Nine years after Marsh Island Brewing bottled its first beer, its owners are expanding by adding a second location in Hampden to accompany its Orono tasting room.
Prentiss and Megan Swett, who live in Hampden with their two young children, are co-owners, along with Prentiss’ parents Jim and Alice Swett.
The family wanted to bring a full sit-down restaurant that serves beer to the area and the old Kiwanis building, 55 Main Road North, offered a great location in downtown Hampden, Prentiss Swett said. It’s tucked behind the Circle K and easily accessible by main roads.
“Everyone we talked to was always like, ‘Man, we really wish Hampden had a place to go eat, a place to drink a beer, anything like that,’” Swett said.
The Hampden location will be a full restaurant, and nothing will change at the Orono location, Swett said. The majority of brewing will continue to be done in Orono, with a small amount happening in Hampden.
The renovation is still in the early planning stage, but the hope is to open in late 2025, Swett said. The owners will have a better understanding of what work needs to be done in the coming weeks.
“We’ve obviously got a long way to go, but we’re just excited to have a spot,” Swett said.
They officially purchased the building from the town of Hampden last week, he said. The building used to be a school decades ago, and Swett said he’s had people tell him they went to kindergarten there.
He hopes to be able to keep what appears to be the original floor in part of the building, along with the tiled ceiling. The whole building will likely have an industrial theme throughout as well.
The business was brewing at full capacity during the pandemic, but as inflation and costs rise, people have cut expensive beer from their budgets, Swett said. The brewery has scaled back production in recent years.
Opening the Hampden location will offer locals another dining choice that doesn’t require a drive to Bangor or Belfast, and it will allow Marsh Island to return to brewing at full capacity, Swett said.
