Four months after its owner first announced it, downtown Bangor’s new grocery store and deli, Salty Brick Market, has opened on Main Street.
Owner James Gallagher, who also owns whoopie pie bakery Bangin’ Whoopie in downtown Bangor, quietly opened the market and grab-and-go lunch spot at 35 Main St. over the weekend.
“We just wanted to open the doors and see how people reacted when they walked by,” Gallagher said. “Our first sale was beer and chips, so I think that’s a good sign.”
Gallagher will offer a selection of snacks, soft drinks, beer, wine and basic groceries, personal care items and other sundries at the market, hoping to fill a niche for a bodega-style business that hasn’t been present downtown for years.
A few elements will open in the coming week or two, including the coffee bar, salad bar and deli counter and the addition of grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches and other items, as well as fresh Maine produce and dairy.
“With the shortages that have been happening, it’s been a little bit of a challenge to source everything, but we’re finally pretty much there,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher has been working on getting his business up and running for about a year, after the most recent tenant at 35 Main St., Country Blessings Gift Shop, vacated the spot in summer 2021.
“People are really excited to have a place to just grab things like pet food, or toothpaste, or some basic snacks or grocery items, and not have to get in the car or walk all the way to Shaw’s,” Gallagher said. “There’s so many more people living downtown that it just makes sense.”
For more information, like Salty Brick Market on Facebook.