DOVER-FOXCROFT - While most businesses and individuals struggle during a recession, there are certain businesses which thrive in a thrifty environment.
 According to an article posted on December 3, 2008 at www.usatoday.com, many companies are “recession resistant.” While people may hold off on big ticket purchases during tough times, they still need food, basic household goods and medical care. An elegant dinner out might be off the menu, but a Happy Meal® isn’t. McDonald’s outperformed the Dow Jones industrial average last year, and topped Wall Street earnings estimates. Sales remained strong around the globe, and McDonald’s third quarter earnings rose six percent from a year ago, reaching $6.3 billion.
 Folks have been stocking up on affordable food at Save-a-Lot in Dover-Foxcroft. Owner Scott Pangburn said he began to notice an increase in sales last October. The number of customers is not up a lot, but those customers are coming in less often to save trips, and are buying more when they do shop. Some first-timers have come in, attracted by the low prices, Pangburn said. He also noted that many more people purchased grocery gift certificates this year for holiday giving.
 

Repair businesses – from automotive shops, roof repair companies, plumbers and electricians to seamstresses and cobblers – tend to do well during a recession because people patch up and make do rather than purchase new.
 That’s holding true at Water Street Shell in Guilford, where vehicle repair appointments are up from this time last year, according to Tim Weeks, the manager. It’s normal for the garage to have a slump in business for a couple of weeks before and after Christmas, but this year mechanics were “right out straight,” he said.
 Saving a buck became stylish in 2008. While most retailers felt the pinch, Wal-Mart held its own because shoppers tight on funds flocked there to find low-cost clothing, household goods and holiday gifts. Locally, dollar stores and thrift shops also benefitted from America’s more frugal mindset.
 Family Dollar Store opened a new branch in Corinth this year. Thrift stores cropped up in several locations throughout our region. Starr Attraction, located in the former Moosehead Manufacturing Company outlet space on Main Street in Dover-Foxcroft, is entering its fifth month of business.
 According to Mark Tasker, whose son Greg Tasker owns the business, the family felt that this area needed another thrift outlet more than ever during these financially-challenging times. The store carries a little bit of everything, including clothing, furniture, books, household items and dishes.
 “We aren’t making a killing, but it’s a well-needed thing,” Mark Tasker said. “A lot of people can’t afford new. We’ve had a lot of good foot traffic. A lot of people came in for Christmas [shopping]. It was hard to see some of them – a lot of them didn’t have much.”
 Thanks to generous donations of gently used items from the community, the Taskers were able to give away needed items to families most down on their luck over the holidays in addition to making sales. Starr Attraction is not a non-profit, but people still donate. Tasker said the caring of the community has been remarkable.
 “People brought in a lot of nice stuff to donate,” he said.
 When people can’t afford to buy, renting or renting-to-own are options. Nationally, such businesses are doing well. Mainely Rent to Own, with stores in Dover-Foxcroft, Lincoln, Newport and Millinocket, is holding its own.
 “We’re ahead five percent, but inflation was five percent,” said owner John Shaefer, “which is better than business being down.” All four stores are seeing more foot traffic than usual, but sales have not gone up dramatically. Shaefer said the recent move of the Dover-Foxcroft store to 13 Summer Street was more a matter of function than finance. Better parking now makes the store more accessible for customers, he said.
 Another sector that does well during tight times is the home entertainment enterprise. When people can’t afford to go out, they seem willing to spend a bit more on what’s available for entertainment at home.
 Bob Jankunas of Dave’s World in Dover-Foxcroft said that television sales and satellite service sales are way up.
 “It usually picks up in the fall when people come back inside,” he said, “but we’ve never been a month out on installations and we’ve been a month out for the last two months.”
 Cell phone sales are also up, perhaps because people are giving up their land lines, he said. Sales in all the departments, even those that one would expect to take a dip, have met goals every month. Jankunas credits the Dave’s World “no gloom and doom zone” for the business’s success.
 “A positive attitude rules the day,” he said, noting that a confident and upbeat sales staff inspires consumer confidence.
 While not a business in the typical “for-profit” sense of the word, libraries are experts at home entertainment -- and business has been booming.
 “It has really picked up over the last six months,” said Linda Packard, director of the Guilford Memorial Library. “We’re going to set a new record for circulation this year.”
 Packard said that libraries are enjoying renewed popularity, and with good reason. Services are free to Guilford residents, and for a nominal fee, non-residents may enjoy all that Guilford Memorial has to offer.
 In addition to books, including current best sellers, there are magazines and newspapers, books on tape and movies that can be borrowed free of change. The building has WiFi so people often bring laptops here to enjoy high-speed Internet access not available at home. And the library has a computer that the public has been putting to good use.
 “A library is a good place to utilize anytime,” she said. “It’s always a bargain. Sometimes people forget about us, but we’re always here.”