The Little Brick Pub is in the building that once house the Mechanic Falls Public Library. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

MECHANIC FALLS — Tim Nugent had always wanted to be a bar owner. Bobbi Nugent had always been resistant — it’s a lot of responsibility, late hours, they had young kids at home — until she saw just the right spot, just a minute from home.

Bobbi and Tim Nugent opened The Little Brick Pub in Mechanic Falls. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

“One day I was driving by the property, stopped in traffic,” she said. “I looked over at it and had an epiphany. I thought to myself, ‘Maybe not a restaurant, maybe not a bar, but a little pub-style place for people to enjoy of all ages.’ I called Tim and told him my idea. He thought for a minute and said: ‘Let’s go for it. We can make it happen.’”

The Little Brick Pub was born at 15 Elm St. in December, with a lot of tenacity.

It took three tries reworking their business plan before they got approved for the financing to pull it off.

“They said it was our drive, our determination and us just really pushing for it that changed their mind,” Bobbi Nugent said.

Both Nugents grew up in the Oxford Hills area. The couple moved to town 13 years ago and it was instantly love, she said.

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Bobbi has had more restaurant experience, working as a bartender for seven years. Tim works at Lepage Bakeries in Lewiston as a department manager, but it was “always his dream” to be a bartender, she said.

The Little Brick Pub in Mechanic Falls has an extensive draft beer selection. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

“He’s chatty, he’s a flirt, he’s very outgoing and very bubbly, but he also has that strong background as far as the numbers,” she said. “I order the food and put the menu together, he does the banking and the bills and that type of stuff. We both have our clear, defined roles because I think that’s what’s really important.”

Their brick building used to be many things and they’ve had some fun with that in nods on the drink menu. The Lizzie B is named after a former librarian. The Docket is in honor of its courthouse roots. The Ollie, after a famous Prohibition-era cop in Boston who was born in Mechanic Falls.

Bobbi said she has a lot of pride in the town and hopes the pub can do its part to support other businesses and pull people in.

“A lot of people they’ll say, ‘Where are you from?’ I’ll say: ‘Mechanic Falls. Do you know where that is?'” she said. “‘Yeah, I drive through there all the time.’ Well, we want you to stop. Don’t drive through. Stop.”

The Little Brick Pub is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. She said they picked those hours for the home-life balance.

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After dropping the kids off at school in the morning, she is in checking inventory, placing orders and meeting vendors, as well as making meatballs, soups — including stuffed green pepper soup and loaded baked potato soup — and all of the desserts.

Turtle cheesecake, left, and a special request cake made for a birthday celebration that was held at The Little Brick Pub. Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover

The space seats about 45 and there has also been brisk takeout demand. They have hired two grill cooks and four employees for pizza prep.

They offer pub fare, such as pizza, burgers, poutine and egg rolls.

“We knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I think we’re both pretty pleased with how it turned out,” Bobbi Nugent said. “Anything that comes at us, a little snag or kink, we just breathe through it. There’s no sense in getting all upset and stressed out. You just have to stop for a second, breathe and figure out where you’re going to go from there.”

Working is a recurring Sun Journal feature that profiles people on the job in the community. If you have someone you’d like to suggest, contact writer Kathryn Skelton at kskelton@sunjournal.com or 689-2844.


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