Orono Brewery Plans to Renovate Old Hampden Building for Expansion

Local craft beer lovers have something fun to celebrate this week. The folks from Marsh Island Brewing, an Orono-based brewery, just announced plans to open a second location in a town nearby.

According to the Maine Brewer's Guild, Marsh Island Brewing opened in Orono in the fall of 2015.

"Marsh Island Brewing is a family business, owned by Jim and Alice Swett and son, Prentiss Swett. With the idea of a brewery, a Head Brewer (Clay Randall), and a Brewery Manager (Richard England), it was time to find a place for the brewery. A vacant convenience store in a building in Orono the Swett’s owned was being used for storage. With a walk-in-cooler already installed, the 2 Main St. location became a great place to brew."

Through the years, they have made improvements to everything from how they brew their beer to the building it's brewed in.

This week, they came out with the news that the owners had purchased an old building in Hampden, with plans to open up another brewery there.

According to their Facebook Page:

"We have recently purchased the old Kiwanis Club in Hampden! We will be performing an extensive renovation to the building and transforming it into a second Marsh Island location with a restaurant!"

The building was shuttered in 2023, and the Kiwanis were forced to close their doors after the Hampden Town Council determined the structure was unsafe to continue hosting club operations, according to Hampden Kiwanis social media posts.

"The Executive Committee (EC) of the Hampden Kiwanis Club regretfully announces that with the expiration of our lease on September 30, 2023, the Kiwanis Civic Center will be permanently closing its doors."

"After receiving the latest report from the State Fire Marshall and the town's insurer, and with the continued deterioration of the building, the Hamden Town Council determined that all activities within the building must cease."

The building sits just behind the Irivng Station at 55 North Main Street in Hampden. One real estate listing says that the over 2700 square foot building was constructed in 1935.

The Town of Hampden, which owned the property, put the building up for bid this March.

And while Marsh Island Brewing says they don't have a working timeline of when the extensive renovations or the opening of the Hampden spot will take place, they did share their excitement for what's to come in the future.

"...we are excited to be joining the Hampden business community and bringing its first craft brewery!"

They said the Orono location will remain, as it is, a brewery and tasting room with no changes expected.