The Garden Bar Coming to South Portland

Lanai Monahan will be opening a second location of her Biddeford-based business The Garden Bar (website, facebook, instagram). It will be located in South Portland in the space formerly occupied by Cafe Louis. The South Portland cafe will have 20 seats and Monahan is hoping to add some outdoor seating this summer.

The Garden Bar serves made to order salads and bowls. They have a few signature combinations—you can’t go wrong with the Santa Fe—or customers can select from dozens of ingredients to make a custom combo. The South Portland location will be adding a selection of wraps as well as some appetizer/snack items and a wider range of options for salads and bowls.

Monahan hopes to launch the South Portland location in May. The Biddeford Garden Bar is located at 40 Main Street and it opened May 6, 2023.

See the Under Construction page for a list of other Portland area food businesses under development.

Looking Back at March 2010, 2015 and 2020

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from March 2010, 2015 and 2020:

Maine Food & Dining News: Kennebunk, Ogunquit, Falmouth, Belmont, Bath, Belfast, Westbrook

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

    • A new seafood market called Piscatrix (website, instagram) has opened in Kennebunk selling fresh seafood, grab and go dishes, ready to cook meals and pantry staples. Piscatrix—a word that means women fishmonger—is open Wednesday/Saturday 11 am – 5 pm, Thursday/Friday 11 am – 6 pm.
    • The Ogunquit wine and cocktail bar Costal Alchemist will be re-opening this season at a new location. Owner Scott Vogel is launching The Trident Inn in Ogunquit this spring and Coastal Alchemist is being relocated at the hotel as a restaurant serving “a fresh and inventive take on coastal cuisine” as well as craft cocktails.
    • Sapporo is planning to re-open at their new Falmouth location on Monday. They’ve moved from their longtime home on Commercial Street in Portland to the Wyeth Building in Falmouth. Sapporo will be open Monday through Thursday, 11:30 am – 8:30 pm, Friday from 11:30 am – 9 pm, and Saturday, noon – 9 pm.
    • The Bangor Daily News reports that Super Scoop in Belmont has changed hands. Jason and Penny Peasley have bought the ice cream shop from founder Julie Heeter who operated the business for 26 years. The Peasleys already own and run River Ducks Ice Cream in Camden.
    • The Times Record reports that a new Jamaican-style restaurant called Blazzin Lion Jamaican Cuisine (website, facebook) opened earlier this month in Bath. The restaurant has been launched by Paul and Natasha Byfield, and is located at 99 Commercial Street. They’re initially open Saturdays and Sundays, noon – 9 pm.
    • The Pulling Corks wine bar opened for business in Belfast on Thursday.
    • LB Kitchen launched their new business LB Mini-Mart in Westbrook on Monday.

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.

Pulling Corks Opens Today

Pulling Corks (instagram) opens for business today in downtown Belfast. The wine bar is the creation of David Speer and Kristin Amundson-Speer. They’ve renovated the 150 year old building that was the former home of Bellabooks at 31 Pendleton Street into a rustic bar with plans to open a wine shop there as well later this year. A mix of bar, table and lounge seating accomodates up to 30 people and Pulling Corks will soon have outdoor seating in an adjacent garden.

Pulling Corks offers wines by the glass and bottle (see bottle list below) and will have a menu of bar snacks (luques olives, pistachios, etc)  and house-made dishes like a winter mesclun salad with Dijon vinaigrette, and polenta with Italian sausage and chervil.

In 2013, Speer was named by Food & Wine to their list of the Best Sommeliers of the Year. Prior to moving to Maine, he was the founder and owner of a 20-seat champagne bar called Ambonnay in Portland, Oregon.

The bar will be open Thursday through Monday, 4 – 9 pm.

Cuties to Open in Early April

Here’s a look inside Cuties (instagram) the all-day bar that’s been under construction on Market Street in the Old Port. The business is being launched by a group of friends and industry colleagues—Bryce SummersGarrett LendermanRyan NielsenArvid Brown and Nick Coffin. Coffin and Brown are the team that launched Room for Improvement in 2023.

The 2,100 sq ft former Petite Jacqueline space sports a new look. The central bar is now complemented by soft seating communal areas along the south wall and a long window counter looking out over Market Street. A mural by artist Jenna Pirello graces the main entrance, and John Sundling from Plant Office created the greenery design for the bar and the plant rail that circuits high along the windows.

Cuties will initially be open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 pm  to midnight. The owners will be expanding their hours and embracing their full all-day concept starting in mid-May.

The evening drinks menu will feature wine and cocktails. The opening menu will include options like a frozen Mango Cadillac Margarita, a Miami Vice-inspired Sazerac, an espresso Martini on nitro, and a clarified freezer Martinez served with a sidecar short pour of Oyster River Morphos. The food menu will include a range of bar snacks like Nashville hot popcorn shrimp with black lime mayo, and Oaxacan cheese stuffed hushpuppies prepared in a Japanese taiyaki press.

Cuties is located at 46 Market and is set to open on April 8th at 5 pm.

Hank and Arties in Bayside

Hank & Arties (instagram) has been working on a food trailer. This morning they and Argenta Brewing announced a collaboration that will see the trailer stationed outside the West Bayside brewery starting in May.

Chef/owner Sean Telo has been holding a number of pop-ups around Portland since last fall. While his day job is with a software company, a decade ago he was working in kitchens like Miller Union in Atlanta and Extra Fancy in Brooklyn.

Here’s a draft of the menu Telo hopes to serve starting in May. Telo has included a kid’s section and hopes that will be a big part of what they do.

Hifi Donuts Temporarily Closing

Owners Melissa and Ari Modugno have announced that they’ll be closing Hifi Donuts while they search for a new space to locate their Monument Square donut shop and cafe. Their last day at their current spot is April 17th.

It has been a wild ride here at 30 city center, for all of us at HiFi Donuts, yet on the eve of our 8th-year here, and much success we have to say our goodbyes to the Portland area. We have been unable to negotiate a lease for this space and will be closing our doors on April 17th, 2025. This is not our choice, because of that we will be looking for the right space for us to move to. We hope that this is not the end of HiFi Donuts but the beginning of something new and exciting.

 The Modugnos launched Hifi Donuts launched at 30 City Center on June 8, 2017.

Aomori Restaurant & Market

Acclaimed chef Masa Miyake has leased a pair of adjacent space in Bayside where he plans to launch a restaurant and Japanese-style convenience store. The new businesses are a family project that are being worked on by Miyake along with his son Reo Miyake and Reo’s partner Helen Carter.

We are especially excited about Aomori and Aomori Market + Kitchen because they will be family-run businesses. These projects allow us to bring together our experiences from both Maine and Japan, creating something very personal. Once we are up and running, we hope to extend this family-focused model to our customers and employees, creating a space that is welcoming to all.

Aomori Restaurant (instagram) will be located in the corner space next to Hanover Street. The 40-seat restaurant will include a bar, table seating, and a 6-8 seat chefs counter and will have outdoor seating during the summer. The concept is of a casual Japanese restaurant inspired by Maine and Japan’s Tohoku Region serving small plates inspired by classic izakaya dishes and Japanese home cooked meals.

Aomori Kitchen and Market (instagram) will be modeled after the conbini convenience stores in Japan—an all-day combination convenience store, cafe, bar and quick service eatery. The market will stock Japanese specialty items as well as some basic everyday essentials. Cold and hot food (karage, nigiri, etc) will be available to grab and go, or to enjoy at one of the markets 10 counter seats. In the evening it will also serve as waiting area bar for customers before getting seated at the restaurant.

The 1,500 and 1,800 square foot space are located at 52 Hanover Street in the Armature building across  from Wilson County Barbecue, Bar Publica and Argenta Brewing. Work with Woodhull on the architecture and design for the restaurant and market are just wrapping up and the hope is to have both businesses open before the end of the year.

Masa Miyake opened Food Factory Miyake in 2007 at 129 Spring Street. The small BYOB sushi bar quickly developed a reputation for excellence. The restaurant moved to its present location on Fore Street in 2011 and for a time the original space was home to Miyake Diner, an izakaya-style restaurant. Pai Men Miyake opened on September 15, 2010. In early 2024 he sold his restaurants to two members of his staff Emily Phillips and Courtney Packer.

Aomori is a region in Japan that’s had a relationship with Maine since the Cheseborough from Bath, Maine crashed there in 1889. The Friends of Aomori have maintained a connection between Aomori Prefecture and Maine for more than 30 years. Coincidentally, it’s also the part of Japan where Masa Miyake is from. The similarity in climate was part of why he opened his first restaurant in Portland and the new restaurant is named for his hometown.

LB Mini-Mart Opens Today at Rock Row

LB Kitchen (websiteinstagram) owners Lee Farrington and Bryna Gootkind are opening their new business at Rock Row Health Campus this morning. The 600-square-foot market will be selling grab-and-go versions of their salads, soups, sandwiches, breakfast items, and house-made bottled beverages (see the full menu below). It will have an espresso bar serving  coffee, functional lattes, tea, hot bone broth and house-made baked goods. The market also sells a wide selection of snacks, beverages, pantry staples and retail items from other producers.

The market is located alongside New England Cancer Specialists, the Dempsey Center and other medical care providers which together are intended to deliver a more holistic approach to patients.

Chef Farrington shared, “We are experts at creative workarounds and functional substitutions. We want all our customers, and the Rock Row Health Campus patients especially, who may feel limited by specific dietary needs or restrictions to feel hopeful and expansive when they choose LB. MINI-MART meals, snacks or treats. We’ve done the thinking to make alternative food options that taste and feel good.”

This is the first location for LB’s new Mini-Mart concept. Farrington and Gootkind are planning to launch additional outposts in the Greater Portland area—watch for details to be released later this year. The original LB Kitchen opened in 2017 and moved to the corner of Smith and Congress Streets in 2023.

Hours  for the market are Monday through Friday, 7 am – 5 pm. Access to 11 Rock Row is from the Westbrook Arterial road rather than from Brighton Ave side of the property.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

Monday – Taj and Bar Futo are collaborating on a special dinner. The Native Maine Food Show is taking place. It’s the opening day of the LB Mini-Mart at Rock Row.

SundayDinner x Friends is holding a pop-up at Lambs, and The Rooted Heart is teaching a gluten-free sourdough baking class.

April 2Chaval is serving a 4-course Northern Italian vegan wine dinner. Steve Mills, CEO of Maine Beer Company, will be the featured guest at the latest session of the Like A Boss interview series.

April 10 – The Gulf of Maine Research Institute is holding a film screening and panel discussion about the ongoing efforts to restore alewives to the Presumpscot River.

April 16Hospitality Maine is holding their annual conference for professionals who work in the restaurant and hotel industries.

April 26SeaFest will be taking place in Westbrook. The 2nd Annual Chowderfest is taking place.

May 11 – The 2025 edition of Cider Feast is taking place.

May 17 – The Maine Wild Wine Fest is taking place in Freeport.

May 30 – June 1 – The Maine Fungi Fest is taking place.

June 26-28 – The Holy Trinity Greek Festival is taking place.

June 28 – The Wavy Days beer festival is taking place.

September 14 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.

September 19-21 – The Common Ground Country Fair is taking place in Unity.

October 12 – The Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.
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