Nectar Café at Bell Farm Shops: Owners add new patio to breakfast, lunch spot in York

YORK, Maine — Route 1 has a new patio for breakfast and lunch as Michelle and John Corgan continue to upgrade their Nectar Café at Bell Farm Shops.

The patio area was once fenced-in greenery between Nectar’s food truck and the Bell Farm Shops gift shop, all located at 244 U.S. Route 1. Now, it is covered with 324 square feet of new patio space where table seating is available for 12.

The Corgans bought the longtime business Bell Farm Shops in 2017 and have been working to make it their dream gift shop. Nectar Café was an extension of that – a food truck serving sandwiches, doughnuts, and other comfort fare.

Michelle Corgan said she is enjoying the investment they have made in the café.

“I’m really happy with it,” she said. “It makes the property look a lot nicer and classier.”

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Nectar Café has 'taken off' since opening in 2020

Nectar Café started during the pandemic in 2020 and quickly caught on with the local community.

John Corgan, and his brother Paul, came up with the idea of having a food truck parked outside in front of the shop. They worked all summer on starting the business, as well as coming up with the name that tied in with the property.

Bell Farm Shops has a wild bird shop, and the property gets tons of birds who enjoy the feeders and birdhouses. They chose the name Nectar for the hummingbirds that come to those feeders each day.

The shop started small, selling just breakfast foods like egg sandwiches and cider doughnuts. They found success and decided to extend hours to lunch and feature fun items like artisan grilled cheese, build-your-own sandwiches, and drinks like organic iced green tea and cold brews.

“It’s all made to order, high-quality ingredients,” Michelle said. “It’s kind of taken off.”

As Nectar became more popular, Michelle said she noticed it was a little tougher on guests when the weather was poor as they stood in the grass waiting for their order.

“During the mud season, it was just kind of gross,” she said. “It wasn’t as comfortable ordering.”

The Corgans made their first improvements to the Nectar section of the property by adding 260 square feet of patio space, allowing them to put one to two tables. The rest of the tables were still in the grass, though. Corgan said they decided last year to replace that grass with a newly expanded patio. The work was finally contracted and scheduled for May, completed last week.

“We just wanted to elevate the truck, make it more comfortable,” Michelle said.

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Bell Farm Shops continues to grow, evolve

The Corgans bought Bell Farm Shops from Judy and Rex Lambert, who opened it in 1988. The Lamberts brought aspects to the shop, like its seasonal Christmas merchandise and birding section.

The Corgans came to Bell Farm Shops with the hope of leaving their own mark. That mark included making the Christmas displays year-round on the second floor with the name “Forever Christmas.” They have also expanded the birding department and leaned into “garden décor.”

This summer, Nectar Café will open for longer hours from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The couple will host a yard sale on June 8-9, a Christmas in July sale on July 3, and outdoor yoga with Welcome Haven on Monday, Friday and Sunday mornings from July through September.

“It’s definitely a roller coaster,” Michelle said. “A lot of highs and lows. Overall, we’re really happy with it and excited to continue to grow.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Nectar Café: Owners add new patio for food truck in York