Another business that has done well for itself for years in Scarbrough has announced its closing.

The Maine Bagel is family-owned and operated by John Lancaster and his sons Matthew and Nick. It's on Route 1 in Scarbrough and was originally a Mister Bagel until the name changed to The Maine Bagel, a more fitting name for Scarbrough.

This comes as another shock to people in southern Maine as many restaurants that have been around for years have had to close their doors.

According to Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Quincy Hentzel who spoke with News Center Maine, the cause for the wave of recent closings is inflation, which increases the cost of food, and the cost and the cost of goods. Wages are also going up in the Portland area. All this makes it tough for locally-owned restaurants to keep their doors open.

That, however, is not the reason that The Maine Bagel is closing according to owner John Lancaster who contacted me to make sure that was clear.

The Maine Bagel posted this statement on its website about the closing:

We will be closing November 27 after almost two incredible decades on Route One in Scarborough.

Due to circumstances beyond our control we are obligated to vacate the building that has given our family so many wonderful memories. We have been blessed with employees and customers that have allowed our dream to come to fruition.

We set out with a vision to provide the community with a bagel shop that prided itself on service, quality, and value. We believe we achieved this and in the process gained many friendships that we will cherish forever.

Our family would like to thank our hard working staff, vendors, first responders, and patrons. Without the support staff and customers who gave us a reason to get up early every week we would not have had the success that allowed us to serve good food and friendly smiles for this long.

Make sure you get your fill of The Maine Bagel before they say goodbye on November 27.