Natalie DiBenedetto has announced she plans to close Figgy’s, her takeout fried chicken kitchen in the West End.
Last couple weeks of service! We’ll miss all the kind and generous folks that we’ve met over the years. Sad, yes-but when it’s time, it’s time.
The owners of Pigeons have announced they plan to close the Washington Ave restaurant. This Saturday will be their last day in business. Pigeons opened on May 12th of this year.
Hi, friends. This will be our last week of service at PIGEONS. Life is certainly not a straight path… but that’s the pain and beauty of it. Thank you to the team behind PIGEONS who created something truly magical. A team full of talent, professionalism, charm, wit and heart.
The owners plan to expand their wine shop, Maine & Loire, into the full space of the restaurant.
The Courier reports on two Biddeford restaurants impacted by the pandemic. Jonesy’s Main Street Cafe is closing March 28th, and the 86 year old Wonderbar is for sale.
The popular landmark’s beginnings are familiar to many. Charlie and Archie Droggitis started Charlie’s Cafe in 1935, selling beer and sandwiches in their parent’s former shoe repair shop location on Washington Street, said Charlie’s son Spiros Droggitis. A couple of years later, Archie bought a mahogany bar in Boston, had it shipped to Maine, and another brother, Ted, suggested changing the name to Wonderbar. Soon, four brothers were involved in the business — Jimmy and Alex joining Archie and Charlie.
MJ’s Wine Bar owner Mark Ohlson has announced that he’ll be closing down MJ’s Wine Bar, and that he’s working on launching a new business.
Thank you for all the laughter, memories, music and conversation. MJ’s was a huge success. We fell in love, dressed up, danced and drank some truly incredible wines. Thank you Portland for attending countless wine talks and crazy themed parties. We conga-lined barrels of wine at the bar and sabered bottles of celebration on the patio. It was the dream I had always wanted and we made it come true. Voted Best Wine List in Portland all seven years we were open (humbling). Named Top 20 Wine Bars in the USA by Wine Enthusiast (super humbling), and most importantly, I got to meet you and spend time with you. Thank you. I am so thankful for everything. And now, it is time to move on. Not because MJ’s wasn’t a success, but because I have a new idea in my head and it won’t leave me alone unless I bring it to life.
See you in May, I hope you like to dance…
Several changes to the Portland food scene were announced today:
The Holy Donut has announced their return to the Old Port this summer when they open their new location at 177 Commercial Street in the longtime location of Bill’s Pizza. As we reported earlier today, Bill’s is closing their Portland location February 28th.
Crispy Gai, the Thai fried chicken takeout business launched last November by Jordan Rubin and Cyle Reynolds, has announced they’ve leased the former Eaux space at 90 Exchange Street. Expect a slightly expanded menu and a cocktail line-up by bartender Arvid Brown.
Sadly, Cheevitdee has announced that they will be permanently closing their business at the end of February. Cheevitdee fans should take note that the instagram post does hint that “The spirit of Cheevitdee lives on. Details in the near future.”
Bill’s Pizza, a longtime fixture in Portland, has announced they will be closing their Old Port location on February 28th.
Bill’s pizza is closing on commercial st. Come down and get your last pizza from Portland. Make sure you come say bye to Jess as she is not going to be going to Old Orchard with us. She is however looking for a new position if you have one to offer! Just about everything is up for sale if you are looking for restaurant equipment. We will miss all of you and hope to see all our regular faces before February 28th.
The Bill’s Pizza in Old Orchard Beach will remain in business.
Mr. Tuna is again expanding their first floor space in the Public Market House. This time owner Jordan Rubin is building out the area adjacent to Big Sky as a prep kitchen. This will provide Mr. Tuna with the space needed to breakdown and prepare tuna for use at the Mr. Tuna mobile units and at the Public Market House itself.
Also in the Public Market House, Maine Squeeze has shut down their juice bar. The window front space is now available for lease. A sign indicates that interested parties should reach out to leasing@juicery.com for more information.
It’s been an extremely difficult year for restaurants and the entire world. No report can fully or adequately capture all that has happened and that we’ve experienced in the past 12 months. That said, here’s an attempt to provide a high level overview of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the rays of hope and sunshine that was the 2020 year in food for Portland:
The most popular articles published on Portland Food Map in the past year.
January – 6 Maine businesses were winner at the Good Food Awards, Courtney Loreg from Woodfords F&B was the featured chef for the inaugural My Kitchen Their Table interview series, the Chef Summit took place, Mission Chinese chef Danny Bowien was the guest chef at Solo Italiano, Sean Turley from The Righteous Russet was interviewed by Malus, staff from Bard Coffee and Speckled Ax qualified for the US Coffee Championships. Magnus on Water, Ada’s, 207 Bar and Restaurant, The Knotted Apron, and Noodle Love opened.
March – The Covid pandemic officially arrived in Maine and restaurants began adapting (we weren’t yet say pivot), the city asked restaurants to immediately transition to delivery and takeout, restaurants began preparing meals for school children and delivering meals to frontline workers, the governor ordered dining rooms to close statewide, Maine distillers began producing hand sanitizer, Andrew Ross wrote his last regular restaurant review of the year, Solo Cucina Market opened in South Portland. Portland Food Map began publishing a takeout and food delivery list, and in collaboration with Caroline Richter, a Hospitality Workers Resource Guide In the earlier pre-Covid part of March Five Fifty-Five had announced plans to close in mid-April, Sarah Jackson from the Hunt & Alpine Club and LyAnna Sanabria from Chaval came in first and second place at the Northeast regional Speedrack competition. Leeward, Judy Gibson, and Robin’s Table opened, and A&C opened a (short lived) second location in the West End. Bob’s Clam Hut closed their Portland location.
April – there was a fire at Walker’s Maine and one at Browne Trading, Cooking for Community launched, a number of restaurant launched in-house takeout grocery services, the Portland Farmers’ Market opened for its 252nd season, it became legal for restaurants to sell to go cocktails and growlers of beer with their takeout meals. Ramona’s opened for takeout on Washington Ave. Blue Spoon Cafe and Catering closed.
June – Restaurants in Cumberland County were allowed to re-open for outdoor dining on June 1st and indoor dining on June 17th. Black Lives Matter protests began taking place in Portland around the state which prompted a strong interest in black-owned food businesses. Restaurants began demonstrating support for the protests, bakers participated Bakers Against Racism, brewers took part in the Black is Beautiful collaboration beer, and restaurants took part in Food Industry Action. A number of streets in the Old Port were blocked off to provide space for restaurants to offer expanded outdoor dining, Black Dinah Chocolates announced plans to change the name of the company, Melissa Kelly chef/owner of Primo testified before Congress on PPP loans. The Somali Bantu Community Association in collaboration with the Agrarian Trust launched a $367k crowdfunding campaign to acquire a 107-acre farm in Wales, Maine. Several companies launched food truck tracking services. Burundi Star Coffee, Zao Ze Cafe, Via Vecchia, and Evo X opened. The Cider House, Woodhull and the Old Port Sandwich Shop went out of business.
August – the Maine Sunday Telegram took a multifaceted look at how the pandemic was changing the restaurant industry in Maine, Wine Enthusiast magazine named Andrew and Briana Volk to their 2020 40 Under 40 list, the Somali Bantu Community Association successsfuly completed their $367k crowdfunding campaign. Joe Ricchio launched an online video cooking series called My Seventies Kitchen. NewYork [sic] Fried Chicken, Little Easy Snoballs, Paella Seafood, Jefe Juan’s, Halsted’s, Navis Cafe, George’s North Shore, and Sal de la Tierra opened. Vinland closed.
October – Rabelais Books and its owner Don Lindgren were included in this year’s Saveur 100, Colleen Kelly opened a new version of Silly, Rover announced plans to re-open their bagel shop in Biddeford, Eaux announced plans to move to a new location. The Portland Banded Brewing tasting room, Rigby Yard, Roll Call and Fusillo opened. Flood’s, The Exchange Street Holy Donut, Brewery Extrava, Ameera Bread and the Old Port Po ‘Boys closed.
December – Governor Janet Mills has announced a $40M aid program for the hospitality industry, A&C and Woodfords began issuing restaurant bonds. XO Burgers and Wings, Kuno, Tacos y Tequila, and Batson River opened. Browne Trading re-opened their market. More & Co. went out of business.For additional perspectives on the past year in food see Andrew Ross’s 2020 Best of list in the Maine Sunday Telegram.
Here are links to the Portland Food Map year in review reports for 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, and 2010.
The New York Times has included Vinland in an article that highlights 26 of the many restaurants across the country that have closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
From the moment it opened, Vinland was more than a restaurant: it was a thought experiment. Influenced by chefs like Dan Barber and Rene Redzepi, the self-taught chef David Levi made a commitment to local ingredients that went much further than taking tomato salad off the menu. It meant cooking without sugar or black pepper or olive oil. It meant that one night’s menu might have three different dishes based on mushrooms, and woe to the diner who doesn’t care for fungi. (Reviews, not surprisingly, were mixed and passionate.)
More & Co. has announced that they’ll be permanently closing their Yarmouth cafe and shop on December 20th.
As with any love story, the imprint of the beautiful, enlightening and challenging experiences lasts even after the story is complete. More & Co., our love story, will always feel like home to us and will always be remembered as a place where creativity and tenderness flourished…We would like to deeply thank all who have worked alongside us; we would like to to thank all of our vendors and makers; we would like to thank all of the dedicated customers who continually preferred something just a little bit different. We love you. It was an honor to share time and space with you.