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ABOVE: Jane St. Pierre, owner of Kitchen and Cork in Scarborough, talks about plans to expand the store at Gateway Shoppes to 4,000 square feet.

LEFT: St. Pierre with her stock of fine wines. “I hear people are staying at home more and cooking at home more,” she said, explaining why her business can expand in hard economic times.

Staff photos by Harmony Motter

Kitchen & Cork is expanding, and its owners are giving tough economic times a lot of the credit.

“In my business, I hear people are staying at home more and cooking at home more, so they are putting their money into kitchen equipment,” said Jane St. Pierre, who with her husband, Wayne Smith, owns the Scarborough store.

St. Pierre and Smith plan to increase retail space by 1,500 square feet, bringing it to 4,000 square feet. They hope to complete renovations by April 1 at the store, which is located at Gateway Shoppes near Cabela’s on Payne Road.

Kitchen & Cork – which sells kitchenware, fine wine and cheeses – saw steady sales through the holidays, said St. Pierre. For the same period, the National Retail Federation reported consumer spending nationwide was down 2.8 percent.

Those sales prompted the expansion, said St. Pierre. “I think with the economy the way it is, people still are spending money,” she said.

St. Pierre said the renovation will enable her and Smith to add more products and, they hope, increase their sales.

“This is our first year in business, so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but we are doing well,” she said. “With the products we were getting in, we were pushing my husband’s office back farther and farther until there wasn’t any room. We definitely need the extra space.”

Kitchen & Cork’s expansion is a spot of bright news, said Gene Beaudoin, developer with New England Expedition. Beaudoin’s group was instrumental in bringing Cabela’s to Scarborough, but has faced a recent rough stretch.

The company on Jan. 15 lost its deal to bring Fairchild Semiconductor’s headquarters to Scarborough at the Gateway Square across Payne Road from the Gateway Shoppes. It still has plans to bring Kinder Daycare, a national daycare center, into Gateway Square, but is looking for a “big-name” tenant to take Fairchild’s place, Beaudoin said.

At the Gateway Shoppes, about 60 percent of the space is leased in the mall where Kitchen & Cork is located.

Beaudoin said he is talking to several businesses, including two gift stores and a home appliance store, that could come to Gateway Shoppes.

“We are talking to several tenants that say they might want to locate because of Kitchen & Cork’s success in this economy,” Beaudoin said.

Other tenants in the Gateway Shoppes are Thai9, The Freaky Bean, U.S. Cellular, Haven’s Chocolate, The Kennel Shop, Henry the VIII, Portland Pie and Famous Dave’s.

Famous Dave’s is expected to open Feb. 9.

(woman in kitchen equipment store) Jane St.Pierre, co-owner of Kitchen and Cork in Scarborough, talks about her upcoming expansion plans for the store. Jane with wine…Jane St.Pierre, Owner of Kitchen and Cork in Scarborough, talks about her upcoming expansion plans for the store. (woman w/shelves of wine) St. Pierre with her stock of fine wines. “I hear people are staying at home more and cooking at home more,” she said, explaining why her business can expand in hard economic times.