New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
- Bene’s Beef (instagram) is bringing North Shore roast beef sandwiches and tallow French fries to Lewiston. Chef/owner TJ Castiello is from the Boston area. He has leased the former El Pochos location at 990 Lisbon Street and hopes to launch Bene’s sometime in June. El Pochos relocated last year to the space in town formerly occupied by Boba.
- The Millers Table in Skowhegan will be launching a new 125-seat restaurant called The Biergarten (instagram) at the new Spinning Mill development. Chef Erik Levine will be serving a menu inspired by traditional German dishes like bratwurst and schnitzel prepared with locally sourced ingredients. The bar program will offer craft beers, cocktails and mocktails. A specific date hasn’t been set yet but they’re hoping to launch The Biergarten in late May.
- The new Kingfield coffee shop we wrote about back in January, Marmee Dearest Espresso (instagram) is set to open on May 7th. the 20-seat cafe will serve brewed coffee and espresso-based drinks as well as locally made baked goods. Rhodes plans to feature coffee from roasteries in New England and Canada and from woman-owned roasteries. Her house coffee is roasted by Tern Coffee Roasters which is launching its own retail coffee shop in Brunswick. Marmee Dearest will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 8:30 am – 2 pm, and is located at 256 Main Street.
- Bold Journey has published an interview with Joanna Spinks, the owner of First Fig in Camden.
- The Rangeley Highlander has published an article about Clifford’s Donut Stop (facebook, instagram) in Phillips. The self serve donut kiosk (photo above from last October) was launched last June by Tiffany and Chris Otteng and Rosemarie Jenau. It’s located at 2427 Rangeley Rd, and open Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 am.
- The Kennebec Journal has a report on a new bagel cafe/pizzeria called Lately’s that’s under construction on Water Street in Hallowell. Owner Ryan Ellis hopes to launch Lately’s next month with plans to initially be open Thursday through Sunday, 8 am – 10 pm.
- The Maine Scoop Company plans to hold the grand opening of their Pine Point ice cream shop on May 15th. The Maine Scoop is taking the place of Bayley’s Ice Cream on Pine Point Road.
- The Portsmouth Herald has published an article about the new generation that’s taken over management of Congdon’s Donuts in Wells.
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.