If you attend SMCC on the South Portland campus, you most likely have seen the Spring Point Tavern, located right near the main parking lot. What you might not know about the Tavern, and what has come as a shock to students at SMCC, is that recently a huge drug bust happened there.
On September 11th, 2023 , the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency ended a month-long investigation that resulted in the arrest of the general manager of the tavern, 52 year old Michael McNamara. He was arrested late Monday night after closing up at the Spring Point Tavern. Reportedly, undercover agents made a purchase of top-ball methamphetamine from McNamara during operating hours.
When I first heard this news, my initial reaction was to think of Gustavo Fring. Gustavo, as you may recall, is a restaurant entrepreneur while also being a major narcotics distributor in the hit show “Breaking Bad.” The general manager of the Spring Point Tavern was arrested after an undercover sting caught him selling methamphetamine while on shift? I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the show “Breaking Bad.
I asked my friend Alex, who goes to school here at SMCC with me, what his initial reaction to the drug bust was. He replied “When I first heard the news of the drug bust, I also thought of Mr White. As I was thinking more and more about it, I got curious and started wondering how long it had been going on for, and how they were able to hide selling for that long.” For those who don’t know, Mr. White is the antihero in Breaking Bad. He’s a middle aged chemistry teacher who starts selling meth to provide for his family, living a double life that continues throughout the show.
Not everyone has the immediate “Breaking Bad” association. My friend Sawyer had a different response: “Why would someone who is a general manager risk their own lives and the lives of others by distributing an illegal drug while on shift.”
As an SMCC student, I am shocked that a drug bust like this has occurred right down the street from where students attend classes, at a local bar where people enjoy their drinks and their food. Despite the circumstances and the situation that occurred, the Spring Point Tavern continues to serve the South Portland community.
Categories: Featured, True Crime
The SMCC Beacon 
As a college student you are surprised by a drug bust down the street from your campus? What about the drugs being distributed throughout your dorms and campus? Maybe ask yourself how many students were his customers. One bar manager dealing drugs out of a bar is not a reflection of the bar or our community. Also, SMCC has been badmouthing SPT for years and attempting to get it closed down. It’s a neighborhood bar owned by good locals who hired the wrong guy. Though, you have to love how Grayson Fuller managed to make himself the victim in his horribly written article. Is this an actual article or a blog post? And the fact that SMCC has been so against the bar all these years is hilarious because their students are some of the biggest trouble makers in the bar. And no, I don’t work there, nor am I friends with the owner, just reporting on what I see and I’ve been hanging out there for years.
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