Staff Writer

Ellen and Linda Converse, owners of Oh Baby Café and Catering in Biddeford, are an exception to a recent trend: starting a new business during an economic downturn instead of shutting one down.

The mother-daughter team opened their Main Street Biddeford business in December and said they’ve enjoyed success since they opened.

“We’re surviving,” Ellen Converse said.

Today their tiny café offers an assortment of breakfast items, such as quiche and cinnamon rolls, as well as soups and sandwiches for lunch. The café – decorated with colorful walls that with drawings, paintings, tie-dyed t-shirts, and even decorated hoola-hoops from local artists – has become a regular stop on of Biddeford’s monthly art walk. 

Their success seems to follow a national trend. According to an April article published in The New Yorker magazine, studies show companies that spend on acquisitions and advertising during recessions do significantly better than companies that make cuts once the economy recovers. 

Linda Converse said the two started planning to open their own business a year ago, when Ellen was working for Black Tie Bistro Catering in Portland while Linda worked at the Peabody Center, an HIV/AIDS service organization, also located in Portland. Linda said they were able to find the current location of the building on the Craig’s List Web site.

“It was reasonable rent and it was already a restaurant before,” Linda said. “The last residents sold us the remaining [equipment] at a cheap price.”

Linda said she and Ellen were not worried about the national economy as they planned their business.

“[The economy] didn’t start stinking until after the election,” Linda said.

They also weren’t worried because they didn’t need loans to start their business, Linda added. She still is employed as a nuclear medicine technologist two days a week in Rockport, and earns enough money to buy supplies for the café. 

The Converses said they have enjoyed the community as well as surrounding businesses, some of which have donated items and artwork which are displayed inside the café.

“That’s the thing we like the best, it’s like a community,” Linda said. “I don’t think we’d have a community spirit in Portland. We were open for the [Memorial Day] parade and it was so cool to see the community.”

Linda Converse had advice for future business owners.

“Don’t expand too fast and don’t borrow a lot of money,” she said.

 Rachael Weyand, executive director of the Heart of Biddeford, said five new businesses have opened during the recession, including Oh Baby, and have been doing well.

“There’s this new momentum and excitement,” Weyand said. “In a lot of cases, people are doing better because more people are coming downtown to shop.”

Weyand said landlords for businesses on Main Street have  lowered rent costs, which also helps.

In Kennebunk, Jenn and Ray Leskowsky opened Daimon’s Café and Bakery on Memorial Day. The store offers breakfast, lunch and appetizers as well as pastries.

Jenn Leskowsky said the café was opened to create room for her to work on her specialty cakes, which she said she couldn’t do at the couple’s other business, Wink’s, a delicatessen restaurant located in Arundel.

Leskowsky said she is hopeful the café will have good business during summer.

“[The economy] is always a worry,” she said. “We hope to get the tourists here that are traveling.”

Attached to Daimon’s is the Kennebooks book store, owned by Trish and Gary Koch. Trish Koch said she believes the store, which also opened on Memorial Day, will do well because of its location.

“Obviously money is tight, we were very careful about the money we’re spending,” Koch said. “There’s not a lot of bookstores nearby, and books can be bought year-round.” 

For Maine residents who find themselves unemployed, Richard Fifield of the York County Career Center in Sanford said the Maine Department of Labor offers the Maine Enterprise Option, a program that allows residents, if eligible, to collect unemployment pay while starting their own business.

Fifield said the process of being eligible for the Maine Enterprise Option begins with filling out an application to the Department of Labor, including the plan for the applicant’s business.

Applicants must be Maine residents, have a specific business idea in mind and file the application within 60 days of filing an initial claim for unemployment benefits.

According to the Department of Labor Web site, entrepreneurs accepted for the Maine Enterprise Option must also attend a business start-up workshop and are asked to choose additional business trainings. 

“I think we’re getting quite a few people because they’re frustrated about not finding a job,” Fifield said. “Especially if they’ve thought about starting their own business for a while.”

Existing businesses in financial trouble also have opportunities for help. Herb Thomas, Senior Area Manager for the federal Small Business Administration said current business owners can apply for the American Recovery Capital (ARC) loan, a guaranteed, interest-free loan that can be used to help pay down existing debt of up to $35,000.

“We’re certainly getting more calls from the public about the loan program,” Thomas said.

Staff writer Dave Dyer can be reached at 282-4337 ext. 219