ANDOVER – The popular water filtration and dispensing machine at Andover Public Square is set to get an upgrade, keeping on a popular local water source available for residents and visitors both.
The old machine, which sat at 25 Public Square, dispensed filtered water for years at a rate of 25 cents a gallon and was available 24/7 for years. It was set up at one of the doors to Victorian Elements, an antique shop owned by the late David Sajna, according to Stefanie White, who purchased the building after Sajna’s death in February, 2024.
“My customers have become well educated that this water is the safest and best-tasting water to drink, and travel many miles from all areas to purchase it,” Sajna wrote in a February 2016 Facebook post.
White, who will be opening her own antique shop at the former Victorian Elements in the spring, took over the building and decided that the water machine, which was owned and maintained by a third-party vendor, could use an upgrade.
A new, larger machine is already on site and awaiting installation, made by Everest Ice and Water Vending out of Apopka, Fla., in suburban Orlando.
“I know there’ve been some comments about having those machines shipped in from overseas, but we didn’t want to do that,” White said.
Once installed, the new water machine will dispense clean, filtered water at the same 25-cents-a-gallon rate and will include a new feature: ice.
White said the rate for ice is “up in the air” because she still has to decide what amount the machine will dispense. However, there will be bags available to fill at the machine or customers can place a cooler under the spout to fill it with fresh, clean ice.
The new machine will be up and running in another week or two from this publication’s print deadline, as it still needs to be set, framed and connected to a waterline, according to White.
White’s new shop, Nan’s Antiques, has a planned opening in April and will have its own collection of antiques and curiosities, with consignment sales welcome as well, she said.
