its own events,” Britt said. “The whole point is to get people together, to share ideas and experience the joys of living in community.”
“Everyone’s welcome at the Villager Cafe,” he added, “so invite an old friend, talk to a stranger, maybe put down your phone, pick up the paper, and dig into our community.”
Villager Cafe is located at 25 Mechanic St, Camden, ME 04843.
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Header image via The Midcoast Villager / The Villager Cafe
