Bangor’s reading enthusiasts will soon have a dedicated nightlife spot downtown.
Britney Ellis said she wants to build on untapped potential in the reading community and add a “completely different” type of space to the city with her business, the Fireheart Tavern at 105 Main St.
“It’ll be a mix between a brewery feeling, but also a cozy cafe feeling,” Ellis said when describing what visitors should expect when they walk in.
The tavern will be unique in Bangor and in the state after Maine’s only other book-themed bar, Novel on Portland’s Congress Street, closed earlier this year. The store’s name alludes to characters many fantasy fans will be familiar with — think the “Fireheart” nickname from Sarah J. Maas’ “Throne of Glass” or the protagonist in the children’s book series “Warriors.”
Customers will be able to browse both used and new books, and the bar serving cocktails, mocktails, wine and beer will double as a cafe counter with specialty coffee, matcha and chai. The store will offer books and events for a wide variety of genres, with a particular emphasis on fantasy.
“I’m hoping to bring something completely different to Maine,” Ellis said, noting the already-strong book community in the Bangor area, especially given the tourism to the city as Stephen King’s hometown. She also pointed to the variety of book clubs and events already in the area, like the annual Bangor Authors’ Book Fair and Literary Festival.
She wants the space to offer more of a relaxed atmosphere than a typical bar and host affordable events like author readings, slam poetry events, Dungeons and Dragons nights and craft events. The space will have a community room that people will also be able to rent out for their own clubs.
The store will host several in-house book clubs too, starting with one for fantasy and another for horror and thriller books, Ellis said. Those clubs will meet at least monthly, and members will be able to vote on the book selections.
For now though, the Main Street space is undergoing a complete renovation, including taking down interior walls, removing carpet and adding new lighting. Ellis plans to add two bathrooms, a six-seat bar, a reading nook area and cozy seating like couches and cushioned chairs.
Ellis said she chose the space, which sits between Portland Pie Company and Bangor Window Shade and Drapery Company, for its interior brick wall and large windows after searching for eight months for the right space. She signed the lease in May and hopes to finish the renovations by early December, she said.
Although there’s still work to be done, Ellis said she’s already collected hundreds of used books for the store.
Once it’s ready to open, she plans to start with a Tuesday through Saturday schedule, with afternoon hours during the week and longer days on Friday and Saturday. She hopes to expand to seven days per week later on.
She also wants to eventually add a kitchen so visitors can access a cafe-style menu with charcuterie, paninis and salads, as well as baked goods from other local businesses.
Until the kitchen is added, anyone under 21 will need parental supervision to visit, but the store will host children’s programs and accept donations for a library-style collection that kids can borrow from for free, Ellis said.
A Bangor area resident for about three years, the owner also works at the Animal Orphanage in Old Town and wants to use her business to help the shelter and the community more broadly. She wrote a children’s book that she plans to publish, with all proceeds going to the shelter.