Carolina's Specialty Shop — Local services in South Portland

Tabatha and Dan's reviews are spot-on. The elderly woman who runs this store seems to have a deep bitterness in her heart. My mother and I were visiting from out of town a little over a week ago; my sister is an active-duty military member who has been stationed in Maine for about a year and took the time to show us around Portland, including the Maine Mall. The moment my family and I entered this store, we could feel her contempt for us. We were not greeted at all, and this lady immediately started watching us like a hawk. She seemed convinced that we were going to break or steal something. When I began to glare back, she said, "Can I help you guys with anything?" without an ounce of warmth in her voice. I don't think I saw her smile once. Her eyes didn't leave us for a second the entire time we were in this store. Surely she had something better to do? We ultimately decided to leave without purchasing anything. Initially, I believed that we were being racially profiled, as my family and I are all Asian, and considering that Maine is one of the whitest states in America, I thought that perhaps the lack of diversity in her state combined with her cold, bitter heart led her to hold some prejudice against us. Additionally, when we walked past the Carolina's again on our way out of the mall, she seemed to be minding her business at the register as two white customers browsed, but the moment she saw me looking at her through the window, she started glaring again. However, I am unaware of Tabatha and Dan's races, so perhaps this woman simply has disdain for all of humanity. Either way, this lady has absolutely no place in customer service, and if I ever visit Portland again, I will certainly not be...

I second Tabatha's review that the woman who owns the store is unreasonably rude. It's not clear what she gains from it. When I was there, she was sitting at the counter working at a sewing machine that was chattering away in the background, and she appeared to be annoyed to have to deal with customers at all. I tried to chat about a product; she ignored me. I took photos of two products that I was interested in, one of which I had told her I had purchased elsewhere and was happy to know she sells. She castigated me for taking photos, saying that is not allowed and then adding confusingly that "it's not her policy" (yes, it's her store, it's her grumpiness, it's her decision not to be helpful or friendly to customers). My hands were full of bags, and clearly I was not at the mall just to find ideas for what to order from Amazon (not that you can find all that locally-made stuff at Amazon anyway). A couple was browsing in the store, and instead of saying a friendly hello to them, instead she chastised them to "be careful" -- these were not children, these were adults in a food specialty store, so they are not likely to start smashing things. The store is so dark that some products are not easy to see clearly. The woman says that she keeps it this way because she suffers from migraines. It's unclear whether the migraines have led to her rudeness, or whether her seeming contempt for her customers has led to her migraines. If it's the former, then I have empathy. But either way, while I love food and while I love local products, this is not a pleasant place to browse, and this is not a store that I need to reward with my business with another visit at any point in the...

My son, his girlfriend, and I are visiting our friends here in Maine from Texas. We visited this cute little shop to look at souvenirs (as his gf had never been to Maine prior). The woman working (claimed to be the owner) was EXTREMELY rude and disrespectful. She followed us around (almost like we were going to steal from her) and even had the nerve to take a stuffed animal out of his girlfriend’s hands as she was explaining how cute it was and how she wanted to buy it. It’s been rare in my life to encounter someone that is so inconsiderate and just plain MEAN. My friend and I confronted her about her disrespect and for totally embarrassing a 15 year old girl. Instead of apologizing, she was even more rude. I will NEVER come back to this shop during my visits and no one else should either! She lost a sale due to her complete inability to treat humans with...