A new cocktail lounge tucked beneath a downtown Bangor building is expected to open in the coming weeks.
Local developers and a former co-owner of The Fiddlehead, a shuttered Bangor restaurant, are creating Barliman’s, a new cocktail bar that will offer hearty shareable snacks using local ingredients, as well as non-alcoholic beverage options.
Laura Peppard, Barliman’s general manager and former co-owner of The Fiddlehead, hopes to open the new business in three weeks to a month, though that timing may shift.
The team behind The Fiddlehead, which closed in March 2023 after 13 years in business, will operate Barliman’s, with the exception of the head chef position. Terrance Bonnin will serve as Barliman’s head chef, Peppard said.
Peppard said she wrestled with what to call the new establishment, as it won’t serve entrees, disqualifying it as a restaurant, and “bar” could make people who don’t drink alcohol feel unwelcome.
“It’s not really a bar or a restaurant or a speakeasy or a cafe,” Peppard said. “We’re going to call it Barliman’s and people can come in and make up their own ideas about it.”
Peppard said she likes the idea of the new business being called a speakeasy because it gives patrons a hint at the new space’s decor, but she doesn’t want guests to feel they need to be a member or know a secret password to enjoy the bar.
“I don’t like going into a space and thinking, ‘Am I cool enough to be here?’ Peppard said. “You should never feel like that in an establishment. I want everyone to feel like they belong there.”
The “speakeasy” label also hints at the business’ location — 1 Kenduskeag Plaza West — tucked in the walk-out basement behind 2 Hammond St, along the Kenduskeag Stream. But the bar, with a 50-person capacity, has windows that let natural light in, and Pike hopes to add outdoor seating later.
Peppard said she only seems to hear about people developing basements in historic downtown buildings into new businesses in places like Portland, “so it’s cool to see someone do that here.”
The business will likely be open Tuesdays through Sundays, though Peppard hasn’t yet set hours of operation.
The location was previously a drive-thru for Merrill Bank in the 1980s and 1990s, said Zack Pike, Barliman’s co-owner and developer at Pike Project Development. The space was clogged with mechanical equipment for the rest of the building before the first phases of construction began last summer.
“There was always the idea of using the walk-out basement space as a neat little area for a bar or restaurant, but it took a while to put the right team together to actually do it,” Pike said.
The upper floors of the building previously held the Hammond Street Senior Center, which closed in November 2015, and now hosts the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce and apartment units on the top floors.
Since moving to Bangor nearly 20 years ago, Peppard said she has watched the number of entertainment and dining options downtown grow. Barliman’s, she said, will hopefully provide another option for people looking for something new or exciting to do in downtown Bangor after a day of shopping or before going to a concert.
“This is cool and fun and somewhere you can bring your friends from out of town,” Peppard said. “I don’t think we’re stepping on anyone’s toes. It just adds a different dynamic to Bangor’s wheel of choices.”
