Mike’s Country Store In Ellsworth Has Closed For Business

A very popular Ellsworth landmark has now closed.

After all these years, Mike's Country Store on Water Street in Ellsworth closed its doors for business this past Friday.

The store opened in 1897 and has been run by four generations of the Povich family ever since. Customers in Ellsworth will miss the routine of stopping in for the morning paper, a lottery ticket, grabbing a cup of coffee and an earful of good neighborly conversation.

Friday morning when I stopped in, Jody Colson, the step-daughter of the late Eddie Povich, was very sentimental about the closing. Jody has run the store since Eddie passed away in 2008. Running the store has taken all of her time and energy and she now wants to spend that precious time with her family.

She told me that she will miss the daily routine, serving the public, and especially the regular customers that she loves so much.

We recalled a few stories that have happened over the years. One years ago when my daughter was making a self serve Slush Puppy and Eddie Povich yelled from across the  store, "Hey, just one squirt in that cup!"

The store is for sale for $199,000 and Jody says that there's been some interest from a  few but nothing definite yet.