In 1987, when my husband and I arrived in the area, the previous grocery store, standing in the same location but under a different name and having different owners, actually displayed rotting produce. I just couldn't bring myself to shop there, so I changed to a Hannaford's in Bangor. The original building burned down due to sheer recklessness. Blue Hill peninsula was left without a supermarket, so, in step the Lawrence family. About a year later they had built a new structure in the same place, the one that stands today. TradeWinds selection and quality of food is pretty darned good. The store is lovely, the staff are lovely, and the food quality is very good. TradeWinds may be THE best grocery store/supermarket that I've ever experienced. The owners and the employees are top notch, always very helpful and friendly. The Lawrence family prioritize community, they offer locally grown or made choices, they offer a Maine food section, and they've made this store a shining example of what is possible. Employees need daycare, provided. Employees and others need an exercise spot, provided. Need less expensive fuel for your vehicle, provided. Need a more community oriented pharmacy, they bring in Community Pharmacy! I've never witnessed such active community support in my life! Now to the difficult part. After more than two decades ownership is transitioning. Hannaford, the Maine distributor, which supplies TradeWinds, is the new owner. Hannaford's has been a good company as far as I know. But, like most changes, this is a hard for many of us. Will they continue to offer the unique products that TradeWinds has all these years? Will they keep the lower, more reasonable prices for groceries and fuel that the Lawrence family offered us? Will they allow Community Pharmacy to remain? Will the very cool Beer Cave stay, continuing to offer the amazing Maine and small brew company selections? Will the community awareness and cancer fundraising continue? I hope the answer will be a resounding YES, but we have to wait and see. Even though it's a difficult phase, I have to say thank you to the Lawrences and Hannaford, I'm glad the store has a new Maine-based owner with a decent track record. Thank you Chuck and Belinda Lawrence for all you have given us folks on the Blue Hill Peninsula over these many years! You are very appreciated. I hope you enjoy a well deserved retirement. Thank you also to the lovely staff, I hope the transition goes well for you. I'll see you soon. I love you all for who you are and what you do. THANK YOU! read more

Tradewinds Marketplace - The end of the TradeWinds era, sigh. - Grocery Near Me - Blue Hill, Maine

The employees are consistently unfriendly and offer no service. We are locals, live here full-time and try to avoid this market -- it's actually very sad that the management does not really seem to put effort into providing quality service to year round residents. read more

Every time I come here they over charge for one thing or another this time I bought a loaf of bread that was a dollar and they charge $2.99 . As bad as inflation has become now it matters come on guys do better ! read more

When this store was TradeWinds it was well run and well stocked, if a little pricey. In the spring of 2023 the owners retired and Hannaford's bought it. The transition has been rough, and not just during summer tourist time. The aisles have been re-arranged; the new manager is having difficulty keeping certain staple foods in stock; some former favorites are no longer here. In the space of two months I found that cartons of Hannaford brand organic milk were sour even though the sell-by date was a month forward. For people living on the Blue Hill peninsula but not in Blue HIll, TradeWinds was worth the drive of 10-30 minutes each way. Now not so much. Hannaford, you can do better. read more

The quallty of the store in terms of inventory has declined so much since Hannafords bought it that we no longer shop there. We routinely came away from shopping there without items that were routinely available when it was Tradewinds. read more

I didn't automatically assume that a Hannaford would be worse than the old Trade Winds, but this store has fallen so far. On a Saturday, they were out of scallions and ginger. They seem to have stopped carrying Tuscan kale entirely for some reason, even though it's a common recipe ingredient. There are no longer the special seasonal items so carefully chosen for the area's residents, like the wonderful melons Trade Winds used to stock in the summer. And even house brands items like the jalapeno cilantro salsa aren't carried anymore. I understand that a corporate entity like Hannaford may have its own reasons why it can't carry very local items that aren't packaged professionally, but why discontinue products the community wants and buys? Plus they put in this hideous new shelving around the self-serve registers that makes it look like a CVS in Queens. Just a terribly falling off from a gold-standard supermarket. Fortunately, we have the Coop just down the road, although it is expensive. Also, even the Hannaford in Ellsworth, a 20 minute drive away, is much better than this one and I plan to start picking up my staples there instead. read more

We came to Maine to celebrate my birthday- prime rib & lobster- called Tradewinds- talked to Ben in the meat dept- told him what I wanted- after making fun of my Texas accent he asked- how many people- you want the bone cut off and tied back on?? On and on- describing EXACTLY what I needed- you can tell he loves what he does and is good at it- this store has it all- including GREAT PEOPLE who make it EXTRAORDINARY!! We ALWAYS shop here on our way to the house If you cannot get what you need here at Tradewinds in Blue Hill-- you can probably do without it!! Dale & Linda B Fort Worth Texss read more

Over priced and under stocked. If you live here all year round you notice the shift once the tourists roll in. Normally you could buy Nature's promise gallons of spring water at 99c, once summer's here they won't even stock it. Nope it's Poland Spring at nearly $3. Not alot of selection in the cosmetics/shampoo etc department, nor the pastries section. read more

It is a very convenient store and have a lot of stuff there. Their chicken tenders are awesome!!! I like to stop by and get some once in a while and the breakfast sandwiches are good. But today I stopped in and grabbed a bacon egg & cheese on a muffin and it was on a hamburger bun!!! :P read more

First of all, it has everything that you'll want along with the low prices of a chain store (they carry Hannaford's brand - which is a Maine business, by the way). There is a good selection of natural stuff at prices that are generally BETTER than the co-op (sorry Erika C. but you are wrong about pricing and my daughter works at the co-op, so I am less than biased). More importantly, everyone that works there is very helpful and friendly and the owner, Chuck is extremely generous to the community - he just donated 100,000 to the high school. read more

We went to Tradewinds after we had been to the pricey Blue Hill Co-op - which we appreciate :-), and after we were at the REALLY pricey hardware store. Tradewinds rocks. It has everything on your list - well, most everything. **Store take note and get more choices of the food storage reusable containers. Have glass too. The big staff at the store is so kind and helpful, and will take you right to an item you might be looking for. So nice to have workers around! Tradewinds had organic balsamic vinegar cheaper than the co-op and more choices. The checkout employees too are so sweet. The checkout gal w/ blue hair this past Sunday was so kind! I meant to tell her I loved her blue shade. Kudos all. I am so impressed that the owner gave a very large donation to the town high school. Read that in the latest Yelp. read more

Great community market. The prices are reasonable. The staff is friendly and helpful, always, no matter what the season. The store is meticulously clean and food is fresh. I cherish this little market. The owners, Chuck and Belinda Lawrence have been an integral part of the whole Blue Hill Peninsula. They give back, just look behind the store at our new YMCA. in saying all this I must address the comment from: Dana A. Millbury MA "inspect your receipts citizen (ellipsis) especially during tourist season (ellipsis)" The implication that somehow there is gouging or stealing from anyone, especially people who are our summer families and friends. Or precious and welcomed visitors from all over the world, is wrong and inappropriate. There is commonly found, truth that in life an honest error is still and error but not always dish . As suggested by Dana A. I think you have us confused with citizens from some other state. read more

Excellent grocery store with much better selection of everything than other nearby markets e.g. Hannaford in Bucksport. Also a good wine/liquor selection. read more

A great store with awesome vegetarian options, which you don't find in every store, so that is really awesome. I wish they had more organic fruit. But that's the only thing they are lacking. All the employees are amazing. So nice. This place has a really good community feel. read more

We are so lucky to have Tradewinds in town. The prices are as good, if not better than the stores in Ellsworth. They always have what I need- even exotic stuff. Red curry paste? Check. Gluten free bread? Check. 4 kinds of greek yogurt? Check. Vast selection of craft beers? Check!!! The best part is the service- the front-end is so well run. You are checked out and your groceries bagged super fast (in fact, if I'm in Ellsworth it's faster to detour on my way home and pick items up here than to go to any of the grocery stores in Ellsworth). They also offer many extra services as well- gas (best prices around, and discounted if you pay cash), video rental vending machine, car wash (with floor mat washer- love that thing!) and now- a dog wash! Took the dog there the other day and it was great, if a tad messy (you will get wet, but your dog will smell great!). read more

I moved to the Blue Hill area four years ago. The first time I walked into this store and started looking around, my jaw dropped nearly to the floor ---I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. What a GREAT supermarket! Tradewinds has everything that the larger chain stores have, and then some: an excellent selection of specialty products (organic, ethnic, imported, etc.)., a really outstanding array of beers and wines, in-season locally-grown produce, locally-raised meats, plus everything that a good-sized Hannaford store would offer. In addition, the staff is very pleasant and friendly, and they go out of their way to be helpful. I'm blessed by living in this wonderful area, and Tradewinds is very much a part of that blessing. Highly, HIGHLY recommended! read more

Before Tradewinds became "Tradewinds", they held a contest to name the new store. I believe the year was 2000. I entered the contest and submitted the name "tradewinds" after long thought about the nautical nature of this lovely community. Being the daughter of a long line of Henry Hudsons, I knew the importance of the trade routes of early explorers. My submission won! I was awarded $250 dollars worth of credit at Tradewinds and ordered a huge sandwich platter for a pre- wedding party! Now there's a good story! read more