BANGOR, Maine — This weekend, plenty of people will hit the town to meet up with friends at bars and clubs. But locals in the Greater Bangor area say when it comes to downtown Bangor, options for places to go are limited.
Server Derek Barclay said Bangor's nightlife scene is struggling. With just a handful of places staying open until 1 a.m., Barclay said aside from a few places like Happy Endings Martini & Dessert Bar and Paddy Murphy's, there is not much of a nightlife scene.
"Um, it's pretty—it's pretty boring, unfortunately," Barclay said. "Before COVID, a lot of places were open a lot later. I feel like now a lot of places are closed earlier. Not many people are out. It's just kind of died down around here, unfortunately."
Longtime bartender Fred Lear works at Happy Endings and Timber Kitchen & Bar. He said Happy Endings has an advantage over other locations in the area because it stays open until 1 a.m.
Lear said he considers it to be an industry bar, explaining that when people get off work, they stop in to unwind. He said business has not ever slowed down, but he said he agrees that a lot has changed since the pandemic.
"I think that the clientele and the customer base just got accustomed to the new hours. And you know, people are at home earlier than they used to be," Lear said. "It was nothing for people to be out until last call. That was a norm."
Lear said the downtown strip is packed with breweries and craft bars, noting that Happy Endings is one of the few cocktail bars in the area.
"Diversity is huge, especially on the block that we're located on," Lear said. "Like I was saying earlier—you've got craft beer bar after craft beer bar surrounding us."
Lear said downtown could use a little more tweaking to serve a wide variety of customers. Owner of Paddy Murphy's John Dobbs said as a business owner, he would love to see more of a mix in what the area offers.
"You kind of want to have just enough of a variety. But if you have too many, there's not enough of a population here to support that," Dobbs said.
Paddy Murphy's, like Happy Endings, stays open past midnight. Dobbs said adding some versatility would encourage more business owners to set up shop downtown.
"That friction. That's where you get that—the spice. That's where you get the growth" Dobbs said. "That's where you get the yes something new."
But for Dobbs, there has to be balance, and he said providing a safe environment is key to keeping the area alive and thriving.
"Nobody wants West Market Square to turn into where all the bars are, and every single weekend it's fights and it's crazy and it's this. You want it to be in a responsible way," Dobbs said.
Barclay said Half Acre, the former nightclub that is now closed, was once the highlight of the city. He said he doesn't think opening another club in the area would result in higher crime.
"I feel like if they got somewhere relatively close around here, filled it up with some people, had a good atmosphere, good music, good drinks," Barclay said. "I feel like it would definitely help out downtown a little bit, but as of right now, there’s not much."
Lear used to work at Half Acre when it was open. He said there were good outcomes for the club, but it was located too close to a residential area, which resulted in the club receiving several complaints. Lear added he's open to seeing a new club in the area, but he's not exactly sure if the addition would pan out easily.
"I think you've got some unique challenges on that front in terms of—you're going to want a good location. You're going to want a good space, and it's going to need to be designed appropriately," Lear said. "Because just like anything, there's a science behind the nightclub industry."
Owner of Happy Endings Melissa Smith said she believes it would be nice to see a nightclub open, and she thinks it would cater to a younger crowd.
Smith said the drug and opioid epidemic and homelessness in the downtown area make it harder for the possibility of a club or even a better night scene to exist.
"Downtown specifically is tough right now, because a lot of people are apprehensive due to the increase in drug-related issues, needles, and the unsheltered population," Smith said.
She added the area also isn't structured for heavy traffic.
"Parking is always an issue, and the parking garage is a tough sell for most," Smith said. "Hourly parking has specific hours, so if someone wants to go out and stay out through last call, they might not have access to their vehicle in the garage."
Smith said despite the challenges present, she's hopeful about the progress in the area.
"There’s a lot of issues that need to be addressed but ultimately I think downtown nightlife has come a long way since I moved here shortly after 9/11, and I think with downtown staples like us, Paddy’s, and Nocturnem, staying open later and doing well, it should continue to grow."
Dobbs said he doesn't think nightlife in Bangor has declined. He said he just thinks business owners have adjusted to the changing times, explaining that businesses plateau and level out, which is normal.
Like Dobbs, Lear said he believes the area is growing and moving in the right direction.
"I don't think it's lacking. I do think it's different, and I think that people that are accustomed to the way it used to be are absolutely going to notice. And maybe think as though it's dead or as if there's nothing going on," Lear said. "Ultimately, I just think it's changed, and with that change, it is slowly but surely redeveloping into what it's going to become."