Only Grocery Store for Rural Aroostook Towns Heads to Auction Over $662,000 Debt
Ashland Food Mart, the only grocery store for several rural Aroostook towns, goes to a foreclosure auction July 28 over $662,000 in debt.
The only grocery store serving the rural Aroostook County town of Ashland is scheduled for a foreclosure sale on July 28, 2026, after its owner fell behind on the property's loans, the Bangor Daily News reported.
Walker Food Services, which acquired Ashland Food Mart in 2022, took out three mortgages through the Northern Maine Development Commission and has since defaulted on all of them. The commission's attorney said in paperwork dated June 25, 2026, that Walker Food Services owes it more than $662,000 combined in unpaid principal, interest and related fees on the mortgages. The company did not respond to the newspaper's request for comment.
The store's entrance was padlocked when a reporter visited on June 29, 2026; it had been shut for roughly a month by that point. Ashland Food Mart is the nearest grocery store for several small communities west of Scopan Lake in the middle of Aroostook County, including Portage Lake, Masardis and Oxbow; residents must otherwise drive more than 20 miles to reach the next-closest stores, in Presque Isle. Ashland itself has more than 1,200 residents.
The three-acre site, which also contains a former redemption center, went up for sale in August 2025; its asking price was cut to $848,500 in June 2026. Keenan Auction Company, based in Portland, will conduct the sale; the firm has recently handled foreclosure auctions of other northern Maine properties, including the Burger Boy Restaurant property in Caribou and the Rathbun Lumber site in Presque Isle.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
