The Coffee Pot shuts down amid huge crowd

BANGOR, Maine (NEWS CENTER) -- It's not just the end of a decade, it's the end of an era. On Thursday, Skip Rist sold his last Coffee Pot sandwich at his shop on State Street.

Rist decided to close -- saying he's 72, been working since he was 13 and has bad knees.

Hundreds of people lined up, down State Street to Boyd Street and then to York street. Most of them were hopeful they would get a sandwich, but when they started to realize that they may not, they got creative with ways to get a coffee pot sandwich.

Erik Rogers of Bangor told NEWS CENTER he began a bidding war, paying $20 for a sandwich someone had already purchased. Right after, a woman offered to pay Rogers $21 for it.

The final sandwich, a Tuna Fish Coffee Pot, was sold at about 1:30 p.m.  "And I don't even like tuna fish," said Anthony Moore, of Brewer, about his historic purchase.  "It's the last time and it's the last one that will ever be sold."

People were still lining up outside into the afternoon, though, to give Rist a hug and thank him for his dedication.