The Lazy Hound | 10 Broad St, Downtown Bangor

If you haven't found your way to The Lazy Hound yet, this is your sign.

Tucked into downtown Bangor on Broad Street, the Lazy Hound is one of those places that earns its reputation one visit at a time. The walls are covered in photos of customers' dogs. The menu changes with creative weekly additions alongside the staples people keep coming back for. The burgers are serious. The wraps are enormous. The fries are exceptional by all accounts.

Co-owner Karyn Young reinvented the space after the pandemic, shifting from a late-night bar to a genuine neighborhood restaurant with heart. The result is a place that feels lived-in and welcoming from the moment you walk in.

Open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m. Outdoor seating available when the weather cooperates, which in Bangor means treasure it when you get it.

Call ahead: (207) 573-1940

George Hale | Broadcasting Legend

If you grew up in greater Bangor, you know the voice.

George Hale arrived in Maine in the 1950s, drove up from New Jersey in a Chevy looking for work, walked into WABI radio and television, and never left. What was supposed to be a one-year stop turned into more than seven decades behind the microphone.

He was the voice of University of Maine sports for generations. Football, basketball, baseball. High school tournaments. Stock car races. He broadcast seven College World Series. He helped launch the careers of young broadcasters who went on to national prominence, including Gary Thorne. He served as chairman of the Maine Gambling Control Board and the Maine Harness Race Commission. He was inducted into the Maine Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the Sports Legends Hall of Fame, and the Maine Sports Hall of Fame.

At 94, Hale was recently let go from the WVOM morning show he had co-hosted with Ric Tyler for more than two decades. The Bangor community's response was immediate and unmistakable. An outpouring of support poured in from listeners, colleagues, and public figures, including Gov. Janet Mills. And on April 22nd, The Nite Show is returning for one night only at the Brewer Community School Performing Arts Center to honor him, with Danny Cashman hosting and surprise guests from throughout Hale's career. Tickets are $20, with proceeds going to Brewer Community School's music and theatre programs.

George Hale's response to being fired after 77 years in broadcasting? "I'm not sitting here crying in my beer."

That's a Bangor legend.

The Bangor Mall is getting a second chance.

A local investor group called Bangor Marketplace and Residences LLC has signed a purchase agreement to buy the Bangor Mall from its current owner, Namdar Realty Group, with the sale expected to close by mid-June.

The vision is big. The former Sears space would be converted into more than 200 condominiums. Green space and walking paths would replace a significant portion of the parking lot. Plans include a grocery, café, bakery, gym, health clinic, daycare, assisted living, and updated retail. The group's spokesperson, Michael Cole, whose family has deep roots in Bangor going back five generations, put it simply: "We are not focused on the money. We are focused on the community and the function of this."

The mall opened in 1978, was once 70% occupied, and had fallen to roughly 30% under Namdar's ownership. State Sen. Joe Baldacci, who helped pass legislation enabling state support for the project, was direct about what the current ownership did to the property: "They have run it into the ground."

A year of architecture and engineering work lies ahead. And Cole says improvements could begin from day one after closing. Bangor has been waiting a long time for this.

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See you next Friday. — Ken, Editor

Queen City Weekly | Greater Bangor, Maine