New bar to serve craft cocktails in downtown Bangor

A new bar and restaurant opens Friday in downtown Bangor.

The Key Room — located at 1 Main St. and owned by the same trio that operates Umami Noodle Bar next door — will serve a variety of specialty cocktails, beers, wines and American fusion food.

The businesses are separate but owned by the same people, Tan Tai, Katie Ratchatavech and Jira Rustana. Tai and Ratchatavech moved from Boston about nine months ago because of the opportunity to  become business partners for Umami. Once in town they realized Bangor needed more craft cocktails, leading to their decision to open The Key Room.

The Key Room is the second bar and restaurant planning to open downtown this summer. Barliman’s, a cocktail lounge at 1 Kenduskeag Plaza West, will open once its liquor license is approved.

Inside The Key Room, pop art hangs on the black walls with gold accents around the bar. The goal was to create a speakeasy-type aesthetic, Tai said.

A variety of specialty cocktails feature house-made ingredients like black and green tea, raspberry mint, cucumber and matcha, Tai said. The bar will also serve standard cocktails.

“We try to give complexity to our craft cocktails,” Ratchatavech said.

The bar has seven rotating taps. Maine Beer Company, Geaghans Pub & Brewery, Downeast Cider and Sapporo are among its offerings for the soft opening.

People can also expect about 25 varieties of red, white, rose and sparkling wines.

The goal is to have live music as the bar gets more established, Tai said.

Once The Key Room is fully up and running, it will serve American fusion food, Tai said. During the soft opening, food options will include some menu items from Umami.

Friday’s soft opening is from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Key Room will be open from 4 p.m. to midnight on Thursdays and Sundays, and 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It will also open on Waterfront concert nights. Food will be served until closing.

Umami opened in 2014 and is now owned by Tai, Ratchatavech and Rustana. Rustana previously ran Thai One Lounge, a bar and dance club, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, in the same location as The Key Room.

The Key Room is hiring, Tai said. More information is available on their Facebook page.

“I want people to try us,” Tai said. “We really want to be a part of Bangor.”