Considering the economic challenges of the past two decades, maintaining any legacy business is not for the faint of heart. This is all the more true when it is a family business. At home in one of the most beautiful areas of North America, M.R. Brewer of Portland, Maine is a second-generation construction millwork, interior design, and restoration firm founded on hard work, integrity, and humility.
The company is best known for new construction, additions and renovations, cabinetry and millwork, and interior design. After nearly four decades in the trade, this dynamic company is still going and growing, supplying construction services throughout the Portland area, York, and Cumberland counties. The team is always ready to be challenged and is well-equipped to take on whatever complex tasks and new concepts customers may present.
Being adaptable and driven by innovation has proven to be a boon during these times of change and market fluctuations. With economic trends changing and energy efficiency and building codes demanding ever-tighter building envelopes, the company is tackling more new types of work with tenacity, a refreshing love of knowledge, and a healthy respect for developing expertise. This is all possible thanks to judiciously managing its growth by expanding at a rate that makes maintaining its high standards possible.
Matthew Brewer, Co-owner—with his brother Jeffrey—and Construction Manager, describes the construction industry as “changing rapidly.” Therefore, having an eye on new trends, building codes, and architectural styles ensures the company’s ongoing success as a household name in new construction, building envelopes, and complete interior design, an offering managed by Tavia Douglass. Over the past few years, these shifts have brought significant evolution to the company, taking its cabinet design service into a fully-fledged interior design department in its own right. And it is expanding quickly—so much so that the interior design department is now extending its reach into soft furnishings, providing customers with the option to employ a single firm when building or renovating their homes.
Also a notable restoration expert, the company has returned many local historic buildings to their former glory and handles several of these projects annually. As growth in its construction division continues, M.R. Brewer looks forward to further developing this division as well.
Architectural millwork and cabinetry for all its projects are performed completely in-house, offering a significant advantage over competitors that are solely focused on construction. An array of sophisticated new finishes—like water-based sealants that outperform traditional lacquers—and the vast choice of hardware components available today provide end users with a plethora of choice.
With such a strong work ethic, it is natural that there have been many significant projects for this team over the years. More recently, a multi-discipline, complex oceanfront project in Freeport, Maine became another feather in its cap when the company not only constructed two new buildings in a challenging setting, but also constructed a bridge between the guest house and the main house across a river. As shoreline construction poses additional rules and regulations, the team went all out to deliver a quality product while ensuring optimal environmental awareness throughout the project.
Another recent new build comprises a 7,000-square-foot home set against a shoreline embankment in Cumberland. As establishing and creating soil bank stability to the standards demanded by local building codes is a tremendous challenge in and of itself, delivering a top-notch project to this happy customer was another memorable moment for the M.R. Brewer team.
Present projects include one site at Princess Point, Yarmouth, Maine, plus a 7,500-square-foot residence in Naples, Maine, as well as many renovations currently in progress across the region.
Indeed, the company ascribes part of its success to its close relationships with its local communities and the people alongside whom it has expanded into a flourishing business from humble beginnings. Rusty Brewer—Matthew and Jeffrey’s father—and Richard Beaudoin founded the company in 1987. The two friends were inspired to go their own way when prospects within their former positions at other companies were not as promising as had been expected. Originally finding a home in the Brewer family barn, business in the first year was soon good enough to afford more suitable premises. Rusty Brewer purchased Beaudoin’s shares a short time later, while Beaudoin continued working at the company for another two decades until his retirement.
The two Brewer brothers were brought into working in the firm from a young age. Idleness was not tolerated, and whatever free time they had was spent learning on the job from the age of 12 or so. This tradition continued throughout their school careers and beyond military training and college. Today, Jeffrey Brewer, Co-owner and Millwork Manager, has been with the firm for a quarter of a century, while Matthew Brewer has been formally working there for 21 years.
Firm in the belief that the company’s reputation pivots on the quality and success of its most recent project, Rusty raised his sons and daughter to understand that the only real possessions in life are one’s word and one’s name, and that losing either adversely affects credibility. So, believing in quality and considering everyone from subcontractors to customers family at all times are mainstays that have guided the company through good times and bad.
This philosophy has led to significant good fortune for the business in recent years—to the point of expanding its millwork site to handle project volumes. With the addition of 3,500 square feet to the existing footprint, the facility is now capable of a considerable increase in its output volumes.
Having grown up in this community, the Brewer brothers and their staff are such a well-known part of the region’s fabric that continued expansion appears to be an organic result of this legacy, and Matthew says he is grateful that he and his brother can now raise their own children here. For this reason, giving back to the community matters, and it is not uncommon to find the team completing small projects that contribute to the greater good within the community.
“My father is what we would call your quintessential Mainer. He’s a man of his word, and he’ll do anything for anybody,” says Matthew.
The goodwill naturally spills into the firm’s leadership style. Considering all the time spent at work, creating a meaningful culture where people flourish because they feel at home and part of a team is a priority for the Brewers.
“We thoroughly enjoy working with everyone in our company. We really are like a family; we like spending time together,” Matthew says. While working hard is important, the team also takes time out monthly to simply enjoy each other’s company and connect in a social setting.
The Brewer brothers hope to see at least some of the nine children in the family join the company’s ranks when the time is right. By creating this platform for the next generation to take the company into its next era, they hope to see their father’s dream take flight in ways that are not even conceivable yet. “We have a lot of opportunity ahead of us. It’s a very exciting time for us right now,” Matthew concludes.
