Paul Bissonnette couldn’t have guessed a year ago that anyone would refer to Bucksport, where he is mayor, as the food capitol of Hancock County.
But they’re starting to, he said. Four new restaurants opened here in 2025, a few replacing local mainstays, and another coffee drive-through is in the works.
New people also continue moving in, vacant houses are being fixed up and other companies are considering locations in Bucksport. More cruise ships are visiting. Multiple local business owners told the Bangor Daily News throughout the year that a local “renaissance” brought them there.
“I think it was just a confluence of events that kind of worked out,” Bissonette said of the new restaurants being attracted to town. “…But I also think there’s a good environment for Bucksport to do that.”
For years, the town focused on whether it would survive the Verso Paper mill’s 2014 closure. Residents generally feel that it has; the question now is what Bucksport’s identity will become in the coming years, distinct from other coastal towns, according to Bissonnette.
“Towns change, and the only constant is change, and you’ve got to remember that,” he said.
He believes the town’s renaissance is ongoing, and was just interrupted by the pandemic.
Still, prime industrial real estate left behind by the mill’s demolition is unoccupied as a long-promised fish farm remains undeveloped, and the mill’s tax contribution hasn’t been fully replaced, though a small museum about its history opened there this fall. An affordable housing development remains stalled and the town faces new budgeting challenges that brought a steep property tax increase this summer.
Here are some of the big changes Bucksport has seen this year.
Restaurants
One of Bucksport’s selling points has been its central location between Bangor, Belfast and Ellsworth. When MacLeod’s Restaurant, a Main Street landmark for 45 years, closed in March, owner George MacLeod said he hoped a new restaurant would make use of its location and popularity.
Rob DeGennaro, who opened Stowaways Town Tavern in its place in October, told the BDN that Bucksport’s “vibe was perfect” and lines were out the door in the early days.
“We’re pulling people in from all angles, all over,” he said. “It’s like the crossroads. It’s really fun to see.”
Elsewhere on Main Street, former food truck business Salsa Shack moved in to replace Sicilian-inspired restaurant My Buddy’s Place, which closed in September in the former Friar’s Brewhouse Tap Room. Chalee Thai Sushi opened in May, run by Chalee Chaikaew and Vee Napapornipat, who own the Siam Sky Thai restaurant in Blue Hill.
The family restaurant Glenn’s Place on Route 1 also closed but this fall was replaced by Sweet Cheeks Diner. It, too, was met with overwhelming traffic.
The diner is the first full service location of Sweet Cheeks Bakery, which started on neighboring Verona Island four years ago and has since expanded with 24-hour vending machines in the region.
Local Leaders
Town Manager Susan Lessard, who led Bucksport through the aftermath of the mill closure, retired in June after nearly a decade. One of her focus areas was maintaining services and activity to help it attract new employers and residents.
She also led efforts to get the state to close down a local landfill owned by the scrap metal company that bought the mill property, and to advocate for the town as the company tries to abandon Silver Lake Dam — issues the town will continue to address in 2026. As chair of the Maine Board of Environmental Protection, she remains officially connected to state oversight of both.
Lessard told the town council when she announced her departure that she believed Bucksport’s next 10 years would be twice as good as the last. She was replaced by her assistant, Jacob Gran, who councilors said would provide uninterrupted and knowledgeable leadership on the town’s major issues. He also planned to focus on “reasonable” budgeting when he was hired.
“Everybody wants what’s best for Bucksport, and that’s the same for me,” Gran said at the time. “That’s why I want to manage it.”
The town lost another community leader and institution in March when Don Houghton, owner of The Bucksport Enterprise newspaper, died at the age of 83. The paper shut down with his passing.
“This paper gives the town a voice,” his assistant, Sandy Holmes, told the American Journalism Review in 2007 for an article about the Enterprise’s key role in local life. “Otherwise, it’s like a silent movie.”
Last month, the Penobscot Bay Press expanded its coverage on the Blue Hill Peninsula to fill the void, renaming its weekly Castine Patriot paper as River Observer and adding Orland and Verona Island to its coverage area. Local newsletter The Hive expanded too, and new digital news site The Rising Tide writes about the town.
After Houghton died, people felt a gap in information about local life, community events and town government – such as warning of the tax increase that took property owners by surprise this summer, several residents told the BDN at the time.
Finances
In August, the town learned that it had spent down roughly $8 million in savings which helped cushion it from the mill closure and for years offset increases in property taxes. The bills that followed left some residents worried about losing their homes and asking the town to cut back.
Council members haven’t publicly proposed any drastic cuts in the coming year, though changes that could save money have been discussed in recent council meetings.
Bissonnette expects an “interesting” budget process in 2026, with much more public participation, and sees the budget as setting the community’s priorities for the coming years.
He thinks local officials will be tasked with offering the services that attract new growth, and managing that growth responsibly, without making the town unaffordable for residents. Looking ahead, he said, the mission statement may be keeping priorities in line and understanding that change is a constant.
“It’s a very interesting time right now,” he said.