Brunswick’s Tess’ Market to close after 70 years

After 71 years on Pleasant Street, Tess’ Market is set to close on June 30, ending a Brunswick mainstay that served far more than groceries, pizza and Italian sandwiches. For generations of neighbors, the small market was a daily stop, a familiar face and a place that tied the street to the routines of nearby homes.

The business began in 1955, when Hervey Tessier opened the store after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and fighting at Guadalcanal. His daughter, Anne Tessier Talbot, later carried the market forward, keeping it a second-generation family business in a town where independent shops have become harder to sustain. Over the years, Tess’ Market built its reputation on simple offerings and steady presence, from wine to lunch orders, while becoming part of the neighborhood’s identity.

Talbot said on Facebook that June 30 would be the last day. In the days after the announcement, she said the store had been full of customers and described the response as overwhelming and bittersweet, a reflection of how deeply the market had been woven into local life. The farewell drew a wave of likes and comments from customers who remembered growing up with Tess’ and relying on it as part of their routines.

The scale of that change is easy to measure in time. A 10-inch pizza at the market once cost $1.60, a reminder of how long the shop has outlasted price swings, changing habits and a shifting small-business landscape. Its 71-year run also places it among the longest-lived neighborhood businesses in the area, alongside other local institutions that have disappeared in recent years, including Uncle Tom’s Market in Brunswick, which closed in 2019 after more than 60 years, and Doughty’s Island Market on Chebeague Island, which closed in 2026 after operating since 1961.

For Pleasant Street residents, the loss is not just sentimental. It removes a nearby, walkable place where everyday errands turned into brief conversations and a small piece of neighborhood continuity. Replacing that kind of corner store is rarely simple, and in Brunswick, the closing of Tess’ Market leaves another gap in the fabric of local life.