'HB' says farewell: Longtime owners officially sell historic Kennebunk store

KENNEBUNK, Maine — H.B. Provisions will have a new owner Monday, April 29, making this weekend the last chance to bid farewell to the two women who for more than two decades have provided the beloved general store with its well-known initials.

Helen Thorgalsen and Bonnie Clement – the “HB” in H.B. Provisions – recently announced on social media they found “the perfect buyer” for their store and for the entire building at 15 Western Avenue. The store has been on the market for two years.

“Their plan is to keep it as it is and over time do some upgrades that will enhance the general store even more,” the couple announced on their Facebook page.

According to Clement and Thorgalsen, the buyer is the group that owns Mabel’s Lobster Claw in Kennebunkport, Robert’s Maine Grill in Kittery, and other properties throughout the region.

“It’ll be a great transition,” Clement said. “We really, really like this group. They’re great people. They’ll be great stewards for what we do here.”

The new owner even will keep the store's name the same, the couple said.

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New owners but same staff at HB Provisions

While the owner is new, the staff is staying, the couple added, so longtime patrons at the store can expect the same welcoming, familiar faces when they buy their newspaper or pick up their coffee in the morning or stop by for a sandwich at the deli at noontime.

“As with any venture of this size, we expect there to be some bumps at the beginning,” Thorgalsen and Clement noted in their announcement. “Please be patient with our awesome staff as they get used to the new owners and any small changes that might happen.”

Residential space above the store to become an Airbnb

The couple said the new owner will make the 2,200 square feet of living space on the top two floors of the building available as an Airbnb.

For those who’d like to see Thorgalsen and Clement before they embark on the new, retired life that awaits them, they’ll be at the store this Saturday, April 27, from 1 to 4 p.m. and this Sunday, April 28, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

And from there, they’ll be off to their new home in Vermont, where they’ll be near Thorgalsen’s daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter. In the months ahead, they also have plans to travel to Portugal and to hit the road and cross the country in their new travel trailer.

The couple bought Meserve’s Market in 2002 and transformed it into H.B. Provisions, running the store on the first floor of the building and living on the upper floors.

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H.B. Provisions closed just one day in past 20-plus years

In selling the store, they are leaving a legacy that will be challenging to top: H.B. Provisions has been open 365 days a year for more than two decades, closing only once, for a single day, due to a power outage a few years ago. The store is the place you go when you run out of Scotch tape while wrapping gifts on Christmas morning or realize that you forgot to get gravy while preparing dinner on Thanksgiving.

“We’ve worked hard,” Thorgalsen said. “But we’ve also had a lot of laughs.”

During an interview at the store on April 24, Clement and Thorgalsen shared what they will miss the most once they leave Kennebunk, and even divulged why they went with “H.B. Provisions,” instead of the other way around.

“B.H. is too close to B.S.,” Clement said.

They'll miss the famous and familiar faces

The couple said they will miss the familiar faces who visit their store on a regular basis, whether to make a quick stop on their way to work in the morning or to pull up a seat at a table near the windows and read the morning paper over a cup of coffee. There are many people they know by name, and there are some whose names they've yet to learn but whose faces were also warm and reassuring to see. There are also customers they’ve known since they were children, who now have kids of their own.

And then there are the famous regulars they will remember with fondness.

The late former President George H.W. Bush.

Former President George W. Bush.

Actress and comedienne Caroline Rhea.

Actor Patrick Dempsey – also known as People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” both Clement and Thorgalsen point out with a smile.

The elder Bush was a regular at the store during the times of year when he lived in town at his family’s home on Walker’s Point on Ocean Avenue. He liked stopping by for a cinnamon doughnut, his favorite, and a half a cup of coffee, Thorgalsen and Clement said during a 2022 interview.

Bush and his family also became friends with Clement and Thorgalsen. In fact, Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush witnessed their wedding license when they got married in November of 2013. For years, the walls of H.B. Provisions have had framed photographs of the Bushes – pictures Clement and Thorgalsen said they’ll be taking with them to Vermont.

And as for the store they will leave behind, Clement and Thorgalsen said they hope longtime patrons will continue to keep H.B. Provisions a part of their lives and that new customers will stop by and get to know the place, as well.

“We want this business to thrive and grow, to go to a new level,” Thorgalsen said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 'HB' says farewell: Longtime owners sell iconic Kennebunk, Maine store