The first half of the summer of 2019 will see a number of new restaurants open in the Bangor area — two from established Maine restaurateurs, and one from a newbie on the dining scene. The new establishments will broaden Bangor’s pizza offerings, bring Middle Eastern specialties to the city and expand the availability of New Jersey-style subs in the area.
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Portland Pie Company
Portland Pie Company this week opens its first Bangor restaurant, located at 89 Main St. in downtown Bangor, the former location of Verve Burritos. Portland Pie announced in April that it would expand to Bangor, adding to its seven other locations in Waterville, Brunswick, Portland, South Portland, Westbrook, Biddeford and Manchester, New Hampshire.
Portland Pie staff extensively renovated both the interior and exterior of 89 Main St., removing the elevated seating areas and ordering counters that were in place previously, and opening up the space to allow for more seating. The exterior now has new signage, and the recessed entryway has been remodeled to open directly onto the sidewalk.
The Bangor restaurant serves sandwiches, salads, an array of craft beer and appetizers and, of course, pizza, including classic pies and speciality pies such as The County (mashed potatoes, caramelized onion, bacon and cheddar) and the Crescent Beach (American cheese, hamburger, onion, bacon, romaine, sesame seeds, pickles, ketchup and mustard). It’ll be open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week, and will offer delivery in Bangor.
Kebab Den
Also opening in June or July will be a new Middle Eastern restaurant, the Kebab Den, at 621 Hammond St., the former location of the Whoopie Pie Cafe.
Owner Bilal Quraishi said he plans to offer an array of kebabs with rice, alongside other Greek and Middle Eastern specialties such as shawarma, gyros and falafel, as well as samosas, salads, sandwiches, wraps, fresh juice and ice cream. Though there will be some seating, the focus will be on takeout items. An official opening date is not yet set, but Quraishi expects late this month or early next month.
The Kebab Den will be fully halal, which means all meat served is processed and prepared according to Islamic dietary laws.
Jersey Subs & Sweets
Finally, Jason Coleman, owner of the popular downtown Bangor sandwich joint Jersey Subs & Sweets, announced last week that he intends to open a second Jersey Subs location in Old Town. He anticipates a July opening.
It’ll be located at 601 Stillwater Ave., in between the Dairy Queen and Dunkin’ Donuts. Coleman said he plans to offer the exact same menu in Old Town as he does in the downtown Bangor location, offering hot dogs, milkshakes, penny candy and New Jersey-style subs, featuring an array of cold cuts served on fresh baked rolls.
The downtown Bangor location opened in January 2018.
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