Locals Are All Still Mourning The Loss of Bill’s Pizza in Maine

Every local in every city has their favorite spot. Their go-to grocery store, a favorite beach, the best place in town for tacos, and the bar with their favorite brews on tap.

Bill’s Pizza was that spot for many locals in Maine.

Bill Kinsman brought family and friends together over fast Italian food for 30+ years.

Whether you were in line at 1 a.m. for a greasy slab of pizza in the Old Port or picking up an Italian to go in Yarmouth, Bill’s Pizza was a staple part of many of our lives for many years.

Bill’s Pizza Portland, Maine

As the best place to grab a quick slice in the wee hours of the night, Bill’s stood strong at 177 Commercial Street in the Old Port starting in 1949. We waved goodbye to the last Bill’s location in 2021 when it was replaced by the potato donut joint, Holy Donut.

The loss is recent and we are still cycling through the stages of grief.

My family grew up with the Yarmouth location as their local joint in high school but I frequented the Old Port spot in my youth. I used to work on an island in Casco Bay and I’d get off the ferry at midnight and walk right by Bill’s on my way to my car. You can’t swerve through the McDonald’s drive-thru every day and not many things are open in the middle of the night, so the smell of Bill’s as I stepped off the ferry was a beacon of light and safety.

You’d walk into the fluorescent lights, hard booths, tile floor and just know you could trust what they were serving up. That is exactly the environment you need when grabbing a greasy slice of pizza, it just feels right.

Bill’s Pizza Yarmouth, Maine

My family grew up in Yarmouth for generations and Bill’s was a staple for all. My grandma lived for their Italians, my dad went almost every day for lunch at 11:30, and my mom frequented it as the spot to grab sandwiches on the run for a boat day on Casco Bay. Paired with Humpty Dumpty BBQ chips, of course.

As Yarmouth graduates, it was a place of comfort and comradery for my parents. After school, they would go and visit their friends working at the Route One location, and years later they were bringing my brother and me for weekend lunches.

I know my family isn’t the only one that has years’ worth of Bill’s Pizza memories. It was the friendliest place with consistent food, a positive atmosphere, and familiar faces that just simply made you feel good.

We all miss ya, Bill's.