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V O L . X X X I N O. X V I I I A U G U S T 2 5 , 2 0 2 5 G R E AT E R B A N G O R / N O R T H E R N M A I N E F O C U S 16 New businesses are up in downtown BANGOR A slew of small businesses have opened in down- town Bangor this year, with more to come. "One of my favorite things to do is to get people excited about moving down here, opening a busi- ness and being part of a community," says Betsy Lundy, executive director of the Downtown Bangor Partnership, a nonprofit that promotes and markets activities and encourages retention and growth of commercial, residential and cultural life. e district stretches from a northern boundary of Cumberland, Harlow and Court street to a southern boundary along the Penobscot River, known as the Bangor Waterfront, to I-395. e resident population in Maine's third largest city is about 33,000. During the day, that number triples with the influx of workers and consumers, creating business opportunities. "Everybody understands that more of something isn't competition for them; it helps lift them up," Lundy says of business owners. "Having one bar in your down- town isn't nearly as good as having 10 bars. People like the options, they like the experience." "We're getting a lot more interest in retail coming downtown, which is wonderful," says Anne Krieg, the city's director of development. "I think people love shopping downtown. ey like walking around and getting a coffee and seeing their friends and going in and out of stores." New businesses are filling almost all of the downtown's retail space, leaving about 2% vacancy, not counting unusable space, says Lundy. Community connection Jazmine Horne opened Dream in Gold Jewelry, in a lease at 98 Central St., to offer jewelry that she makes as well as a "charm bar." Customers pick from hundreds of charms and create their own jewelry. Charms include letters, characters, lobsters and special ones like figures from the children's TV show "Paw Patrol." P H O T O S / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R Betsy Lundy of Downtown Bangor Partnership says that having more businesses, far from creating competition, uplifts them all by creating a vibrant downtown. Jazmine Horne opened Dream in Gold Jewelry to offer her own jewelry and a "charm bar," where customers pick charms and create jewelry and can book parties and events. Having one bar in your downtown isn't nearly as good as having 10 bars. People like the options, they like the experience. — Betsy Lundy Downtown Bangor Partnership Flowers, charms, hot tubs and ice cream are part of this year's wave B y L a u r i e S c h r e i b e r

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