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Students came out in masses Thursday, Jan. 14, to enjoy what might have been the last College Night at Bear Brew Pub. Lines of people stretched across the parking lot behind Main Street awaiting entry.
The Bear Brew will close for two to three weeks pending the sale of some parts of the business. Current owner Matt Haskell is selling the first-floor restaurant portion of the Bear Brew to Tom Hashey, of Orono. Haskell will retain ownership of the second and third floors and reopen them as Lattitude 44.
The sale, not yet finalized, should be complete sometime this week, Haskell said.
“Soma is going to get a renovation. We’re putting a street side entrance [to] it on Main Street,” Haskell said. Lattitude 44 will feature a bar, tapas menu, fine desserts, extensive wine list and a disc jockey booth.
Hashey, a former chef at Woodmans Bar & Grill, has been pushing to buy the bar for a while, Haskell said. Initially uninterested, the pub proprietor decided to sell the restaurant to afford himself more time to run his newest endeavor, Finback Alehouse in Bar Harbor.
Along with Hashey, two other Woodman’s employees plan to move to the new restaurant. Abe Furth, co-owner of Woodman’s, says the three left on good terms, and that their leaving won’t affect Woodman’s.
“We’re happy to have some friends across the street,” Furth said.
When Haskell bought the Bear Brew Pub in 2002, it only occupied one floor. He decided to add on to it in 2004 and 2005. He said he envisioned creating a large enterprise with lots of different venues in it, such as a restaurant, club and bar. Haskell attributes the success of the Bear Brew to this diversity of experience.
Rumors have been circulating that the Bear Brew would be closed for a significant amount of time, to the dismay of UMaine students who frequent College Night on Thursdays. Once the deal is finalized, the restaurant will likely close for a few days for inspections and promptly reopen. The second and third floors will be closed for two to three weeks while they undergo renovations before reopening.
While the building will change, the atmosphere that makes the Bear Brew popular will not, Haskell said.
Some current Bear Brew employees may work there as well. Ana Walker, second year mass communications major, has been working at Bear Brew since September. On Thursday nights she serves beer while Friday and Saturday she is a hostess.
“I’m still going to be working on Thursday nights because Matty will still own [the bar],” she said. “I want to talk to the new owner and see about working there too,” Walker said. “I’m not sure about all the other employees, especially the waitresses, but I think they want to try and continue to work there too.”
Walker doesn’t expect the atmosphere to change with the new owner.
“You know how everyone goes there to drink Thursday nights? It’s going to be the same since it’s the same owner. As for the restaurant part, if the menu stays the same and the new owner doesn’t change a lot, I think it should stay just as popular because everyone loves the Bear Brew,” Walker said.
“Bear Brew is always packed on Thursday, but it was way more crowded than usual, with it being the ‘last one,’” said third-year UMaine student Ashley Feeney, who was at the pub on Thursday.
Many students came out because they thought the Bear Brew was closing for good and wanted one last hurrah.
“I just came because I wanted to say I was at the Brew’s last night,” said Alex Smith, a fourth year student.
Haskell is confident that when the two new businesses open, they will continue to be a hit.
“This building is going to be the place in Orono,” he said. “I really can’t wait.”
