The Willows in Mechanic Falls
The Willows Flea Market in Mechanic Falls is overwhelming in a wonderful way.
It is a treasure trove that requires 85,000 square feet to display. It’s the largest indoor flea market in the state of Maine. It includes not dozens of vendors, but 250 of them! Visits are measured in hours, not minutes.
The size and scope of The Willows is best understood in person, but even then it will likely take a few trips before you can begin to wrap your mind around it all. For the record, this is the first feature which required me to make two trips to complete. Needless to say, this post will only provide an introduction rather than every detail of the full story that could be written.
This family business has Ray and Dan Bisson, a father-son team, at its head. There is a third must-mention member of the family who will be introduced before you reach the end of this post. The Bissons were in the construction business for over thirty years before applying that expertise to The Willows project. Another important factor in their background is that they ran a thrift shop over in Lisbon Falls. It didn’t take too long before they outgrew that space. When they learned that The Willows Flea Market in another Falls (Mechanic) town was up for sale, they took the plunge. The family purchased the property and began a massive renovation of the main building. Somehow they continued operating their other business for three years while carrying out the new work (did they sleep?!).
By June 2015 the first floor of The Willows was completed; the doors opened to the public with booths from twenty vendors. Just two years later, the entire remodeling and expansion efforts were finalized, including all three floors of the main big building, along with a one-floor “small barn.” An additional space currently houses “The Coliseum,” a card and collectible shop run by Ryan Samson and Zach Tirrell. This is where you can find or sell your Pokémon collection or that Reggie White rookie card you’ve been holding onto.
Moving from twenty vendors to two hundred and fifty means the variety of items to browse includes a lot of something for everyone. You'll never see it all because while you're exploring one floor, new items are arriving on the level you just covered. There is a constant turnover of stock. Vendors are required to keep their spaces tidy and fresh. Though there is often a lot packed in, it is quite manageable to navigate through it all. Creativity is on display in these mini shops.
Each booth is numbered though — on first glance — one might wonder at the logic since they are not in sequential order. The reason is that a vendor keeps their number for life. Rental is month-to-month. Some vendors have run a booth since The Willows opened. Others rent for a period of time, close, and then return at a later date. When they come back, they’ll retain the same vendor number display on their new location. Whether long or short-termers, Dan Bisson has one word to describe them all: “phenomenal.”
What the Bissons have created is greater than the tangible market. As Dan explained to me, “We started as a business, but became a community." He shared story after story of the amazing staff, vendors, and customers that make The Willows special. This is a place in which relationships are built and memories are made.
The Willows is family-oriented and kid-friendly. Children beg their parents to bring them to The Willows so they can spend their birthday money. Sometimes families will have their children complete scavenger hunts by locating objects that start with the letters of the alphabet. One extended family has the annual tradition of a Christmas shopping trip during which they split up and buy gifts for one another with a set dollar amount —all the while trying to hide their purchases from each other’s view (not impossible in this huge space).
How do you create a place like this? To answer that question we need to highlight a member of the Bisson family that I was unable to meet: Lucie, wife to Ray and mother to Dan. Sadly, she passed away in December 2018, but her legacy at The Willows lives on. Her family made it clear to me that they wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her. Lucie poured her heart and strength into this passion project and built strong ties with everyone who passed through the doors. She was a vibrant example of what it means to love your work.
Lucie had an astonishing ability to know what was on hand and where it was located (you can only appreciate how incredible this is when you’ve seen the vastness of the market). She taught herself how to utilize Facebook for their business and was so active on that platform that she would often temporarily lose access to the account; she would be shut out after being mistaken for a bot due to her speed. After Lucie’s passing, the family discovered that she had taken over 77,000 photos to show customers what was available to them! She had a unique way of connecting with and serving The Willows community. This investment was foundational to the past and present success of this Maine business. Her family and the staff honor her memory by continuing to operate with Lucie’s values.
So head on over to 345 South Main Street in Mechanic Falls and explore this local treasure for yourself. The Willows is open Thursday through Sunday, 9 AM to 5 PM. Dress warmly, if it is cold outside since that giant building doesn’t heat as well as your living room. Also, leave your snacks and beverages in your car because food and drinks are among the very few things you won’t find inside. Please tell everyone I said hello and that I’ll be back soon.
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