My friend and I went into Drillen True Value Hardware at 460 Cottage Road in South Portland, Maine…read more I was in the bolts and screws aisle, not quite finding what I needed. My (very) adult female friend told me she would ask an employee to assist. She went to the counter and asked the young man (with a reddish beard) at the cash register if someone could help us with the screws. The employee called out to another man working there, saying, "This woman needs help with a screw!" Then, laughing, he added in an equally loud voice, "You know what those are, don't you?" The two men laughed, as did the woman who was working the other cash register. Other customers witnessed this exchange. It was an ugly and humiliating display. It was deeply offensive and I'm unsure why a customer (female or male) would be treated that way. There are two things, however, that I am quite sure of. First, she and I, of course, will never enter this hardware store again. Second, we will not be timid about letting our friends and acquaintances in South Portland and neighboring Cape Elizabeth know how Drillen Hardware demeans women.

Not a big box hardware store just a fantastic locale store that has been around for years…read more Knowledgable and personable staff that go out of their way to make sure you have what you need and not more. My wife and I have never had a bad experience here and she grew up in Cape so has been a customer longer then I have. The staff goes out of it's way helping and educating kids who shop there too.

I love this store. Local, convenient, carries basically everything we'd ever need. The staff is…read morevery friendly and helpful. I'd much rather support this store over the big box stores, any day. Highly recommend!

I've been a customer at Cooks for at least 20 years, and always found the staff there friendly and…read morehelpful, especially for the occasional "odd" project that needed a little thought to plan creatively. One can't get that attention at a big box store, even if the aisles are wide. That said, there are better stores for some items, but knowing where to shop for what is a customer's responsibility. I really like the convenience, friendly staff and good quality of merchandise at Cooks, and highly recommend them - no reservations at all if you plan your shopping intelligently.

Excellent selection and knowledgeable staff. The quality is beyond what you can find at the…read morebig-box-stores, so I don't think they are trying to compete with them. A pretty unique and independent store with custom lighting, lighting repair, and really cool hardware you can't find anywhere else. Support Local Businesses so they can afford to stay open and continue to enrich our neighborhoods!!

Used to pass this place all the time on my way up to Shaw's. Kept saying "one day I'll stop in…read morethere" but then winter happened. Finally, as the spring season is officially upon us, I went in looking for some larger pots to give my kids room to grow, some soil, and of course some new kids. I will say that as of my first two visits, they were just starting to set up the outdoor nursery area which looks huge. Their indoor area for plants is on the smaller side, though there are still a fair amount of things to choose from if you're not too picky on what you pick up. Prices seemed fair. The entrance had a lot of larger "fancy" ceramic/clay pots which were marked at 50% off listed price. I was told by the owner that they get them in bulk pretty regularly which is why they are able to discount them so much. I picked up a couple. The inside of the store has the more ordinary terra cotta pots. Some fancier ones, but not an extraordinary amount. There's a huge area dedicated to gardening supplies, mostly of the growing persuasion (feed, seed, pesticides, soil, etc, as well as gardening equipment) It's a cute little shop and if you're looking for fairly basic stuff this place will have it. There's a fair amount of craftsy decorative stuff in the front as well. All the people I've encountered are friendly. I'll definitely be back.

What a beautiful place ! Lots of nice plants and quality retail / gift section ! The have what I'd…read morecall specimen plants ! Plants growing how they could be but you don't ever see them to that size or in public .

Meh, garden center is an exaggeration. Not a lot of stock in really anything. Huge space feels…read moreempty. No prices to be found on the soil, hardly any prices on products themselves. I think this place caters more to indoor hydroponics for weed, which is fine but just wish it was more upfront. Could use a great garden center in Portland now that risbaras is dead.

Weeks ago I went into Urban Garden Center on Warren Ave to get a pesticide and when I walked in,…read morethere were NO employees wearing masks. Seven employees working, no mask in sight other than the one that was covering my mouth and nose. Many employees were so close together that their arms were touching - still, no masks. I reported the business to the City of Portland, and the health inspector that called me back did let me know that he paid a visit to UGC and, again, no masks were being worn by five employees that day. I drove by a few days ago, and due to the elevation of Warren Ave in regards to where the store is placed, I was able to look inside. Lo and behold, despite Portland's health inspector paying them a visit and speaking with the manager and employees, I saw multiple employees without masks in the few seconds I was able to look in the store while driving by. If you value your health and the health of those you love, avoid this place at ALL COSTS. Support stores that care about their customers enough to wear a mask (seriously - it's not THAT hard!), give quality customer service, and of course, a store whose manager isn't aiming to work at and maintain a super-spreader location. I will never be back, and I will continue to urge everyone I know to steer clear of this establishment.

I found my way into Cowbwebs on a hot July day and immediately wanted to leave…read more I stayed as long as I could in order not to be rude, but the air was dead still in there, and it smelled awful. Not just like antiques. Awful. The woman behind the counter was talkative in a bad way. I relish friendly conversation when visiting shops. It's one of my favorite things about visiting stores! But this woman just kept asking questions, one after the other, the entire time I was there. I tried to make it clear with body language that I was just interested in browsing, but she kept on coming with the questions. It was more of an interrogation than a dialog. Merchandise wise, I saw nothing of value. Everything was sort of just stacked in dusty piles. There were none of the, "Oooooh, look at that! What a cool thing!" moments that you want when visiting an antiques or thrift-type shop. Maybe there's some hidden treasure in there, but for me it wasn't worth the dig.

I had a wonderful experience at this shop.  The owner let me in a few minutes before she opened…read more  She was putting merchandise on the sidewalk but let me and my dog go in. I found her to be very friendly and talked about our hometowns.  I bought a vintage hobnail tea light holder and a Little Tikes solid wood table and chair set.  The price for the candle holder was the going rate.  The price I got for the table and chairs was fantastic!!!! The location is great.  There is LBKitchen a few doors down.  A really old cemetery across the street and a bookstore next door.

This place was GREAT! Nothing like this near us so it was super cool to walk through. We got 6 new…read morestainless steel bowls for a good price (med-sm bowls ranging $8-$3 respectively). There are specialty olive oils and vinegars that were cool to try too.

This seems to have more products compared to the Scarborough location. I loved looking at all the…read moreoptions for cooking, baking and what not. We needed a tissue holder and got one of the ones they had. I also got some sparkling sugar for baking. I'm pretty used to their prices so that's not new. I understand they have to pay rent so I'm happy to support a specialty store like them. Service is as good as the Scarborough location. I like the layout of this store better though.

The ropes course at this location is the smallest of the 3 that can be found in the company's…read morestores, though it's still fun to do when the weather outside isn't great (alongside the rest of the mall of course).

My wife and I visited Jordan's Furniture yesterday to shop for a spare bedroom set and two…read moremattresses with box springs. When we arrived, we were greeted by an employee who initially seemed interested in helping us. As we walked through the bedroom showrooms, we didn't immediately see what we were looking for, and the employee began trailing behind us with noticeably less engagement. Before long, she was on her phone and no longer paying attention. When I turned to ask her a question, she had disappeared entirely. We continued on our own and eventually found a set that might have worked for us, but there was no one available to assist. At that point, we decided to leave and return to one of the other furniture stores in the area. As we were walking out, we saw the same employee enthusiastically greeting another couple, while completely ignoring us. The lack of attention and follow‑through cost Jordan's a very significant sale, and unfortunately the experience was poor enough that we won't be returning. On the other hand, our experience at Furniture Superstore was the complete opposite, attentive, helpful, and professional. We purchased everything we needed there.