"A good date was $20," Jake DeLois told Saco Bay News this spring. At Mulligan's on Lincoln Street, that bought two meals, two drinks and a tip. The late George Sharkey opened the bar and restaurant at 23 Lincoln St. in 1997. For a long time nothing on his menu cost more than $4.99, and that included the prime rib. DeLois and his father bought the business in November 2017 and kept that tradition going until the last night, Sunday, May 31, 2026.
Mulligan's was one of several long-running downtown spots in Biddeford and Saco to close over the past two years. Anyone who walks Main Street knows that much already. The more useful thing to know is what has opened since. The new places are smaller, more focused and more specific about what they are, and you can see that in the storefronts that have reopened and in the ones still waiting for a tenant.
Why Mulligan's Cheap Menu Stopped Working
DeLois explained the closing in plain numbers. In his telling, the old owners earned their money at the bar and kept food prices low on purpose. He said the pandemic ended that approach, and that the minimum wage for servers stayed the same from 1997 to 2017 while everything else got more expensive. "You could charge $4.99, but because of inflation, gas, utilities, food, workers demand higher wages," he said. He added that heating the building alone was a factor in the decision.
Alex MacPhail, executive director of the Biddeford + Saco Chamber of Commerce + Industry, gave the same story more local detail. He pointed to saturation from other venues, the loss of free parking and the new garage across the street where guests have to pay to park. He also said that Mulligan's drew both UNE students and families, which made the loss "economic as much as historic."
DeLois said one more thing that explains what happened next on Main Street. Plenty of buyers had asked about the building, he said, and it's "a great location in an old historic building, but it is too big for what we were trying to do." In late May, Mainebiz reported that the owners were looking for a buyer. Our research found no later report of a sale or a new tenant at 23 Lincoln St.
In Saco, a Coffee Shop Took Over the Space Next Door
Across the river, 206 Main St. in Saco was home to Vic & Whit's sandwich and wine shop for nearly 50 years. The Press Herald covered its closing in December 2024.
In September 2026, the owners of Swell Nitro Coffee, who already ran the shop next door, opened Downtown Market by Swell in that space. The public front area is 1,600 square feet, with a market on one side and a breakfast-and-lunch restaurant on the other. The Press Herald's photo shows a steak and cheese sub, which is a fitting first dish for a space that sold sandwiches for half a century.
This kind of reopening is low risk. The owners already had a following on that block and a staff working a few steps away. They kept to daytime hours and divided a modest room between two uses. It's close to the opposite of the model DeLois described, where one large building had to fill its bar every night.
A Former Pub Address Opens Under a New Name
The Saco Bay News story on Mulligan's noted that Adams Street Pub, another well-known downtown Biddeford bar, had closed about six months earlier and was still vacant. MacPhail said the downtown vacancy rate was "smaller than a year ago, but not where it should be."
That storefront has since filled. In August, the Press Herald reported that Hakuna Matata Sports Bar was under construction at 193 Main St., the longtime home of Adams Street Pub. Owner Bernard Katende was described as a local hospitality veteran. Katende is from Uganda and has lived in Maine for more than 20 years. He explained the name to the paper: "If you have so many worries, at least you can come to Hakuna Matata and put them away for a minute."
The bar was open by mid-September. The Comedy Mill moved its weekly stand-up open mic to 193 Main St., with Wednesday dates listed from September 16 through October 28. A sports bar with a set weeknight comedy show gives people a specific reason to come in on a Wednesday.
Here is where the main downtown storefronts stand as of early October:
- 206 Main St., Saco: Vic & Whit's for nearly 50 years. Now Downtown Market by Swell, open since September 2026.
- 193 Main St., Biddeford: Adams Street Pub for many years. Now Hakuna Matata Sports Bar, open by mid-September 2026.
- 23 Lincoln St., Biddeford: Mulligan's from 1997 to May 31, 2026. The building is listed for sale, and no new tenant has been reported.
- 11 Elm St., Biddeford: Koi Asian Cuisine served its last day on January 15, 2026, when its lease ended, according to Saco Bay News.
Some New Openings Skipped the Building Entirely
The smallest openings this year don't have a storefront at all. In May, Saco Bay News reported the Chef's Kiss food truck open at 977 Portland Road on Route One in Saco, next to Saco Bay Tackle. Its menu includes smash burgers, lobster rolls and loaded fries. In September, the same paper's Local Flavor column reported the Emma Lou's Bakery truck open in the lot at 23 Bay Ave. in Camp Ellis, serving cinnamon rolls, breakfast sandwiches and coffee. It also reported Obnoxiously Delicious, a recently opened food stand at 419 Hill St. in Biddeford with hot dogs, burgers and rotating dishes. Trucks and stands set their own seasons, so check their hours before you go once the weather turns.
Larger projects are still coming to the area, just not downtown. In July, Mainebiz reported that Chick-fil-A was under construction at 150 Shops Way in Biddeford Crossing, on the former Olive Garden site. The company said it would announce an opening date later in 2026. Out by the highway, a big footprint and a parking lot are still standard. Downtown, the 2026 openings have been owner-run businesses that fit a smaller space.
Where the Fall and Holiday Calendar Puts You
The calendar matters more for small downtown businesses than it used to. A daytime market and a neighborhood bar need foot traffic, and the public events between now and the end of December put people on Main Street in both cities. Biddeford's Oktoberfest, pushed back by weather, took place on Lincoln Street on October 3. Here's what's coming up:
- Biddeford Art Walk, October 16, 5–8 p.m. A free downtown circuit of galleries, studios, shops, public art and performance spaces.
- Saco Pumpkin Harvest Festival, October 24, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. At Dyer Library and CK Burns School, with a pumpkin patch, pie-eating contest, music, pony rides and more than 90 vendors.
- I Heart Biddeford 5K and Downtown Creepy Crawl, October 31. The race starts at 320 Hill St. at 8 a.m., and the Creepy Crawl runs on Main Street from 3 to 5 p.m.
- Saco Main Street Market, November 22, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. More than 60 local makers at Thornton Academy's Linnell Gymnasium.
- Festival of Trees, November 27–December 30. At the Dyer Library and Saco Museum, with a November 21 preview gala, a December 5 children's craft day, a December 6 sensory-friendly day and tea with Mrs. Claus on December 12.
- Saco Bucks Saturday, November 28, starting at 10 a.m. Downtown $10 vouchers to spend at participating shops, cafes and restaurants. The list of participating businesses hadn't been posted yet.
- December 4, in both cities. Merry & Bright Night runs on Biddeford's Main Street from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saco Main Street lists its tree lighting at the Saco Transportation Center the same night, with more details to come.
- Saco Holiday Festival and Parade of Lights, December 5. On Main Street. The organizer's page still says details are coming.
Saco Bucks Saturday is the event most directly tied to the theme of this post. It hands out money that can only be spent at participating businesses, and Downtown Market by Swell sits at 206 Main St., right in that downtown stretch.
What Comes Next on Lincoln Street
The biggest open question is still 23 Lincoln St. It's a historic building, buyers have shown interest, and the last owner called it too big for a cheap-menu bar. Whatever goes in will tell us whether the downtown Biddeford economy can support a large room again. When MacPhail talked about vacancies in May, he added, "There is a renaissance on upper Main. In some ways it's different than lower Main Street." As of early October, the reported tenant changes have been at 193 Main St. in Biddeford and 206 Main St. in Saco, and the Mulligan's building on Lincoln Street is still waiting for one.
If you own a downtown building or a house near Biddeford's Main Street or Saco's, these storefront changes affect your day-to-day and how buyers see the area. The team at KW Lifestyle Properties keeps track of what opens, what closes and what sits empty in Biddeford and Saco. Book an appointment or ask for a free home valuation, and we'll show you how those changes figure into your property's value.
