Bangor foodies will have more options this fall after two new restaurants opened this month on Main Street and two more are set to join the city’s food scene by the end of the year.
Mainely Tacos Dos and Downtown Spot both opened this month in downtown Bangor.
Two more restaurants are set to open in December: Dreamer Food, which runs a seasonal food truck at the waterfront and plans to add a brick-and-mortar location in the Fairmount neighborhood, and Rasa Indian Cuisine, which will be located on Exchange Street downtown.
The new restaurants will expand the food offerings in Bangor following several closures this year. The Grindhouse and Legacy Sandwich both closed in June, and Evenrood’s will shutter at the end of the year.
Mainely Tacos Dos on 62 Main St. is open but still fiddling with its hours, according to manager Christopher Martin.
The restaurant, which grew out of the Mainely Tacos food truck in Hampden, is currently set to be open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Martin said.
“It’s nice to get the positive feedback and not be weather-dependent like the food truck was. We’re just excited to bring something different to downtown,” he added.
The menu boasts a variety of Mexican dishes and 10 margarita flavors. The guacamole, pico de gallo and salsa are made fresh daily, Martin said.
The restaurant has been taking call-ahead orders, Martin said, and he plans to start using delivery apps for online ordering in about a month.
Downtown Spot also opened recently at 73 Main St., filling a space that sat empty since November 2022. The store offers ice cream and grab-and-go food like sandwiches, salads, hummus and family-size take-and-bake meals from Utopia, a restaurant at 96 Hammond St.
The owner, Roscoe Witham, said earlier this month that the store was doing a soft-opening phase to train its staff but was planning for a grand opening soon.
The store’s hours are currently set at 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.
Bangor residents can keep an eye out for a pair of restaurants coming soon, too.
The team behind the Dreamer Food truck by the Bangor waterfront is planning to open a location at 97 Allen St.
Dreamer serves Armenian and Lebanese foods with an American twist, according to co-owner Anik Derphilibossian.
She and co-owner Kara Calor, both nurses, opened the truck in summer 2024 and started having customers approach the window with ideas for brick-and-mortar spaces that could work for a restaurant.
The duo plan to expand their menu and serve food year-round at the new location in the Fairmount neighborhood.
They chose the space for its more residential, family-focused environment, Calor said. “Allen Street is very much a community area,” she said.
They’re also excited about the building’s outdoor space, which they plan to use for outdoor seating in the warmer months, Derphilibossian said.
They’re redoing the interior of the building, formerly an office space, to recreate the feel of the truck indoors, Derphilibossian said. An open kitchen layout will encourage customers to interact with the people preparing their food.
“It’s so much more than food. It really is community,” Calor said.
They hope to open their doors in mid-December and will primarily be open on weekdays for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Calor said. The pair still plan to keep the food truck going when it gets warm again.
Rasa Indian Cuisine is also set to open in mid-December, according to South Portland restaurateur Sai Guntaka, who’s working with the owners to get the restaurant off the ground.
The eatery at 175 Exchange St. will serve dinner as well as a lunch buffet, Guntaka said previously, adding that the team hopes to “bring some spice up to Bangor.”