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New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
- Alex d’Emarese and Tiffany DeMartino have leased the former Drake’s Island Cafe building at 2073 Post Road in Wells where they plans to open the Baker Bru Cafe (instagram). Renovations are already underway with the hope of launching by the end of March. The completed 2,400 sq ft counter service cafe will seat 30. d’Emarese and DeMartino will serve house-made pastries, meat pies and quiches as well as açaí bowls, breakfast bowls, and breakfast sandwiches. For drinks they’ll have 6 different types of smoothies, specialty coffee drinks and a collagen boosted hot chocolate. d’Emarese’s first venture was Baker Bru which had opened in North Berwick last March. Baker Bru Cafe will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 am – 3 pm.
- Brunswick-based Reverie Coffee has a second location under development at 9 Park Street in Bath. The 1,500 square foot space (three times the size of their Brunswick cafe) will have a similar design and feature a gated children’s area as well as a section with tables and more casual couch seating and a larger retail area selling Maine made products and art. In addition to the coffee, tea, and baked goods served in Brunswick, owner Hannah Josselyn. plans to offer more savory food options to the menu like rice bowls, sandwiches, salads and eventually have savory and sweet waffles. Josselyn is planning to use the Bath location to host community events like book readings and to partner with the Bath Run Club on outings to the nearby Thorne Head Preserve. The new Reverie is part of a mixed use development in a former hospital building. Renovations are well underway and Josselyn hopes to open the new cafe by the end of February. Reverie initially got its start as a food truck and their Brunswick coffee shop opened in January 2024.
- The King’s Head Pub is opening a second location in Freeport in the former Jameson Tavern (photo on right) building. Renovations are underway with hopes of opening sometime in April or May. The King’s Head in Portland opened in the summer of 2014. The Jameson Tavern closed this past November and at the time owner Tom Hincks was considering reopening in Windham.
- The Bowdoin Orient has published an article about Pomelia, the popular new Sicilian-inspired restaurant that opened recently in Brunswick.
- Down East magazine has published an article about Buttermilk Kitchen in Camden.
- The Pen Bay Pilot has published an update on the new Spark Bagel cafe that opened recently in Northport.
- Panacea (website, instagram) opened in Wiscasset this past weekend. The quartet of photos (above left) are from our visit on their opening day and show the clam chowder (bottom right) and mushroom and seaweed chowder (upper left). Panacea is open Friday through Monday, 11 am – 4 pm.
- Portland-based culinary shop Skordo has announced plans to open a second location in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
- The Times Record reports that Seafoam Cannabis owner Richard Petron is opening Liberty Pizza in the space next to his Wiscasset Seafoam shop on Route 27. Liberty Pizza expected to open on February 14th.
For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.