Category: General News

For this week’s edition of The Fizz Margot Mazur has an extensive conversation with Sean Turley about Maine’s history of apple agriculture, its budding cider industry and the challenges/opportunities for the industry as it moves forward.

Cider is a local product that reflects a place. You can get into a conversation around terroir and other parts of it that are really interesting, but you don’t get those conversations if everyone’s just taking dessert fruit and putting it in cans and selling it like a cool, goofy, mango habanero or something. Then people think oh “cider is only this thing you buy in cans and crush”. Cider can be a really interesting and conversation driving thing to drink. That’s what I’d like to see.

A collision Saturday night put three catering employees from Lake & Co into the hospital emergency room.

On the way home from working a catering event, Jenn Marrone and two others were struck by a drunk driver going the wrong way on 295.   Jenn is in critical condition with a severely injured leg. Two other passengers, who will remain anonymous for the time being, have critical injuries as well.

A Go Fund Me campaign set-up Sunday night has seen an outpouring of support in the first 24 hours it’s been up. 300+ people have donated more than $30k to help with medical bills and other related expenses.

In separate news, Cameron Graf, the sous chef at FLUX Restaurant and Bar in Lisbon Falls, suffered serious burns Saturday night and is in the ICU at Maine Med.

Graf sustained severe burns to his hands, arms, torso and legs in a cooking fire early Saturday afternoon. He was preparing a dish with alcohol when the alcohol splashed onto his uniform, causing it to catch fire, Lisbon Fire Chief Nate LeClair said Saturday.

A Go Fund Me campaign set-up on Sunday for Graf has seen a similar response with more than $27k raised so far with donations from 350+ people.

Owner Matthew Chappell has put his Yarmouth restaurant, Gather, up for sale.

After nearly a decade of owning and operating Gather, I have begun the process to find a new buyer that will lead Gather for the next 10 years. I’m excited about new challenges ahead for me personally, and equally committed to finding a new owner who will carry the restaurant forward.

Rest assured, Gather will continue to operate as it has during this transition -bringing you Maine ingredients from all those amazing farmers, brewers, oyster growers, tortilla makers, and more.

Interested parties should contact Kirk Butterfield at kbutterfield@kw.com.

The Press Herald reports that the Hunt & Alpine Club is a “one week into enforcing its new vaccine requirement for indoor dining”.

“We’re a bar. We card people all the time. This is just another way of carding,” [co-owner Briana] Volk said. “It’s really not a big deal. No one in person has been upset about it.” She said the restaurant has taken some criticism online about the move, but most people are supportive.

Hunt & Alpine is the first food business in Portland to require proof of vaccination. Both Little Giant and Crown Jewel both have taken steps to discourage unvaccinated people from dining indoors at their restaurants but have not yet required proof of vaccination status.

Paciarino has announced that they’ll be open through to August 18th and then temporarily closing until next spring.

Little Giant has announced a new policy for their West End restaurant,

We are now an “adult-vaccination restaurant.” This means that if you are an adult who has been fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you are welcome to dine at Little Giant. If you have not been vaccinated, please make alternate dining arrangements.

Vaccine ineligible children and vaccinated adults are welcome to dine at Little Giant in our outdoor dining options only. If you are dining with children, please select outdoor dining when booking or call us at 207-747-5045 to discuss dining options.

Masks are required when not eating or drinking. Our bar seats are currently unavailable.

While this may be the first Portland restuarant to implement this approach, a growing number of restaurants in NYC are taking the additional step of requiring diners to show proof of vaccination to eat indoors.

Update: The Hunt + Alpine Club is also asking their customers to be fully vaccinated to be seated indoors at their bar, and Crown Jewel on Great Diamond Island has announced that indoor seating is only for vaccinated customers.

For more reporting on this subject read this article by the Press Herald.

The Press Herald has published a list of ‘elevated establishments’ in the Portland area.

Feeling low after year of being cooped up at home because of the pandemic and unable to enjoy Portland’s vibrant nightlife?

Well, maybe you should aim higher this summer, and treat yourself to some of southern Maine’s rooftop bars or elevated dining patios. Some have sweeping views of Portland’s downtown, Back Cove or the harbor. Others let people gaze over the ocean or a nearby river from an elevated perch while sipping cocktails or munching on oysters, burgers or a salmon filet, whatever your taste may be.

The Maine Sunday Telegram reports on the growing popularity of hard seltzer and increasing number of Maine-based producers.

In March, Sean Sullivan, executive director of the Maine Brewers Guild, took an informal survey of craft breweries to find out how many are making hard seltzers or planned to. The survey is already out of date. He now estimates that at least 20 Maine breweries make hard seltzer, and a handful of others are considering it.

When customers walk through breweries’ doors, Sullivan said, they always ask tasting room managers, “What do you have that’s new?”

“This summer, I think a lot of our brewers are answering that question with seltzer,” he said.

The Maine Sunday Telegram reports on the bumps in the road as supply chains and staffing shortages impact a return to “normal”.

As vaccinations and the waning of the pandemic drive locals back to their favorite restaurants this summer, and tourists who have been set free from masks and social distancing flood the state, those diners probably won’t find the Maine restaurant experience to be the same as in 2019. Restaurants are now allowed to operate normally, but a severe shortage of workers, coupled with snags in the supply chain and rising food prices, are making that long-awaited return to normal difficult. One restaurateur likened the past couple of months to coming off “a 15-month winter.”

The Press Herald has all the details on an errant dumpling machine ordered by Little Brother from China.

“We saw that it was headed for Tacoma, Washington, and then Portland, Oregon.” Lee said. “We called them and they said, ‘It’s already in the water. We can’t do anything about it now.’”

Guyer, laughing, recalled the company’s suggestion: “Can’t you just go to Oregon and pick it up?”