SKOWHEGAN -- The Renaissance Center on Water Street finally has a tenant. In fact, it has two.

Somerset Ceramic & Marble has opened a store front and showroom on the ground floor, and Neighbor Helping Neighbor Ministries Inc., operated by the same couple, has opened offices on the second level.

Charli and Reggie Spearrin moved in this month. They are renting from the town of Skowhegan, which owns the building.

"It's probably the best business move we've ever made," Charli said of moving into the Renaissance Center. "Everybody in Skowhegan passes by our door and we leave the lights on at night. This is the absolute best advertising because they can see everything we've got.

"We sell tile and hardwood flooring; we do custom kitchens and showers -- that's our specialty. We do custom showers and custom kitchens, we do swimming pools -- anything that you can tile. And if someone wants to do the project themselves, we'll sell them all the materials they need."

The couple will open Evergreen Wilderness Chapel & 1800s Christian Museum on River Road in Solon soon, as well. The fundamentalist Pentecostal church, an affiliate of the Church of God, opens for services June 28.

Reggie Spearrin brings a history and experience to floor covering.

He learned his trade in Hartford, Conn., and spent 26 years doing Somerset Ceramic commercial flooring all over the northeastern United States, he said.

The couple operated their store on South Factory Street for the past eight or nine years.

Reggie Spearrin was born and raised in Bingham and came back in 1990. Since returning to Maine, his specialty has been residential work.

Neighbor Helping Neighbor Ministries, upstairs in the Renaissance Center, is a co-operative food-purchasing group but with no pre-qualifications or membership fees. As time goes on, the couple hopes to meet other needs in the local communities, such as with heat assistance and in winterizing homes.