WE recently spent some time with Melissa Smith and Michael Towle , new owners of Gold ’ s Gym , Bangor , Maine , a quaint city in a beautiful area of New England with many small coastal towns where tourism thrives in the summer . They shared how their life together started and we asked them some questions about how they maintain balance while focusing on their relationship , parenting and operating multiple businesses and staying happy !
Melissa Smith and Michael Towle exemplify what it means to make a dream a reality . Both originally from New England , they met 14 years ago while working summers in the restaurant business in Bar Harbor , a coastal town about an hour from Bangor that is a popular recreation destination in Maine . At first , they knew of each other , and would see each other at work and in the employee housing area . Both moved away and then back and eventually , on a day off together , they went out to dinner , and their romance began . They continued a couple of summers like that and then moved together to Bangor .
Now , 14 years later , they live happily together , have a 12-year-old son and a 10-year-old daughter and three thriving
MELISSA & MICHAEL
businesses . They share an entrepreneurial spirit , a passion for what they do , and dedication to what matters . Despite an insanely busy schedule with their businesses , the kids are their first priority . They somehow make it work with the kids ’ school schedules and extracurricular activities which include sports , music and voice lessons and cheerleading . They keep up with all of that while running a bar , a gym , and a restaurant . Being entrepreneurs , they are thankful that they can set their own schedules .
Their current businesses include Happy Endings Martini Bar , which has become a popular place for the locals . The gym was a dream of Melissa ’ s . A self-proclaimed gym rat , she has always maintained a personal commitment to fitness . She was a member of Gold ’ s Gym Bangor , Maine for years and the Group Fitness Manager for the club , teaching classes in the Les Mills program . The previous owner sent an email to all department managers , letting them know the company that owned the gym was planning on selling . Melissa and Michael began making plans to acquire the gym . After years of searching for real estate to open a gym , it seemed the timing was right to purchase Gold ’ s Gym Bangor . They had a nightclub at the time and were looking to make a change . They started a conversation with the owner and decided to proceed with buying the gym . They literally sold the nightclub one day and bought the gym the next . That was February 2019 .
In November 2019 , they purchased a restaurant in downtown , Eleven Central , named for its address . It has a warm , elegant atmosphere with an upscale menu . This made restaurant number two in their portfolio along with Happy Endings Martini Bar which Melissa opened in September of 2016 .
With a population of a little over 33,000 , there are no strangers in Bangor . Many people know Melissa and Michael and that they own the bar , restaurant and Gold ’ s Gym . Recently , Melissa and Michael held an event at Happy Endings and a resident came up to say that she had worked out in the gym earlier in the day , had a dinner at Eleven Central before coming to the martini bar . Now that ’ s loyalty !
Melissa and Michael shared that life is exciting working together , living together and parenting together , and