There is a new variety store opening on Route 25 in Standish, in the building Bodge’s Variety recently vacated.

Owned and operated by Kate Andrews and Marlene Ela, K&M Variety is set to open the last week of September.

Opening their own store will be a dream come true for both Andrews and Ela.

“This is something we have both always wanted to do,” said Ela. “We have always wanted to be in business for ourselves.”

Andrews and Ela met a little over a year ago when they were both working at the same convenience store.

“We hit it off right away,” said Ela.

“We are best friends,” agreed Andrews. “We never thought it would happen, but now we are business partners, too.”

The dream of owning their own business was realized when Bodges, where they were employees, suddenly went out of business leaving an empty space to rent.

“We didn’t know what we were going to do without jobs,” said Ela. “But we don’t have any hard feelings, it turned out to be a great opportunity for us.”

Besides offering various drinks and snack foods, K&M will offer a variety of food including pizza, sandwiches, salads, roll-ups, and specialty kid items. Peanut butter and jelly, macaroni and cheese with apple sauce, and dinosaur chicken nuggets are just a few of the items offered to the kids.

“We wanted to make sure we had something for the kids,” said Ela, “something fun and healthy.”

K&M Variety will also be offering a Web site where people can review the menu and in the future order from it.

The women will be working at the store full-time with help from eager friends and family.

“The people around us have been so supportive of our dream,” said Ela. “Everyone wants to help, it’s been great.”

“We are just really excited to be in business for ourselves,” said Andrews. “It’s a dream come true.”

Katie Andrews and Marlene Ela work on the interior of their new business. The women will open K&M Variety on Route 25 in Standish at the end of September. The store will take the place of Bodge’s Variety, which went out of business in July.