Welcome to the July 2023 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company—a commercial real estate brokerage that has helped Maine’s restauranteurs buy and lease restaurant spaces since 1975.
This resource gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland (and a few in the surrounding area) that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers and retailers to locate their next business. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this resource will make that step just a little bit easier.
West End
2 Pine St – Part of the former Treasure Chest space in Longfellow Square is for lease. Enterprise Records has moved into the right-hand portion with the remainder (adjacent to Weekend Vintage) still available. Call (207) 773-7100 for more details.
235 Vaughan St – the 700 sq ft space most recently occupied by Other Side Deli and which had been the longtime home of Vaughan Street Variety is for lease. Call (207) 650-0846 for more information.
Arts District
543 Congress St – the 1,276 sq ft space formerly occupied by Higher Concepts is for lease for $18/sq ft (MG). It’s located along the same stretch of road that’s home to Nosh, Regards, Broken Arrow and Mister Bagel.
549 Congress St – the 1,397 sq ft space formerly occupied by the Portland Downtown offices is available to lease for $2,500/month (NNN).
554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).
44 Oak St – 4,347 sq ft of space in a beautiful historic building at the corner of Oak and Free Streets is available for $15.50/sq ft (NNN).
Bayside
73 Cove St – a 5,519 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is listed for $35/sq ft; it’s expected to become available in 2024.
360 Cumberland Ave – an 1,100 sq ft space near Schulte & Herr is available for $22/sq ft (NNN).
46 Elm St – this 385 sq ft corner space in the parking garage at the corner of Elm Street and Cumberland Ave. It’s available for $500/month (MG).
52 Hanover St – On the first floor of a new building will be 1,500 – 4,500 sq ft retail space available for $30/sq ft (NNN).
65 Hanover St – 1,800 sq ft of space is available for $20/sq ft (NNN).
178 Kennebec St – 2,644 sq ft of space are available in a newly constructed Bayside building for $25/sq ft (NNN).
34 Portland St – the 3,400 sq ft building that was formerly occupied by Candy’s is for sale for $599,000.
Old Port
1 Canal Plaza – 4,284 – 14,412 sq ft of ground floor retail space will be available as part of upcoming renovations; $30/sq ft (NNN).
1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is undergoing renovations. The 900-2,950 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).
185 Commercial St – a new building under construction will include 2,229 sq ft of ground floor retail space that will be available in 2024; $55/sq ft (NNN).
215 Commercial St – 2,189 sq ft of retail space near the corner of Commercial and Dana Streets is available for $65/sq ft (MG).
327 Commercial St – the former Tiqa restaurant is for lease—7,981 sq ft @ $30/sq ft (NNN)—or for sale for $3,500,000.
383 Commercial St – 1,193 – 4,805 square feet of space in a newly constructed building on Commercial Street is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).
441 Congress St – the 2,400 sq ft former Guitar Grave retail space is available for $15/sq ft (MG).
201 Federal St – 2 retail spaces will be available in the new 18-story building under construction at the corner of Temple and Federal Streets. The 527 and 2,300 sq ft spaces are listed at $40/sq ft (MG).
416 Fore St – the former Mark’s Place is available; 1,100 sq ft for $5,500 (NNN).
446 Fore St – a 1,600 sq ft space on the corner of Fore and Union Streets is available for $30-40/sq ft (MG).
470 Fore St – the longtime home of Paciarino is now available. The 2,000 sq ft storefront on the corner of Fore and Cross Streets is for lease at $32.50/sq ft (NNN).
40 Free St – the new building constructed by JB Brown has four storefronts ranging in size from 1,473 to 3,024 sq ft for $27.50/sq ft (NNN).
55 Market St – this 3,700 sq ft space on Market Street was formerly occupied by the Big Easy. It’s available for $18/sq ft (NNN).
121 Middle St – a 2,482 sq ft retail spot is available for $45/sq ft (MG).
157 Middle St – 1,091 – 5,155 sq ft of retail space is available for $27 – 29.95/sq ft (MG).
1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space adjacent to Cera is available for $3,125/month (MG).
28 Monument Square – two spaces on the 2nd floor (143 sq ft with a base rent of $1,185 + utilities and CAM charges—call 413-636-9688 for details), and a spot with it’s own 8 foot hood for $850/month + utilities and CAM charges.
25 Pearl St – 1,689 sq ft former Subway space available for $30/sq ft (MG).
66 Pearl St – 5,796 sq ft of space—the former Bull Moose retail shop—is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).
144 State St – 2 retail spaces will be available in the development in the former Mercy Hospital building on State Street. The 1100 and 2,566 spaces are available for $26/sq ft (MG).
15 Temple St – the 2,086 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).
110 Thames St – two spots (2,700 and 3,200 sq ft) are now available in the newly constructed building in the Portland Foreside development. Both are listed at $35/sq ft (NNN).
53 Wharf St –a 1,600 sq ft space on the corner of Wharf and Union Streets is available for $30-40/sq ft (MG).
India Street
144 Fore St – the former VA building is near the Portland Foreside development and adjacent to several new office buildings off Thames Street. It has 1,560 – 10,620 sq ft of space available for $24-29/sq ft (NNN).
Forest Ave
369 Forest Ave – a 5,040 sq ft building on Forest Ave is available for $14.50/sq ft (MG).
503 – 509 Forest Ave – the exterior of this building is slated to be restored to its historic design. It has 4,500 – 9,500 sq ft of space available for $10/sq ft (NNN).
701 Forest Ave – 3,147 – 6,405 with parking available for $18/sq ft (NNN).
1871 Forest Ave – the former Tortilla Flat building is for sale for $3,100,000.
Deering Center
476 Stevens Ave – the Elsmere BBQ building in Deering Center is for sale for $1,450,000; the sale includes all FF&E inventory. It is also available to lease, 3,000 – 4,091 sq ft for $25 – 30/sq ft (NNN).
Elsewhere in Portland
1091 Congress St – the former Denny’s building and parking lot are available to lease; 4,901 sq ft at $25.50/sq ft (NNN).
43 York St – this 1,800 sq ft space is tucked around the corner from Yosaku on York Street. It’s available for $3,000/month (MG).
Northgate Shopping Center – 2,200 to 5,700 sq ft of space is available.
Westgate Shopping Center – three spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).
Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.
Outside of Portland
Bath – the former home of Salt Pine Social is available. The 3,535 sq ft building is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).
18 Ocean St, South Portland – the 4,351 sq ft former Snow Squall is for lease for $12/sq ft (NNN).
372 Cottage Rd, South Portland – the former Omi’s Coffee Shop is available for lease. Call Jennifer Davies at (207) 650-9944 for more information.
Glossary
MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.
NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.
Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.