Rusty Lantern Market in West Paris was recently razed and a transformation is underway. The convenience store and gas station will reopen in October. Nicole Carter / Advertiser Democrat

WEST PARIS — Options in West Paris for gas, breakfast and pizza have been limited the past several weeks and will continue until fall.

Rusty Lantern Market at the corner of Bethel Road and Main Street closed for remodeling last month, with a roadside sign indicating the doors will reopen in the fall. In the blink of an eye, the building was razed and removed.

“Rusty Lantern Market is rebuilding its West Paris, ME store,” Jennie Dykens, RLM’s director of marketing and branding confirmed by email. “The site was closed on June 5 and is expected to reopen in mid-October, 2023.”

Dykens added that employees of the convenience store who wanted to have been temporarily reassigned to the Bethel and Norway locations. She said once a re-open date is confirmed the company will announce a grand opening celebration with customer-focused activities.

“We’re excited to make the investment into the rebuild,” said RLM CEO and Manager John Koch. “It will allow us to modernize and expand upon the space and facilities and be better situated for the long term.”

The Norway RLM was renovated and reopened soon after the company bought the former Mallard Mart stores last summer. The purchase included the Bethel location and another store in Livermore.

Sitting on a very small footprint at the corner of Paris and Fair streets in Norway, the updates there were minor compared to West Paris, which has ample space and provides easy access to food and fuel for western Maine commuters, ATV riders, commercial truckers and tourist travelers.