Cory LaForge always liked a particular restaurant space on Main Street in Bucksport, which recently housed My Buddy’s Place and the Friar’s Brewhouse Tap Room before that.

So much so that, when it became available two months ago, he decided to open his own restaurant there.

Salsa Shack Maine, which opened in early December, is a physical location for the food truck business he’s operated out of Ellsworth and Orland for the last two years. The new spot carrying tacos, burritos and quesadillas adds to a growing restaurant scene in Bucksport and is meant to be a welcoming community space.

“I just loved the feeling of having a smaller restaurant,” LaForge said. “It feels more intimate. This place is designed where you can have a good conversation or talk to your customers, like they’re not just another number on a ticket.”

After growing up in the midcoast, LaForge eventually moved west to work in restaurants at ski areas, where he was exposed to more cultural diversity and new types of food – including tacos.

“It’s like all these different flavors that we’re not exposed to in Maine, so it’s like, I feel like I’ve been living a lie my whole life,” he said. “It was fun to bring all those things that I learned back here.”

When he realized his goal of opening a food truck in 2023 after returning to Maine, LaForge found the trailer he’d purchased on Facebook Marketplace was too small to fit anything but tortillas – and the Salsa Shack was born.

It opened at the Ellsworth Harbor Park in 2023 and operated out of the Orland Community Center in the winter. What started as an experiment took off in popularity and has been busy ever since.

LaForge calls his style “Maine-Mex:” a mix of authentic street tacos in a build-your-own format with different salsas and protein. Speciality salsas include corn and black bean, roasted poblano, pineapple jalapeno and mango Tajin.

The larger kitchen space in the new restaurant has allowed a menu expansion to include quesadillas, burritos and burrito bowls in addition to the tacos, nachos and taco salad bowls sold from the food truck. Regular specials are also on the menu.

More new menu items are likely ahead, according to LaForge, along with a beer and wine license and expanded hours in the spring.

The food truck will live on for now, too; he’s signed up for a few events in the coming months.

Starting Jan. 6, the restaurant will also offer a buy-two-get-one-free “Taco Tuesday” promotion.

“It’s a really fun vibe here, and I feel like everyone finds it very comfortable and easy to come in and order,” LaForge said, comparing the restaurant’s atmosphere to the television show Cheers. “Even if you have to sit down and wait a little while, we always have some fun conversations going on.”

So far, the welcome has been warm locally, he said, both from residents and the other new restaurant owners who help each other out. LaForge’s sole employee, Connor MacLeod, is also a familiar face from MacLeod’s Restaurant, which closed in March after 45 years on Main Street.

When it shut its doors, people in town weren’t sure where they would go, according to LaForge. But four new establishments opened in 2025, offering a range from Thai food to diner offerings.

“It’s kind of fun to see so [many] culinary changes,” he said.

The Salsa Shack is currently open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

LOWELL — UMass Lowell, in partnership with local government, developers and community organizations, is looking to tackle one of Massachusetts’ biggest challenges: housing availability.

The Healey-Driscoll administration and the Innovation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative announced Nov. 6 that Greater Lowell has been designated a Housing Innovation TechHub through the Massachusetts TechHubs Program, an initiative intended to strengthen regional innovation ecosystems across the state. The designation is part of the program’s first cohort of 14 TechHubs recognized statewide.

“These TechHubs reflect the best of what happens when local leaders, institutions and businesses work together to build on their region’s unique strengths,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll. “Our administration believes that innovation doesn’t just happen in one ZIP code, it happens in every community when we provide the tools and investment to help it thrive.”

Led by UMass Lowell and funded by a $100,000 Strategy Development Grant, the Housing Innovation TechHub aims to address the commonwealth’s housing crisis through innovation in design and sustainability, zoning and policy, and manufacturing and construction. The TechHub will serve as a living laboratory for testing and scaling new approaches to affordable and sustainable housing.

“The TechHubs program represents a long-term commitment to building the next generation of innovation ecosystems in Massachusetts,” said Innovation Institute Director Pat Larkin.

“By leveraging the experiences of the different regional initiatives, we’re laying the foundation for sustained regional transformation and economic competitiveness,” Larkin added.

According to the Healey-Driscoll administration’s “A Home for Everyone: A Comprehensive Housing Plan for Massachusetts,” Massachusetts needs to increase its year-round housing supply by at least 222,000 homes over the next decade to meet demand and lower costs, the report found. The MassInc Policy Center has found the housing need is pronounced in Gateway Cities such as Lowell, which will need 83,000 new units over the next decade.

To address this challenge, the team behind the Housing Innovation TechHub, including officials from UMass Lowell, the city of Lowell, the Cambridge Innovation Center, Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and Bequall, will develop a strategic plan that delivers scalable housing solutions through the integration of cutting-edge technology, transformative policy frameworks and community-driven approaches.

“The Strategy Development Grant allows us to convene the right partners and create an actionable roadmap for housing innovation,” said Kim Holloway, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation acceleration at UMass Lowell. “Our goal is to turn research and ideas into real projects that can transform how housing is built and financed across Massachusetts.”

Centered in Greater Lowell, the TechHub will test and refine new approaches that can be replicated statewide, positioning the area as a proving ground for housing innovation across Massachusetts.

“Lowell has always been a city that leads through innovation,” said Lowell City Manager Tom Golden. “This effort builds on that legacy and makes Lowell the launchpad for the future of housing across the state, creating solutions that are affordable, sustainable and scalable for communities everywhere.”

The Housing Innovation TechHub builds on the momentum of the Lowell Innovation Network Corridor, a partnership between the university, industry and government focused on a 1.2-million-square-foot mixed-use development that will include offices, research labs, housing, retail businesses and entertainment destinations. Together, the TechHub and LINC will make the Greater Lowell region a national model for housing innovation and economic opportunity.

“The Housing Innovation TechHub represents exactly the kind of forward-looking collaboration that defines UMass Lowell,” said Chancellor Julie Chen. “Along with transformational projects like LINC, the TechHub reflects how we’re bringing research and partnerships to life to strengthen communities and expand opportunities across the region.”

Two people are dead and another person has serious injuries following a crash Friday in Rumney, New Hampshire.

The Rumney Fire Department says it responded to Route 25 just after 1:30 p.m. for a motor vehicle crash with entrapment. Crews, including from Plymouth-Fire Rescue and the Wentworth Fire Department, arrived on scene to find two vehicles in the road that appeared to have been involved in a head-on collision.

The driver from one vehicle was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, the fire department said. The driver and a passenger in the second vehicle were both pronounced dead on scene.

The victims’ names have not been released at this time.

Route 25 was closed for approximately five hours for an on-scene investigation and clean up, the fire department said.

It’s unclear what caused the fatal crash. The Rumney Police Department is investigating.