The Story of Maggie Mae’s

Kate Griffin-Peelen & John Peelen

For twenty five years, we’d talked about opening a shop together. In that time, we’ve raised our kids, entertained family and friends and worked hard at a variety of jobs within our fields. We moved to Maine in 2012 from NYC, got hours back in our day, fell in love with all Maine has to offer and never looked back.

As our three kids grew and became busier and more independent, each running in a different direction, we lived first hand the struggle of finding good, nutritious food that would support our on-the-go family’s schedule and spirit. For all those years, we have talked about opening a shop. These years of raising our family has helped us define what that vision would be. When our daughter was in college and our twin sons headed into senior year of High School, we thought, what better time to jump in with both feet.

John has been a chef for over 35 years. He’s worked in 3 star NYC restaurants, taught culinary arts in NYC for over 10 years - some of his students have become well-known chefs in the culinary world. In addition, John has worked in corporate kitchens, has had his hand in catering and served as a culinary consultant for a number of years. John’s knowledge of both culinary and baking and pastry runs deep. He enjoys trying on different cuisines and is always interested to know what others like and works hard to curate it.

Kate grew up in Retail. Her Dad owned IGA supermarkets in Massachusetts and was recruited early to work in all areas of that business. In NYC, she was a housewares buyer for the much loved Bazaar Stores for over 11 years. She had a furniture store in the heart of Chelsea NY where she enjoyed being a merchant and a part of the community. After 9/11 she turned her attention to Human Resources where she worked for 25 years for large corporations as a Director of Human Resources. Her love of everything home has always fueled her spirit and where she finds great joy. 

Maggie Mae’s provides food that you feel good about eating because it is food made with love, heart and quality ingredients. We partner with local farms and use their products in our foods whenever we can. We use environmentally friendly packaging and are proud that 95% of our packaging is compostable. Our take home prepared meals allow our customers to come and get a meal without spending lots of time. We work hard to keep our cases full. There’s no preordering necessary. It’s food when you need it. We offer take out, eat in lunch options and meals to take home and heat up.

Maggie Mae’s supports busy families, helping them navigate through before and after school activities, keeping everyone fueled and fed no matter how diverse the eaters are in any household. We also know what it’s like to have to eat at work. Fueling your body to make it through the afternoon, maintaining a healthy lifestyle or just wanting to take a break from the office to grab a bite to eat, you can count on us for having what you need.

Our selections also support older folks aging in place and benefit from our single serve meals or soups that are all made in house using quality ingredients and are not salt heavy.

The focus of our food selection is to be inclusive of all dietary needs: Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Dairy Free and traditional diets. Our customers can easily and quickly come in and grab from a selection of Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, and Desserts are made fresh on site daily. Our soups are made with attention to seasonal and regional ingredients. Our Salad Bar includes a variety of greens, vegetables and proteins and includes the option to customize your own salad. Our sandwiches are made with fresh locally baked breads and wraps and we offer online ordering for easy pick up.

In addition to our house made cookies and brownies, which we ship nationally by the dozen, we work hard at amplifying women owned businesses by carrying their products in our shop. We partner with Mom’s Organic Munchies, Toot’s Ice Cream, Two Fat Cat’s, Wicked Whoopies, Rocky Coast Cheesecake, Harvest Tide Organics and Newspoke Farm.

Maggie Mae’s has become a go to for Corporate and Private Catering events. Staff Breakfast or lunches, Board Meetings, Lunch and Learns, Team outings, Bridal and Baby Showers, Wedding Day Dressing Breakfasts, Retirement Parties, Birthday Parties and Celebrations of Life. Whatever the event, we are happy to be invited. We offer personalized care to help understand the event, dietary needs and curate a menu that is beautifully presented so you and your guests feel all the specialness of the day.

In addition, our customers have come to know us for our warm and thoughtfully merchandised selection of home goods. Whether you need a hostess gift, birthday card and candles or a new little seasonal something to brighten your home, we have you covered.

Thanks for believing in healthy, accessible food.
We look forward to seeing you in our shop!

- Kate + John

BTW: Maggie Mae is our family dog!
We gave our kids naming rights on the shop.
The only stipulation: it had to be a girls name.
There’s just too many establishments named after men!
Maggie Mae gets house made dog biscuits as a royalty fee!