AUBURN, Maine — It has been nearly three weeks since a man walked into two businesses in Lewiston, a bowling alley and a sports bar, and opened fire, killing 18 people and injuring more than a dozen others.
As we all continue to come to terms with what happened, we're seeing how the shootings have had a ripple effect on other similar businesses in the Lewiston-Auburn area, as well as their customers.
The hospitality industry in Lewiston-Auburn has been as resilient as can be, and people in the industry are optimistic about the city's recovery.
Jackie Burgman is a long-time bartender and general manager at Gritty McDuff's Brew Pub in Auburn. She was working the night of the mass shooting and said that about 150 people were inside Gritty's that night for a special event.
Burgman said people started getting notices on their phones about a possible mass shooter, and while they were trying to confirm if it was true or not, a police officer showed up at their door to man it just in case the shooter decided to keep targeting other bars and restaurants in the vicinity. People were given the option to leave or stay as long as they wanted while they made phone calls and gathered their thoughts.
The days and weeks that have followed have been a roller coaster of emotions for staff and customers, Burgman said.
"But there is comfort that comes with familiarity," she added.
Burgman said traffic levels have not been as high as usual, but it has still been a lot busier than she expected following such a tragic event.
"It's obviously a traumatic time and a very high emotional time, so it's heavily talked about and it's just one of those things that you navigate day to day," she explained.
Burgman said she's had a lot of people, whether alone or in a group, share stories with her. Others have simply been in need of a hug or a friendly ear, highlighting the role many bartenders and servers aside have played for whoever walks in the door and wants to open up about their feelings.
"It's still heavily talked about. We still hear stories on a daily basis. You know, everybody experienced it very differently," Burgman shared. "We have 558 mugs hanging here, which means essentially we have 558 regulars that come here on a regular basis, and I think second to a therapist is a bartender. We hear all the highs all the lows."
She said doctors, teachers, blue-collar workers, attorneys, and many others have been showing up to just have a beer and talk about their own feelings.
"Sometimes it's like this regular over here doesn't really talk to this regular but they see each other in here every day. But now, all of a sudden, because of the event that happened, it's like, 'Oh man, I'm really glad you are safe. Like, it's good to see your face in here again.' So it almost builds your community back up after an event like that where you really start to reconnect and appreciate those familiar faces a little bit more," Burgman explained.
Mike Williams, owner of Craft Brew Underground across the street from Gritty's, is also helping customers deal with emotions surfacing in the wake of the tragedy. He said he has mostly provided an ear to those who open up or want someone familiar to hear their stories.
"Initially that first week was ... I don't even know how to describe it exactly, it was just like strange, odd, weird. I don't know what the appropriate term is for it, but just kind of walking around in a funk for days afterward," Williams said. "Especially when names started coming out. The community is not that big, so for almost everybody around here they are going to know somebody that was either killed or hurt, and so that part of it was definitely a thing that a lot of people here were talking and telling stories and saying, 'I know this guy from this,' and sharing all of that."
The shootings also prompted Williams to make one subtle change at the bar, which is located at the ground level. The bar added a mirror at the base of the stairs, where people enter a doorway to get into the bar.
"We asked around and found someone that had a big piece of mirror that we could put in to get at least a view of the door," the owner said.
Williams said Craft Brew Underground is known for its fun and unique events, along with the more than 200 beer and cider selections that it offers. He's glad he can provide comfort to his regulars by being open and being there.
"I felt like, in the very least, these guys would want to come out and be together," he explained. "These are all people that, when good or bad or whatever is going on in their lives, they come here and they are together."