Gosselin’s will broaden hours and make bagels underneath new possession
Gosselin’s has a brand new proprietor, however Bangor-area residents can relaxation assured the longtime bakery’s doughnuts will not be going anyplace.
Christopher Worden, who opened Fats Panda Boba Tea & Market along with his spouse Mora in late 2021, took over because the bakery’s new proprietor Sept. 1. He purchased it from earlier house owners Yvette and Bruce Stewart, who determined to retire after years of operating the enterprise, Worden mentioned.
Yvette Stewart’s grandparents opened the bakery in 1945, she instructed the Bangor Each day Information in 2014. Her mother and father took over in 1970, then later she ran it along with her husband and two brothers. In 2014, Gosselin’s 2 opened in Brewer.
New possession of the well-known Bangor enterprise has introduced questions from patrons about whether or not the extremely sought-after doughnuts will stay inexpensive and scrumptious, Worden mentioned. Whereas Gosselin’s at 334 Harlow St. will see renovations beginning in October together with expanded hours and choices, all the pieces else prospects love will stay, he mentioned.
“Individuals love doughnuts,” he mentioned. “We don’t promote something controversial. It is a native enterprise that has quietly made individuals completely happy for 78 years.”
Worden, a Brewer native, left Maine for faculty and later labored as an funding banker in New York and China, the place he finally met his future spouse. They moved again to the USA in December 2019 and had a baby, Siobhan, in Might 2020.
Worden’s monetary background is partially what drew him to the enterprise, notably its wholesale facet, which is booming, he mentioned. Bob, the lead baker at Gosselin’s for almost 30 years, whips up 3,000-6,000 doughnuts a day, six days every week, that are then delivered to purchasers. Most of this work occurs between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m.
The bakery has greater than 100 wholesale accounts, and a few order as many as 4 dozen doughnuts 5 days every week, Worden mentioned. Purchasers embody Tozier’s, Tradewinds and Northern Gentle Well being.
He intends to develop this a part of the enterprise in addition to broaden hours and choices on the bakery, which is able to occur regularly as he hires extra staff. Beginning subsequent week, Gosselin’s will probably be open from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., which is 2 hours longer than regular.
By January 2024, patrons can count on the bakery to be open even longer. It is going to introduce bagels and extra pastries made in-house, plus espresso from three completely different roasting corporations — Carrabassett Espresso Firm and Farm Home Espresso Roasters in Maine and Stumptown Espresso Roasters in Portland, Oregon.
Worden didn’t take over the Brewer location, which is able to now not be a part of the enterprise, he mentioned.
The largest change to Gosselin’s will probably be beauty. Actual property firm Epstein Industrial, which owns the constructing, is bringing the house as much as code, together with a brand new HVAC system, ceiling, LED lights, revamped electrical and plumbing and resurfacing the ground, Worden mentioned.
He has ordered new kitchen gear to switch previous items like a mixer from the Nineteen Seventies, he mentioned. Bakers will quickly have a brand new fryer, refrigeration, baking instances and different necessities. Credit score and debit playing cards are additionally now accepted for cost, whereas prospects might solely pay with money earlier than.
When all of the enhancements are full, will probably be a “six-figure funding,” he mentioned. After years of neglect, the bakery will grow to be a clear, snug house for purchasers to take a seat down and revel in a candy deal with and cup of espresso, he mentioned.
When Worden was a baby rising up in Brewer, he lived in the identical neighborhood because the Stewarts. He sorted their cat once they have been away, and he delivered Bangor Each day Information papers to them as a middle-schooler, he mentioned.
He had not seen the couple for a few years whereas residing overseas, however extra lately, “I saved hounding them to speak to me first in the event that they have been going to retire,” he mentioned. The altering of arms has been unfolding for 11 months.
“I would like this to remain in my household for one more 80 years,” he mentioned.
