State Says Bangor, Maine Sandwich Shop Had Rat Infestation, Closes Down

The Legacy Sandwich Shop in Bangor has been closed after a state inspection found evidence of health violations.

According to Administration and Communications Manager for the City of Bangor, David Warren, officials looked into the matter after someone reported there were issues.

"The City last week received a complaint about the sandwich shop and that complaint was forwarded to the state. It’s a state health inspector that conducts inspections of restaurants/eateries in Bangor. The inspector visited the shop the following day and apparently found some violations, leading to the shop's closure."

According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, the health violations stemmed from an issue with rodents.

A state report found that droppings were observed in lobby area between cooler and cupboard, and kitchen under hand sink, in prep room on food containers, and on shelving around food containers, on basement steps, in the basement storage areas on shelf used to store cases of single-use items. Gnawing was also observed to a box of cornstarch.

Diane Bernosky has owned the property at 163 State Street since February 14, 2019, according to city records. She's run the business in that location for over a decade.

She had planned to close up the sandwich shop in 2024, stating the pandemic had had too great of an impact on the business, when two local customers, Robert Kearns and Christy Spencer, stepped in and offered to manage it for her.

Read More: Popular Bangor Sandwich Shop Will NOT Close After All

Kearns says he noticed a big hole in the foundation when he started in September of 2024. He believes this is where the animals were gaining entry to the building and that he reported that issue to Bernosky, but no repairs were made.

Kearns says he and Spencer stepped away from the business at the beginning of June when the problems persisted.

City officials said presumably there are a number of steps that need to take place to comply with state health orders. In cases like this, a follow-up state inspection would be administered before it would be allowed to reopen.