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Bangor businesses capitalize on national pumpkin spice craze

Some coffee shops are making their own pumpkin ingredients in-house.

BANGOR, Maine — As the national demand for pumpkin spice increases, local Bangor businesses hustle to meet the demands. 

"Probably about five out of 10 people coming in. So probably about half of our customers coming in are looking for pumpkin flavor," Emily Stricklin of Wicked Brew in Bangor said.

Wicked Brew, along with Chimera Coffee, makes their own pumpkin ingredients that they infuse into their pumpkin-flavored beverages. 

"I make the pumpkin spice syrup here at Chimera Coffee," lead barista Cassi Parent of Chimera Coffee in Bangor said.

Stricklin spoke about the convenience of using homemade ingredients. "If we get kind of low, we can run to our little bake station in the back and whip up a new batch of spices," she said.

Parent, on the other hand, spoke to customers' appreciation of in-house ingredients. "People definitely like the aspect that there is not like a lot of preservatives," she said. 

Samara Sury, manager at Coffee Express in Bangor said she believes people want an experience along with their pumpkin-flavored drink. 

"More than the flavor itself, it signals a change of seasons. People are excited for autumn. They want to have a chilly morning," Sury said.

The consistent theme when coffee shop workers spoke with NEWS CENTER Maine was that they keep at least one pumpkin-flavored item on the menu year-round because the pumpkin spice trend is just that prolific.

Some larger national chains launched their pumpkin menu items back in August to match the demand of the pumpkin craze. 

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