BANGOR – Although the familiar orange roof is gone, the Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant is still a familiar landmark on Odlin Road in Bangor, as it has been for the last 39 years.

And to make sure it stays that way, Scott Matthews, hotel manager and marketing director for the establishment, is putting his energy into making the only Howard Johnson in Maine more a part of the community. He said because of its name recognition, Howard Johnson retains the cachet of its 75-year history as a lodging and eating place for travelers.

“It’s like ‘Cheers,’ where everyone knows your name,” he said. And it still serves 16 different flavors of ice cream.

A former event planner and a graduate of the New England School of Broadcasting in Bangor, Matthews has been on the job at Howard Johnson since January.

He was brought in, he said, “to generate more business.” One of his efforts in that regard, he said, is to reach out to the organizations that met for years at Miller’s restaurant before it closed in May, leaving them to seek other places to hold meetings.

The Bangor Noon Kiwanis, the Current Events Club and the Bangor Business and Professional Women’s Club have switched their meeting place to Howard Johnson, Matthews said.

“Some of those groups found out Miller’s was closing by reading the newspaper,” he said. “There’s a need for places where groups can meet.” Each month 15-20 area organizations use the function rooms at Howard Johnson, he said.

The Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant chain, founded in 1925, used to span America. It operated more than 800 restaurants from coast to coast. Today, only seven Howard Johnsons remain in the United States, though the chain still has a presence in several other countries however.

“A customer told me recently that we are Bangor’s best-kept secret,” Matthews said.

Another of Matthews’ ideas is to rent out the hotel’s pool area and large lawn for outdoor weddings. A wedding already has been booked for this summer. He also is planning a Family Fun Day in later summer.

“I’m trying to improve service and work more closely with the community,” he said. The hotel contracts with local service agencies, such as the Red Cross, to provide low-cost temporary housing for disaster victims. The Bangor Howard Johnson also was a sponsor of last week’s Eastern Maine Soap Box Derby.

Matthews’ vision for the Bangor Howard Johnson is to be a community gathering place where people can “eat and meet.” He’s even thinking about tapping into the public’s yen for the good old days by redecorating the restaurant with Howard Johnson memorabilia.

To learn more, visit www.hojobangor.com.