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Mexicali Blues: Shakedown Street to Bangkok

The Erskine's were always the life of the party and their house was always an eclectic stew of strangers helping strangers, kind of like Mexicali Blues. According to Kim, everyone called her husband “Bring Them Home Pete.” There were always a few people staying on their couch, in their kitchen, or in their driveway. “There was this young family traveling through Maine that stayed in the bed of their truck in our driveway. We spent a few days together, and then they were off to Asia,” remembers Kim. “With their little blonde kids,” Pete added, “Which gave us an idea…”

Mexicali Blues: Grateful Deadication, The Start of a Long Strange Trip

People started coming from all over the northeast and beyond to trade bootleg tapes, hackysack, hitch rides, jam out, and catch vibes. “This connected us to this national network of entrepreneurs who sold stuff from all over the world. They brought the Shakedown Street (the vending area outside of a concert) to us in Maine, people lived that vagabond lifestyle and they would make money to go on tour, travel, buy stuff, sell it, then go back on tour (with the Grateful Dead).”...

Mexicali Blues: A Birthday, a Backpack, a Recipe for Love ❤️

From islands in Indonesia to bazaars in Bangkok, high in the Himalayas to mountaintops in Maine, tuk tuks in Thailand to a fleet of tie dye vans, Mexicali co-owners Kim and Pete have dedicated their lives to doing what they love and loving what they do. What you may not know is that their love all started at the original Mexicali Blues in Portland, Maine over three decades ago...

Mexicali Blues: The First Trip, From Maine to Mexico

"We found a location, we signed a lease, (but) we had no goods, no connections, and we didn't really know what we were doing..." - Eric

In Mexico, there’s a saying, “el que busca encuentra”, or if you search you will find. Eric and Pete started searching the markets in Mexico City for groovy goods, and the more they searched, the more they found...

Mexicali Blues: Wanderlust, Fraternal Brothers, & a Dog Named Doobie

Eric Lipkin and Pete Erskine were fresh out of college, bright-eyed and bushy-bearded, and looking for the next adventure. “Eric was working in the restaurant business and I was selling real estate and delivering sandwiches in my 1973 Triumph convertible with my dog Doobie.” Eric had an idea, let's travel to Mexico, see what we can find, then sell it here in Portland, Maine...

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