Popular local Orono eatery Verve shut its doors in early February. The announcement of the store’s closing came in the form of a comment on its official Facebook page.
According to the Feb. 14 Facebook post, Verve in Orono had shut its doors. The post said: “Yes it is true the Orono location is closed.” Patrons were directed to the location in Bangor instead.
In comments on the post, people expressed confusion over whether the closing was just temporary or indefinite. Verve responded to a comment asking if the shut down was temporary with the statement: “[No] for good unfortunately.”
Local business owners Abe and Heather Furth opened Verve in Orono in 2009 and followed up with a location in Bangor four years later. Offering smoothies, coffee, quesadillas and California-style burritos, Verve was a popular fixture of downtown Orono, occupying a building on the corner of Mill Street and Main Street.
In June of 2018, the Furths sold Verve to Tabitha Johnson, a manager from the Bangor location. During this time, the Furths still kept ownership of the building.
The transfer of ownership roughly coincided with the Furths opening of a new location of another one of their businesses, Orono Brewing Company (OBC), in a refurbished rock-crushing building at 61 Margin St. The Furths purchased the new OBC location in the summer of 2017 and opened it in the fall of 2018.
Comments on the Facebook post announcing the closing of the Orono Verve expressed sorrow to see the business go.
“Wow, I’m really sad to see this,” one commenter said.
“[Please] for the love of all things [burrito], don’t close the Bangor store,” another commenter added.
Shortly after announcing the close of the Orono location, Verve’s Bangor location also closed its doors indefinitely. Verve did not give a reason for the closing of the locations in either Orono or Bangor were unavailable to comment.
As of March 10, the plan for the building Verve once occupied in Orono was unclear. The Furths have indicated that they are looking for new tenants to fill the space in Bangor.
