Antique Marketplace & Cafe

I would like to preface this review with my own bias: antiquing with my family is very touchy feel-​y business.
Last week I came in with my mom and boyfriend and immediately we found things we connected with: carnival glass like my grandma’s, Celtics memorabilia from the 80’s when Matt’s dad and uncle used to watch, a brass vase set that I knew were coming home with me as soon as I laid eyes on them.
We came in around closing time on a whim and were blown away by the selection and the service. I’m assuming the lady behind the counter is an owner. She knows all the sellers by name, she knows the inventory, and a lot about the history of the pieces. I found her really knowledgable and welcoming.
We decided to come back this weekend for two reasons: we didn’t get all we had wanted last time due to time constraints, and they were having an extra 20% off sale, so obviously we needed to come back!
Location: downtown Bangor is my alma mater, I was practically raised on bagel central and spent my youthful years in the library (by choice. Judge me.), so for me this is very home-​y, but also really close to the emerging food scene. I’m loving what Bangor is growing into and the epic small business community downtown, including places to find old gems.
Price: there was nothing I found outrageous. The items are in great condition and the furniture is freaking phenomenal. $ 180 for a table that was better quality than anything I could buy new now for that and had this really delightful vibe that made me want to have people over. And I hate people in my house. Seriously.
Service: I’ve never been thanked so sincerely for coming back and returning to a small business to shop. Seriously. Every single thing I wanted to touch, or try on, or carry I could. I wish for this I could give ten stars alone. I thought she was going to cry when we engaged her in conversation about our plans to return regularly even though we live a couple hours away. It feels really good to be appreciated and to also give that kindness back. It was evident that every single person matters to her, and she has the best attitude.
Way. To. Be. And we didn’t even talk about the food. They serve breakfast all day. I haven’t eaten it, but it’s a selling factor for a SUNDAY date with my mom and grammie. What a fantastic spot to connect with people.

Huge place, interesting and diverse antiques and other items. Clean and well organized. I agree with previous reviewer, not much fine antique furniture, more smaller and decorative pieces. I particularly enjoyed the numerous crates, tins, signs and old advertising stock, mostly from Maine. The staff are helpful and friendly. The prices are reasonable. Not ridiculously cheap but not overpriced either, you get the impression that the owner or the dealers know what they are doing. We didn’t try the café, but it was really nice that there was a coffee/​snack place with tables where you could relax.

The antique mall itself was not bad. I just moved here from seattle… So wanting a cup of coffee, I ordered from the café inside. The guy then charged me nearly $ 8 for my cup of coffee and then spilled it all over my pants and shoes without apology. Wasn’t very happy but whatever… There’s always Java Joes right down the road.

Wonderful place to spend an afternoon. Large selection of furniture, books, lighting, Monroe Salt Works Pottery and a few surprises with toys and art. The staff is charming and the owner is knowledgeable and friendly. I can not wait to go back and find some more affordable items for myself and others. Go first thing Saturday and parking is always available.

What a cool idea to combine a place to peruse antique and vitage items, and stop and have coffee and more. Be sure to tell Caroline hello for me if you go in. Always there with a smile and great service.

I found almost everything in this store to be very reasonably priced.
Now, that doesn’t mean it was cheap – it is an antique store – but there were only one or two things that had me rolling my eyes. If I were local, I would probably use this place to furnish my house.

Has definitely gone downhill. I used to go in for great, homemade food, cheap coffee, and the atmosphere. However, the café no longer serves homemade bread from a nearby, local business, in fact, pretty much all the homemade food that used to be made from grocery store ingredients now all comes pre-​processed (except for maybe their breakfast foods) according to some of the employees who work in the larger store. The coffee cup sizes have been downgraded, and the place looks less well-​kept than it did a year ago. The only outstanding thing about the café experience are the employees, themselves, who seem earnest to serve a good meal, even though their resources appear vastly limited.
As far as the Antiques go, the selection is good, each booth has a different «feel,» and there is a huge book selection in the basement. (It seems that, when all the local bookstores went out of business, they set up shop in the Marketplace.) Just be prepared for a long wait at the checkout counter, and steer clear of the owner. He’s a tall guy, and really moody. Sometimes very difficult to do good business with, and on his bad days, downright rude.
If you’re looking for something specific, call ahead (and expect to wait maybe an hour for a call back,) because the store has a lot of nooks and crannies that require a lot of time for browsing.

As far as antique stores in Maine, this is one of the best I’ve ever been to, and I’ve been to quite a few, in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and California. I felt the selection was wide and the prices were typically very fair for what they had.
More importantly for the average person, I would HIGHLY recommend anyone looking for furniture in the Bangor are to visit here before buying something at Walmart, Target, Ikea, or a conventional furniture store. In particular, they had a great selection of dressers, side tables, hutches, corner units, and other wooden furniture of different styles, ages, sizes and prices. The only exception I can think of are mattresses and queen and king sized beds, which are items which are so recent, there really aren’t many antiques you’d want to buy.
The service was exceptional and very friendly, so no complaints there.
My one caveat is that if you’re looking for high-​end antiques, this is a rather sparse market. You’d do better at a dealer such as Mid-​Coast Fine Antiques in Holden, which specializes in higher end items.

Great place to explore. Many booths on two floors with a lot of variety. If downtown, you could easily spend quite a bit of time going through and might even find something you’ve been looking for — and for a good price. I have bought a lot of odds and ends here — big and small over the years.

Large selection of small and affordable items like pottery, kitchen collectables and books. Also a few large architectural items from the local area. Clean and well-​organized.