The Spartan Grill is expanding. Owner Mike Roylos has purchased Zarra’s, and plans on moving his sandwich stall from next door at the Public Market House into the coffee shop. The combined operation will be renamed A Victory Cafe. The change frees up some prime real estate on the first floor of the Market.
If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, Roylos is also opening the Harbor Scoops ice cream shop on the corner of Cumberland and Washington. Harbor scoops will be serving Smiling Hill Farms ice cream.
Category: Closings
Spartan Grill –> A Victory Cafe & Harbor Scoops
The Spartan Grill is expanding. Owner Mike Roylos has purchased Zarra’s, and plans on moving his sandwich stall from next door at the Public Market House into the coffee shop. The combined operation will be renamed A Victory Cafe. The change frees up some prime real estate on the first floor of the Market.
If that weren’t enough to keep him busy, Roylos is also opening the Harbor Scoops ice cream shop on the corner of Cumberland and Washington. Harbor scoops will be serving Smiling Hill Farms ice cream.
Coming, Going and Expanding
Here are some under construction update:
- Mexico Lindo has closed up shop at their location on Forest Ave. There’s a sign up promoting a turnkey ready space for a someone looking to open a new restaurant.
- A new sandwich shop to be called Mr. Sandwich & Mrs. Muffin is under construction at 3 Deering Ave. That space was formerly occupied by Pazzano’s Coffee Shop and still has the orange facade from when Percy’s was their. In the more distant past it had been the home of Honey’s Place.
- Shima is planning to expand into the vacant space in their building on Fore Street. From what I can determine from the blueprints, the two spaces aren’t adjacent to one another but would be joined on the basement level where Shima’s kitchen is now.
- Local Sprouts supplied a draft menu as part of their liquor license application. You can take a look at it on page 34 of the agenda for the upcoming Portland City Council meeting.
January Bollard
The January issue of The Bollard includes reminiscences of Portland Coffee Roasters by Elizabeth Peavey, a new installment in The Land of Forgotten Cocktails series and a breakfast review of Siano’s Pizzeria.
Type A Retires
After three years of being an active part of the local food blogging community, Type A Diversions has announced that’s she’s retiring from writing restaurant reviews to spend more time with her family. Erin wrote more than 100 Maine restaurant reviews since her start in April 2007. She plans on keeping the site up so they remain available online.
As many of might have noticed, I haven’t been blogging much lately. With the arrival of the little guy, my priorities quickly changed. So while we still eat out frequently, when I have a free hour or two at home, I prefer to teach him how to walk or build a snowman than fire up the laptop.
Rachels is Closed
Rachels has closed. A message on the restaurant’s answering machine says that “After a glorious run in Portland we have chosen to close our store” and goes on to thank the restaurants many customers. To hear the full message call Rachels at (207) 774-1192.
Blue and White in the Sun
Today’s Portland Daily Sun has published an update on the closing of the White Heart: the bar is for sale but it hasn’t changed hands yet. The paper quotes owner Tony Hodge saying, “We have two or three interested parties”.
Today’s Sun also has a brief profile on Blue Mango Foods. Blue Mango produces a very popular veggie burger that’s available at Hannaford, Whole Foods and is on the menu at several area restaurants. According to the article, they have “a couple of new products in development, including a gluten-free burger”.
Closing: Barava
Barava has gone out of business. While the construction next door on the former Portland Hall probably did them no favors, that spot hasn’t been a lucky one for prior restaurants there either.
Closings: Maple’s & White Heart
The White Heart has changed hands. The lounge will be open tonight but then will temporarily shutdown for a couple weeks before re-opening under the new ownership.
Also, according to a post from Original Portland, Maple’s has shutdown their store on Middle Street. The sign in the window says that “With the growth of our wholesale business we just aren’t able to give it the love it deserves” but Maple’s go on to promise that “BIG BIG BIG news [is] coming soon!”
Geo’s Closing
Geo’s Patisserie sent out an email communication to their customer’s today which states “It is with much regret that I am announcing the closing of geo’s.” It goes on to thank customers for “all the support all of you have given me, couldn’t have gotten this far without you” and closes with “Live well, smile often, eat good food!!!”