No, Friars’ Bakehouse isn’t closing, but you should take note of what they said

Friars Bakehouse

Facebook users who are fans of Friars’ Bakehouse on Central Street in Bangor might have noticed a post on their page Friday morning that caused lots of folks to do a double take. And it’s no wonder: The illustration with the post showed “business closing” signs.

Don’t worry: Friars’ isn’t closing.

But they do want you to shop local.

“We need the locals to come downtown and support the small businesses that are struggling to survive. If you don’t support small business, the businesses that call downtown Bangor ‘home’ will be quietly going under one after another,” the post read.

It’s a good reminder.

Like any small business, the popular lunch spot relies on steady business to stay solvent. And with the University of Maine System in the process of leaving downtown Bangor and other downtown businesses moving their offices away, weekday lunch traffic from downtown workers has been reduced.

If people don’t shop often enough at small businesses, they simply won’t survive. How many places have come and gone downtown in the past few years?

It’s not enough to “like” statuses and share interesting articles about downtown restaurants and other small businesses. Supporting them really happens when you shop, eat and spend money there.

Here in Bangor, we’re fortunate to have many to support. Whether you need the latest Rick Riordan book, trail running shoes, a fab gift, a cool piece of jewelry, something with vintage charm or something else, there are so many great places to shop downtown. Heck, you can even rent a bike downtown these days.

Donair Friars Bakehouse Bangor

And there are so many places to eat, too. Pizza, sandwiches, bagels, noodles … there are so many choices.

And maybe, just maybe, Bangor Lunch Mob will start back up again and help us remember just how many delicious places there are for lunch in downtown Bangor.

(Pictured: Friars’ Bakehouse’s Donair.)

Sarah Walker Caron

About Sarah Walker Caron

Sarah Walker Caron is editor of Bangor Metro magazine and senior features editor for the Bangor Daily News. She is the author of "The Super Easy 5-Ingredient Cookbook," (Sept. 2018, Rockridge Press) and the co-author of "Grains as Mains: Modern Recipes Using Ancient Grains" (March 2015, DK). Her recipes have appeared in the BDN, Betty Crocker publications, Glamour.com and more. She also writes about food at www.sarahscucinabella.com.