Tammy Lincoln and Mary Kate Reny At Todays Job Fair

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 734)

Hundreds of people attended  the Reny’s Department Store Job Fair at the Cumberland County Civic Center today said Mary Kate Reny this afternoon.   The Fair started early this morning and will continue until 8 pm this evening.  The Portland store will be the 15th location  in Maine when the  Congress Street store opens  in  mid-April.

Out of all these applicants, the Reny’s staff has to narrow them down to about 35 to 40 people who will staff the Portland store.  Next week the finalists will be asked to return for a second interview – to happen at the new store location on Congress Street – the former site of L.L. Beans and Olympia Sports.  “Retail experience is great, but customer service is better,” said Reny.  “We want friendly and polite people.  We want all types of people.”   (She’s the daughter-in-law of the founder, Robert, who died several years ago at 84 years old.)

The Congress Street store has 25,000 sq. ft.  The store will sell clothing, food, toys, housewares – the same items that the other stores sell.  The Belfast store is one of the largest  with 35,000 sq. ft.

“The time was right for us to move to Portland,” said Reny. “There was no incentive given to us to start-up in Portland.”