Owners Of Las Palapas Expanding To Two New Areas Of Bangor

A decade ago, Eric Guzman and his family took the old Ninety-Nine Restaurant at 8 Bangor Mall Blvd. and turned it into the Las Palapas, a now popular Mexican eatery in Bangor.

Four years later, in 2018, the Guzmans opened a second Las Palapas location in Brewer, where the old Pizza Hut building on Wilson Street used to be.

You would think running a couple of successful restaurants would keep this entrepreneurial family too busy to even think straight, but the Guzmans show no signs of stopping or even slowing down.

In fact, it's quite the opposite! This year alone, they will have opened two more Mexican restaurants in the greater Bangor area by the end of the summer.

Guzman's wife, Ana just opened "Betty's Ice Cream" a Mexican-styled ice cream parlor at 1012 Stillwater Avenue this month.

Friday, the Bangor Daily News announced that Eric Guzman is renovating the old Ground Round building on Odlin Road, with plans to open a 4th family restaurant.

"Eriberto “Eric” Guzman, owner of Las Palapas Mexican Restaurant, signed a lease agreement for the former Ground Round space last month. Guzman and his family are now renovating the space to become Roca Azul, a Mexican restaurant. Roca Azul’s menu hasn’t been finalized, but Guzman said it will be similar to Las Palapas’ cuisine, including tacos, enchiladas, fajitas among other Mexican favorites. Roca Azul, however, will offer some new drinks and dishes, such as lobster tacos, Guzman said."

Bangor City Councilor, Dan Tremble, decided to close the legendary Ground Round location at the end of January, which caught many (including its staff) off guard.

Since then, the building, which required major plumbing renovations, has sat empty. Guzman has already started the major overhaul of the inside, a project projected to take most of the summer to complete.