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After 382 days, Chez Paree reopens in Waterville’s South End After a deep cleaning, inspections and securing all licenses last week, the well-known Water Street bar reopens at 2 p.m. Thursday. 6 of 6 Patrons trickle in to The Chez on Water Street in Waterville on for first day of business Thursday after closing due to the pandemic. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel WATERVILLE It had been 382 days, but who was counting? The Chez Paree, after a pandemic-induced closure, reopened Thursday. “I just want to get to normal, I guess,” said Jodi Langlois, the Water Street bar’s owner. “As normal as it can be. ” ....
10 of 10 Jodi Langlois, who owns The Chez, discusses the bar Thursday at 45 Water St. in Waterville. The Chez has been closed since mid-March 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel WATERVILLE Four afternoons a week for the last 40-plus years, Terry Ann Loisel sauntered through the white storm door. Every visit to The Chez Paree resulted in the same order, a beer and a shot. An Oakland native and Vassalboro resident, Loisel saw her beloved South End bar close on March 15, 2020. It has yet to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a flash, Loisel’s social life eroded. “Oh my God, you don’t even know how many friends I had there,” Loisel said on a recent afternoon, reflecting on her decades of patronage at what everyone calls “The Chez.” “It’s like the show ‘Cheers,’ where everybody knows your name.” ....
Locals remember Janis Joplin’s 1969 visit to Waterville, The Chez Joplin visited The Chez after performing at the Waterville Armory, and several locals recall that memorable night. Share WATERVILLE In the midst of a blizzard, Janis Joplin was among those who piled into Mike Flanagin’s red 1969 Subaru en route to The Chez Paree on Feb. 21, 1969. Flanagin, a 20-year-old Thomas College student at the time, had helped book Joplin’s appearance that night at the Waterville Armory. Rock singer Janis Joplin performs Feb. 21, 1969, at the Waterville Armory during the winter of 1969. Photo courtesy of the Colby College library collection “This was one of the first few gigs of this new band, The Full Tilt Boogie Band,” Flanagin said. “That’s how we got her in Maine … We jumped in the Subaru and went to The Chez. What a hoot.” ....