Baker Stephen Lanzalotta passed away this past Saturday after a battle with cancer.
Stephen Lanzalotta was best known as a baker – specifically, the one behind the Sicilian-style pizza that gained a following when he was the bakery manager at Micucci Grocery and became the basis for Portland restaurant Slab.
But the people who knew him well describe him as an artist.
Sadly, we don’t have any Maine Beard Awards wins to report on this morning, but with five nominees and 20+ chefs, bakes, staff and owners at the event Maine was very well represented at the awards. No doubt there will be more opportunity for Maine to shine in 2023.
In the meantime if you see any of the 2022 congratulate them on the recognition of excellence that already represents:
See this article in the Press Herald for additional details on the awards.
Monday – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards. Leeward is a nominee in the Best New Restaurant category, Atsuko Fujimoto, Norimoto Bakery is a nominee in the Outstanding Bakery category, and three Portland chefs are nominees in the Best Chef Northeast category: Vien Dobui from Công Tử Bột,Courtney Loreg from Woodford Food & Beverage, and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval. Portland Food Map is also in Chicago to attend the awards. We’ll report out here and on Instagram if our home town favorites win an award.
Monday to Sunday – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see their website for the full program of events.
Saturday – the grand opening of the Absolem Cider tasting room in Winthrop, Maine.
June 29 – Gulf of Maine Research Institute CEO Don Perkins will sitting for a live interview with the Press Herald.
July 1 – it’s the opening day of Fake Restaurant #2 at the Washington Baths. The month long pop-up will be “slinging traditional ((and not-so-traditional)) versions of Greek cuisine” Saturday’s during the month of July.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
July 25 – 30 – the Kneading Conference is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 23 – 25 – the Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Colby College has published an article about alum Ben Wexler and his Peaks pizza business Il Leone.
Step off the ferry onto an island with pristine sandy beaches, cliffside bed-and-breakfasts, and a destination-worthy wood-fired pizza oven. This isn’t a place on the Italian Riviera. It’s a small, 740-acre island called Peaks Island, part of the city of Portland, Maine.
In the last few days the Press Herald has published updates on Queenie’s Castle and the sale of Town Landing, and on changes in Portlander’s coffee habits.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram reports on the 15-year anniversary of The Green Elephant, and on Portland food and donut tours.
Congratulations to Via Vecchia and Might & Main for their wins in the Hospitality Design Awards in the Visual Design category.
A new business called Queenie’s Castle is under construction in Deeering Oaks Park. It will have indoor seating and tables outside on the front and side decks.
Owner Victoria Queenie Thayer is launching a deli and soft serve ice shop in the historic building and has applied for a wine and beer license.
The draft menu supplied with the liquor license application (see pages 146-148) include items like lobster rolls, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers and kid’s lunch boxes. The ice cream menu includes soft serve dish and cones plus sundaes, parfaits, frappes and a banana boat supreme.
Wednesday/Thursday – the Knotted Apron will be hosting a 6-course dinner with the Back Bay Grill’s longtime chef/owner Larry Matthews.
Friday – Hi-Fidelity Beer, Portland’s newest brewery, is opening its doors in Easy Bayside.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
June 18 – the grand opening of the Absolem Cider tasting room in Winthrop, Maine.
July 1 – it’s the opening day of Fake Restaurant #2 at the Washington Baths. The month long pop-up will be “slinging traditional ((and not-so-traditional)) versions of Greek cuisine” Saturday’s during the month of July.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
July 25 – 30 – the Kneading Conference is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place in Skowhegan.
September 23 – 25 – the Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Hi-Fidelity Beer (website, facebook, instagram) is launching their East Bayside brewery and tasting room this Friday. They’ll be opening at noon and are located in Unit 6 of the Urban Farm Fermentory building at 200 Anderson Street.
Owners PD Wappler and Dante Maderal are focusing on low ABV beers. Their opening day line-up will include:
Moving forward Hi-Fidelity will be open Thursday through Sunday, noon to 1 am, and Mondays 2 pm to midnight.
Welcome to the June 2022 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers/retailers to locate their next business.
Even during the pandemic many people are pursuing their dreams and opening new food businesses. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this new resource will make that step just a little bit easier.
West End
156 State St – 5,250 sq ft of space on the first floor of the Portland Club is available for $14/sq ft (NNN).
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
554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).
642 Congress St – the former Ada’s space is available to sublet; 2,569 sq ft (MG).
643/647 Congress St – 1,107 – 5,016 sq ft of space near Longfellow Square is available for $20/sq ft (MG).
649 Congress St – this 3,000 sq ft space is available for $22/sq ft (MG).
Bayside
15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.
31 Diamond St – this 2,800 – 22,034 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).
178 Kennebec St – a 2,644 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building in West Bayside is available for $30/sq ft (NNN).
65 Portland Street – the beautiful restaurant space that was home to Back Bay Grill for 34 years is available; 2,750 sq ft for $25/sq ft (MG).
24 Preble St – the former Arcadia space is available; 2,835 sq ft for $20/sq ft (NNN).
Old Port
1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).
383 Commercial St – 1,639 – 3,487 of retail space on Commercial Street for $28/sq ft (NNN).
40 Free St – the new building constructed by JB Brown has four storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft for $30/sq ft (NNN).
38 Market St – a 1,200 subterranean space near the intersection with Milk Street for $1,175/month (MG).
55 Market St – this 3,700 sq ft space on Market Street was formerly occupied by the Big Easy. It’s available for $24/sq ft (NNN).
75 Market St – the 5,474 sq ft space on the corner of Market and Middle Streets occupied by Rambler’s Way is for lease for $37/sq ft (MG).
1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space for $3,125/month (MG).
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).
15 Temple St – the 2,086 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).
41 Wharf St – the former Jager space is available; 1,107 sq ft for $43/sq ft (MG).
42 Wharf St – this 3,770 sq ft space in the Old Port includes a 2,000 sq ft patio, $45/sq ft (MG).
India/Washington Ave
100 Fore St – 1,914 sq ft of space that the listing says is “ideally suited for a restaurant use” is available for $30/sq ft.
5 India St – 1,250 – 2,500 sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction near the intersection with Commercial St.
83 Middle St – 1,480 sq ft of retail space is available in the new building being constructed across the street from Eventide; $30/sq ft (NNN)
Forest Ave
500 Forest Ave – a 1,500 – 3,200 sq ft space is currently occupied by Starbird. It’s available for $16/sq ft (MG).
945 Forest Ave – the former Photo Market building is for sale for $995,000.
Other
441 Congress St – The 2,400 sq ft former home of Guitar Grave across the street from 1 Monument Square is available for $20/sq ft.
1020 Congress St – a 3,375 service station that is going to be “redeveloped as part a planned mixed use development”. The finished space will be available for $18/sq ft (NNN).
155 Riverside St – the Season’s Bar & Grille and Banquet Center is for lease. The 23,750 sq ft facility includes parking and all furniture, fixtures and equipment.
240 Saint John St – 2,400 sq ft in Union Station Plaza for $14/sq ft (NNN).
Northgate Shopping Center – 2,200 to 5,700 sq ft of space is available.
Westgate Shopping Center – four spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).
Biscuits & Co, Biddeford – Biscuits & Co closed on October 16th and the business and equipment is for sale. Contact Biscuitsandcompany@gmail.com for more information.
Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest 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.