LEWISTON — Less than a year after Sam’s Italian Foods closed its downtown shop at 268 Main St., the company announced it will reopen there as Sam’s Bakery Store beginning Tuesday.

Sam’s president, John Boyan, said it is a new concept for the company that will start with limited hours and days of operation — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays — so they can gauge the pace of business as word gets out.

The store will sell Italian rolls, hamburger rolls, dough balls and some other products available in stores such as Sam’s Italian oil and Italian dressings.

Sam’s Italian Foods at 268 Main St. in Lewiston, which closed less than a year ago, will reopen Tuesday as Sam’s Bakery Store. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

It’s the original storefront that founder Sam Bennett moved to after starting the business in 1939, selling salami Italians to millworkers at Minot Avenue and Elm Street in Auburn.

The company has baked bread for its stores from a small bakery on the second floor of the building and continues to do so. Boyan said the reconfigured store has been consolidated and will use only part of the space, which has a dining room and a commercial kitchen.

Boyan said they would welcome any entrepreneurs interested in sharing the space, or to use it as a prep kitchen for catering or similar activities.