Three local businesses have moved out of their shared downtown Bangor location into new, but separate, stores.
Glowgetters, a spray tan salon, and Cool Girl Collective, a consignment shop, moved to 575 Main St. in Bangor last week, according to Jess Stuart, who owns both businesses. The building was vacant for five years before Stuart moved into the space, she said.
Jazmin Horne has also found a new space on Central Street in downtown Bangor for Dream in Gold, her handmade jewelry business.
Cool Girl Collective, Glowgetters and Dream in Gold previously coexisted at 128 Main St. in downtown Bangor, which once held Queen City Cinema Club, a bar, restaurant, movie theater and performance space. The arts venue closed in July 2024 after six years in business.
The building, across the street from the Penobscot Theatre, was Horne’s first brick-and-mortar storefront for her jewelry business, but was the second location for Stuart’s two businesses. The three businesses were there for a few months before they left.
Stuart opened Glowgetters and Cool Girl Collective on the second floor of 4 Union St. beneath the Union Street bridge. At the Cool Girl Collective, people can rent space in Stuart’s shop by the week to sell the items in their closet that they don’t wear.
Sales at Stuart’s store rose “exponentially” after moving to the former Queen City Cinema Club space last October, because the businesses were in a more visible location with downtown foot traffic.
However, Stuart said the move was necessary due to various issues with the building that she couldn’t fix herself, such as a small parking lot that was difficult for customers to enter and exit.
“It just wasn’t the right fit for us,” Stuart said.
The business owners also reference sewer problems in the building in a social media post, but Stuart declined to comment on specific issues.
Stuart moved out of the former location and into her new space farther down Main Street last Wednesday, she said. While it isn’t necessarily larger than her previous location, she said the layout is better because it has two smaller rooms where Stuart can offer spray tans and a larger area for the consignment shop booths. It’s also easily accessible from the highway and has plenty of parking for customers.
“The longer I have a business, I learn from every location I’m in,” Stuart said. “This new one feels like a good fit.”
Horne was subleasing a separate space in the former building, she said, meaning when Stuart left, Horne needed to find a new home for her business too.
Horne plans to reopen her jewelry business at 98 Central St. in June. The location, which previously held Pompeii Pizza, is twice the size of her former space.
The larger storefront will allow Horne to expand her popular charm bar where customers can choose charms to make custom necklaces or bracelets, and host events, such as birthday parties.
The business will continue offering handmade pieces and permanent jewelry, which are thin chains of quality metals that are soldered onto a person’s wrist or ankle.
Horne will also have a separate area away from the sales floor where she can create jewelry — something she didn’t have in her previous location.
“I was very tight in my old space because I would create in the same space that I was selling in,” Horne said. “That was hard for me, so now I’ll be able to have two separate spaces.”
While the former shop space helped Horne gather more first-time customers, she said she’s excited to grow in a larger space that’s still in the heart of downtown Bangor.
“Being downtown was crucial for me because I love the arts community downtown,” Horne said. “I volunteer for the First Friday Art Walks as well as the Bangor Art Society, so I wanted to make sure that I could still be a part of those events.”
