Fresh Vibes moving to CBD-friendly Maine

LEBANON, Maine — Downtown Rochester eatery Fresh Vibes is moving over the border to Maine due, in part, to New Hampshire’s new enforcement of federal restrictions on CBD-infused food.

Owner Kris Enis said she expects Fresh Vibes will open within the former Minor’s Dairy Bar building at 1716 Carl Broggi Highway in Lebanon, later this week or the next. The current location, at 45 North Main St. in Rochester, will close by the end of June.

“It’s sad for sure,” Enis said while expressing optimism and excitement that the relocation will allow her to finally roll out the CBD-infused menu she’s wanted to introduce at Fresh Vibes for some time. “I love that (45 North Main St.) building and its character. We poured our heart and soul into that building.”

CBD stands for cannabidiol and is a non-psychoactive, hemp-derived compound. It is touted by proponents as a natural way for people and pets to alleviate anxiety, pain, insomnia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer side effects, and seizures caused by epilepsy.

Fresh Vibes was among a dozen or so Rochester businesses affected when the city informed them a few months ago they had to stop selling CBD-infused beverages, gummies, desserts and other edibles. Fresh Vibes’ revenue has fallen 15 to 20 percent since then, Enis said, declining to attach a dollar figure to those percentages.

Rochester restricted CBD food products, city officials have said, because the city had a duty to act after state Health Officers Association members alerted it that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration doesn’t list the substance as an accepted food additive in its 2009 code.

That code is what the Granite State and self-inspecting cities like Rochester use for its food regulations. CBD oils and creams are still permitted because they fall under different guidelines.

Enforcement of CBD-infused food products has since spread to businesses in other communities, including neighboring Dover. That comes after the New Hampshire Bureau of Public Health Protection and its Liquor Commission each sent separate notices this month to thousands of bars, restaurants and shops statewide to inform them their food and liquor licenses would be revoked if they didn’t comply.

Maine had a similar CBD crackdown earlier this year. Maine Gov. Janet Mills lifted it in March — just after Rochester’s enforcement began — by signing emergency legislation to allow for infused food products to be sold and produced in her state. A Rochester woman’s petition to urge New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu to do the same had 262 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

Enis said she doesn’t fault Rochester’s enforcement officials for doing their jobs, but she said she’s eager to see what relocating to the Minor’s building, just a few hundred feet away from East Rochester, will do for Fresh Vibes’ bottom line.

Other reasons for Fresh Vibes’ relocation include the cost of renting 45 North Main St., a chance to bring Lebanon entrepreneur and former Minor’s manager Mel Warren into the new space as a partner to lessen Enis’ 100-hour work week, and other opportunities surrounding the new location, like its riverside outdoor spaces and room for a produce garden.

“This will put us in a profit-making position,” said Warren, a Lebanon native who has experience in the health care industry, construction industry and business development. One of her ventures is a wellness center just up the street from Minor’s that sells CBD and THC products.

Warren and Enis met last fall at Rochester’s inaugural Porch Fest, a citywide outdoor music festival that will return this Sept. 29. Minor’s had just shuttered one month prior and Warren asked Enis if she needed any help waiting tables at Fresh Vibes.

Enis said the fit was “just meant to be.” Together, they’ll rent the Minor’s space with the intention of eventually buying it.

“We’re here to stay,” said Warren. “I can’t wait. Oh my god, I can’t wait. I’m so excited. It’s going to be a sweet victory in this place.”

The new Fresh Vibes will start as a breakfast and lunch spot before eventually expanding to dinner service, similar to how Enis started when she opened in Rochester in May 2017.

To start, the menu will look familiar to Fresh Vibes and Minor’s faithful, combining Fresh Vibes’ sit-down format and heavy emphasis on fresh ingredients with window-service lobster rolls, hot dogs and Shaker Pond ice cream.

The CBD-infused menu’s rollout will be slow, starting with pastries and coffee before working up to salad dressings and other items, Enis said. Infused housemade ice cream could be a possibility in the future, as could THC-infused items, according to Warren.

They’d love to add outdoor music and entertainment similar to what they offer at the current location in Rochester, as well as some sort of riverwalk offering given that the building is mere feet from the Salmon Falls River. They said any such plans must still by vetted by local planning and zoning officials, given zoning restrictions on shoreline properties.

They plan to support community-focused causes and charities like Minor’s did, including an annual drive for a backpack program aimed at combating food insecurity in local schools.

Enis said the ultimate hope is eventually to return to Rochester in a cafe capacity, but those plans are still in development.

“Fingers crossed,” she said. “We do want to stay in Rochester, but this is our focus right now. We do hope to get back once we restructure ourselves.”