There are limited options for Bangor-area residents craving Filipino food or Asian groceries, with some people even traveling to Portland to get their fix.
That’s why the South Portland-based Buena Vista Filipino Market decided to open a new location in Bangor this year.
“A lot of people go to Portland and they advised [the owner], why not put a store in Bangor?” said George Baquiran, store manager of the new location.
The Bangor store opened Jan. 31 at 1012 Stillwater Ave., in the shopping center across the street from Target. Betty’s Ice Cream previously occupied the space, having opened in 2024 and closed in March 2025.
Baquiran said the store has been very busy since opening, especially with customers who are immigrants from the Philippines and other Asian countries — residents who may have struggled to find imported Asian products at local grocery stores in the past.
The market opened shortly after a similar store, Glo’s Carinderia, opened in Belfast in December.
Buena Vista carries a wide variety of packaged items like noodles, spices, sauces and canned fish, as well as fresh foods like meat, vegetables and breads, including pandesal, a Filipino roll.
One popular product is a Filipino dessert called Halo-Halo that’s made with shaved ice, milk, ube ice cream and a mix of sweets, Baquiran said.
The store also has a shelf of skin care products, fruit juices, a variety of ready to eat dishes and chicken ordered from Jollibee, a Filipino fast food chain that doesn’t have any locations in New England.
Baquiran said he immigrated to the U.S. 40 years ago and had a long career in the garment industry, but decided to help out with the market to try something different in retirement.
“I became more into pasta,” he joked about how he adapted his diet over the years while living in the U.S. “But I still cannot forget my culture.”