BRUNSWICK

Wild Oats recently opened a new location for the first time in its 20-plus year history. The bakery can be found at 25 Burbank Ave. at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station.

Customers at the new location can order up smoothies, soup, salads, sandwiches, breakfast goods, cakes and coffee, among other items.

Wild Oats Bakery & Cafe was started in 1991 by David and Becky Shepherd at the Tontine Mall in downtown Brunswick.

The downtown location is an establishment well-known to many in the Midcoast region, and it gets a lot of downtown foot traffic, as well as students from nearby Bowdoin College.

Brunswick Landing, meanwhile, still seems largely empty.

“I think that, right now, our lunches are very, very busy,” Becky Shepherd said. “It’s much lighter foot traffic in the morning for breakfast, but it’s getting busier every day.”

Shepherd noted that there aren’t many locally owned restaurants in the Cook’s Corner area, and Wild Oats has been attracting those who are looking for a break from fast-food.

Other customers include college students from Southern Maine Community College and employees at Brunswick Landing.

Shepherd noted some advantages to the Brunswick Landing location over the downtown bakery, including more parking and easier restroom access.

“It’s a beautiful atmosphere,” Shepherd said, in describing the new location. “It’s really sunny, and it’s incredibly peaceful out here. It’s a nice environment to work in.”

The business, which employs a staff of more than 40, takes to heart social justice issues. To that end, they have a partnership with Seeds of Independence, whose headquarters are nearby at 29 Burbank Ave. and is the Wild Oats’ Brunswick Landing landlord.

Seeds of Independence is a volunteer-based nonprofit that helps at-risk youth in Maine through mentoring and other programs.

Wild Oats takes on Seeds of Independence high school-aged clients as interns, and also works through the public schools and with Bowdoin’s Upward Bound program. Often, those interns, while unpaid, will wind up as Wild Oats employees, Shepherd noted.

Interns have an interest in culinary arts or have a desire to learn more about the working world.

“I love to teach, and I think it’s really valuable for my staff,” said Shepherd. “It’s not just cooking skills. It’s learning to communicate, learning to work as a teen. It brings value to their lives.”

At-risk youth run the spectrum from those who have gone through the court system to teen mothers, said Shepherd.

It’s the Seeds of Independence partnership that was the impetus for Wild Oats’ new location.

Seeds of Independence Executive Director Thomas Wright “offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse,” Shepherd said wryly. “He knows I’m a sucker, I guess.”

“Our mission is to help kids become independent, productive members of the community,” said Wright.

“With Merrymeeting Development next door, SMCC, Family Focus, and the wellness center I’m working on now, this innercampus (of Brunswick Landing) has become a social community network for these kids,” he said.

“I get approached all the time for opening different locations,” Shepherd said. “Community is really important to me. This is something that’s still in our community. This was an opportunity to link to economic development in Brunswick. It’s still being part of the community, and being a part of exciting things that are happening in the community.”

jswinconeck@timesrecord.com