Crossing Wiscasset’s Main Street, Alexander Widener, in his signature white cap and round-rimmed glasses, carried a ceramic mug from his store to Treats café. It’s just one way he feels at home in his new hometown.
Widener, who grew up in Pennsylvania and lived in New York, made the life-changing decision with his husband to relocate to Wiscasset. His motivation, he said, was chasing joy — and a love for antiques.
The Widener Company at 101 Main St. is less than two blocks away from the usual long lines at Red’s Eats. Widener, 31, has already put down roots in the town, where he now lives year-round with his husband, Bradly, and dog, Rudy, an 11-year-old terrier. The store opened in summer 2025 and runs from May to December.
The Widener Company’s shop is polished and curated. Every item is set up so thoughtfully it seems like a museum. He sells a mix of antiques and new items, including decor, tableware, jewelry and even stuffed animals for kids.
“A lot of things will rotate from my personal space into the shop,” Widener said. “I keep the really good stuff for myself.”
Besides the store, he runs a guest cottage, the same one he stayed in on his trips to Wiscasset before he moved there. At the time, the shop and cottage were run by an older French woman, he said. Widener couldn’t help wanting a similar lifestyle, selling antiques in a small town.
“Every time we left,” Widener said, “I would think, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s what I want to do. She’s living the dream.’”
So a couple years ago when the previous owner told them she was putting the place up for sale to move back to France, the Wideners jumped at the opportunity.
Widener thinks both he and his husband were looking for a change. Widener worked in marketing for interior design and textile companies for about six years, while Bradly Widener worked in theater. His husband just started working full time at the shop in July; they’re The Widener Company’s only employees.
“My brother died when I was young, when I was in middle school, and I realized that life is very short,” he said. “And if you want to do something, you have to do it, because if you wait, you might not have the opportunity again. And I just felt like I couldn’t wait.”
COMMUNITY FOCUSED
Widener developed friendships with local artisans, whose wares he sells in his shop, like brooms from Village Handcraft and handwoven baskets from Mindful Gardens.
Maré LeMay, 77, is the weaver behind Mindful Gardens. She’s been weaving for 40 years and sells baskets at local stores and farmers markets. Her baskets have been available at The Widener Company since opening day.
“He is just about the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life,” LeMay said of Widener.
LeMay taught Widener to weave, leading him to sell a couple of his own baskets, too. LeMay’s are better, he said. Customers can tell who made each basket by who signed the tag.
Community has become important to the Wideners because it wasn’t something they had in New York, he said. Before joining the shop full time, Bradly Widener worked at a local public school. And after work, Widener goes swimming in a friend’s pond. He mentioned developing relationships with other business owners and trying to source local goods for his store.
“I’m doing my best to work with local people to make things for our store and to share what I love about Maine and what everyone else loves about it,” Widener said.
Running his guest cottage, open from May to October, also makes him feel part of the community.
“We have a little guidebook, and I hope people make dinner reservations at our local spots,” he said.
A SOCIAL MEDIA STAR
As he was getting his business set up in March 2025, he began posting on social media. It served as marketing for the store, which now gets 75% of its customers from social media, he said. But it also helped Widener gain confidence and self-esteem. He said it was actually his horoscope that gave him the push to put himself out there online.
His first post was a 4-minute video about the history of Wedgwood, an English ceramics company founded in 1759. It got half a million views.
Eric McIntyre, 33, the lone artisan who opened Village Handcraft in 2021, remembered watching the progression of Widener’s videos as he was just starting out. The two met on Widener’s first trip to Wiscasset.
“The way you vocalized your story in the first video was sort of timid,” McIntyre said, “and the growth and confidence of your own story and how you shared it in the second video was very stark to me, seeing you taking so much more ownership of the journey you’re on.”
Widener’s social media journey has paid off. He’s grown his TikTok to 165,500 followers and Instagram to 233,000 followers. He said last month was The Widener Company’s busiest ever.
He’s also gained some loyal fans.
Sisters Megan Jenkins, 30, and Ashley Burns, 33, planned a trip to Wiscasset because of Widener’s videos. About a year ago, as Jenkins was planning a recent trip with her family to visit Burns, they realized Burns’ New Hampshire home was only a two-hour drive from his store.
The pair sends Widener’s videos back and forth to each other frequently, and they wanted to see Wiscasset because Widener talks about it so much. As for their purchases, they had one thing they knew they wanted.
“He wears the same hat all the time in his videos,” Burns said, “so we have to get a hat to match him.”
Corey Fiske is a freelance writer who lives in Arundel. He can be reached on Instagram @coreyfiskeupdates and on X @coreyfiske7