Bangor’s Newest Little Business Boom Is Happening On Columbia Street

While most people may be familiar with the sights and sounds of Main Street in Bangor, many may not know what a great little up-and-coming area Columbia Street in Downtown is becoming.

With a handful of historic buildings consisting of office space for law firms, accountants, and therapists, the landscape of Columbia Street started to change a little when a local deli and local brewery moved in almost 10 years ago.

Nok-Noi Ricker, opened her family-run bar 2 Feet Brewing on Columbia Street in the fall of 2016.

“When we moved into 80 Columbia St. the city was in the process of ripping up the road to add water and sewer lines. We asked them to widen the sidewalk by 2 feet, from eight to 10 feet wide, so we could have outside seating, which they did and actually ended up doing it on both sides of the street. It makes Columbia Street much more inviting. “

Betsy Lundy, Executive Director of the Downtown Bangor Partnership says the city had plans for that part of the city before the pandemic brought things to a halt.

“Right before the pandemic, the City kind of did an overhaul on Columbia St. They got all new brick sidewalks, and it got new planters and just kind of an overall beautiful design, and with those really great, beautiful storefronts, it was ready to receive and invigoration. But then the pandemic happened and things got really quiet over there.”

“We did have Antique Alley over there, and they were a great asset, and something to build a more retail environment around, but unfortunately Glen [Hudgens] passed of Covid during the pandemic, and so it took a little while to kind of reconfigure.”

That reconfiguration has included the reworking of the old Antique Alley building into a handful of new storefronts; storefronts that will be opening in the next few months, and which include the relocation of a vintage shop from Central Street, Red Rabbit Bazaar, and a veteran photographer with over two decades in the Bangor Area, Michael Hallahan, Fine Prints Photography.

Hallahan says it was his current neighbor, Cara Oleksyk who owns Red Rabbit Bazaar, who first told him that space was available over on Colombia Street.

“I’ve been in downtown for years. Cara is a great neighbor, and I’m happy that I get to keep her as a neighbor…"

He says with the space in the building re-worked, it was the high ceilings that were exposed again when construction began, that attracted him to the space.

"I work a lot with dancers, and one of the challenges to finding a space in Bangor is to have high enough ceilings, and also finding a space affordable enough to have a business in downtown…So this became open and I grabbed it as quickly as I could. The 12’ ceilings are ideal.”

Hallahan, who plans to have his shop open by February, is excited to have a showcase along this newly active street to display his work.

Oleksyk, who initially opened Red Rabbit Bazaar in a second-floor space on Central Street in November of 2022, says she's prepping her new storefront for the move and hopes to have everything ready this Spring.

“Red Rabbit Bazaar will be opening at 54 Columbia Street in March, and I’m looking forward to my new neighbors, both supremely talented photographers.”

“Starting in March 2024, patrons can mine the racks for vintage treasures at our new and improved address. Why the move? The Bazaar is wildly committed to improving accessibility to sustainable styles and community-enriching events. Say goodbye to stairs and hello to a retail and cultural experience that’s as smooth as the well-worn charm of a vintage leather coat.”

“This move is our way of saying thank you to our day-one supporters while making room for new connections and adventures.”

Lundy says with the addition of these new businesses to the area, Columbia Street is going to become more and more of a destination in town, and not just a street to pass through.

“I think it will solidify its own little entity up there."

“From our perspective, we’ve really seen that as kind of the next phase of Downtown development."

"It was part of why we chose to put the Umbrella Sky project on Cross St. is that we really wanted to bring people from Main Street up around the corner, to Columbia Street, where there were those really great storefronts.”

“If you’re kind of going along the same side of that street you’ve got L.A .Training, which is a gym.”

“And then you’ve got BookSpace. It used to be Coespace, but it’s now BookSpace, and the Briar Patch uses it for book signings, book readings, book-related events in Bangor. It’s kind of like an event space built around the literary community.”

"You’ve got residential buildings on either end of it. The building next to 2 Feet…Birchbrook is there…so that building got a major overhaul and it’s very active"

"…With that building being really active, and 2 Feet and Harvest Moon, and now you’ll have a couple or retail shops over there…so you kind of have a lot of services and opportunity happening over there on Colombia Street now.”

Ricker, from 2 Feet, says she is hopeful that the influx of new business will add to how great this little spot in town already is.

“Glen, the owner of Antique Alley, was such a great character and person and we miss him terribly. His death left a hole in our community and it’s awesome that another great business is going into his spot.”

Keep an eye on Columbia Street. Or better yet, take a walk up that way. Exciting things are happening in that area, and you're not going to want to miss out.

Running beneath Bangor, even in the area of Columbia Street, there's a network of tunnels. Check this out!