Category: General News

I’ve been getting a number of requests the last couple of days for a list of black-owned restaurants and bars. Here are the ones I know of in the Portland area—please let me know if you know of any that are missing and I’ll add them to the list.

• 207 Bar & Restaurant – an African/Caribbean restaurant on Cumberland Ave
• Actual Foods – a food truck
• Asmara – an Eritrean restaurant on Oak Street
• Black Betty Bistro – a catering business
• Burundi Star Coffee – a coffee shop on Saint John Street
• Knitting Nook – a cafe and knitting shop in South Portland
• Little Easy Snoballs – a new food truck serving Louisiana-style shaved ice
• Magnus on Water – a cocktail bar in Biddeford
• Mainely Hot Dogs – a hot dog food truck
• Niyat Catering – a catering business operating out of Fork Food Lab specializing in Ethiopian food
• Red Sea – an East African restaurant on Washington Ave
• Rwanda Bean Coffee – a coffee shop with locations in South Portland and on Stevens Ave
• Soul Food Paradise – a takeout restaurant operating out of Fork Food Lab
• Yardie Ting – a Jamaican restaurant located in the Public Market House

For a list of black-owned businesses in a range of industries across the state of Maine see blackownedmaine.com.

Eventide is featured in a New York Times article about 12 Restaurants America Loves.

Like fan favorites Maison Premiere in Brooklyn and Petit Marlowe in San Francisco, Eventide pushes all the vintage-oyster-bar buttons, complete with marble counters, tin ceiling and a chalkboard with dozens of shellfish varieties. But it also has an overlay of Japanese flavors and New England tradition that produced its stellar chowders.

The Kennebec Journal reports restaurants are seeing quite a range of return customer levels since they re-opened earlier this week.

Some Augusta and Gardiner restaurant owners are happy with their level of patrons, while one Hallowell business is wondering where diners are.

And here’s another re-opening report, this one from the Ellsworth American.

The Portland Economic Development Committee is considering closings parts of Cotton, Dana, Exchange, Milk, Middle and Wharf Streets to vehicle traffic to provide restaurants and retail shops more space to conduct business.

See reports from the Portland Phoenix and Press Herald, as well as the committee documents (page 10) for more information.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram offers some Do’s and Don’t of Takeout and makes some suggestion for (takeout) dinner and a movie.

The Press Herald reports that an organization called the Restaurant Workers of Maine sent a letter to the Governor sharing concerns that “the industry could collapse if restaurants are not allowed to operate at full capacity by July 1”.

The group, which says it has 5,000 members since forming in 2017, wants the state to allow the industry to reopen in mid-May rather than having to go an entire month with curbside pickup only and entering June not knowing what levels of customer capacity will be allowed inside eating establishments. The letter asks the governor to evaluate COVID-19 activity levels every two weeks and to make adjustments accordingly, rather than her phased reopening that goes month by month.

Governor Mills has unveiled her phased approach to re-opening the Maine economy. On point for the food community are stages 2 and 3:

• Stage 2 begins on June 1st. It allows for the re-opening of restaurants and for gathering of up to 50 people.
• Stage 3 begins on July 1st and anticipates the re-opening of bars.

I’m counting down the days—all 33 of them—until I can go to a Portland restaurant for a meal. In the meantime some takeout and a haircut (barbers and salons get the green light in stage 1) will fill the gap.

‪A growing number of takeout restaurants now sell groceries too. If a restaurmart sounds like a good match for your needs, then check out this list:

• Botto’s Provisions – is selling “Baking Essentials: flour, sugar, breadcrumbs, and YEAST!” Order online.
• Drifters Wife – will begin selling provisions and meal kits in early May. Order online.
• Frog and Turtle – sells a variety of canned goods, cheeses, breads, meats. Order online.
• Lake & Co – sells a wide variety of groceries. Order online.
• Local 188 – is selling groceries and provisions, “toilet paper, flour, eggs, butter, yeast, OJ, milk, half and half, paper towels, honey, olive oil, sugar, English muffins, corn tortillas, flour tortillas, canned tomatoes, hot peppers, onions, carrots, peppers, garlic, peppercorn, salt, dried beans, rice, hot sauce, potatoes AND fresh local fish from our fish monger”.
• Maine Beer Co. – sells flour, rice, cheese and other provisions. Order online.
• Mainely Burgers – has pick-up and delivery for a wide variety of provisions. Order online.
• Market Street Eats – is selling a regular and burly sized Basic Box consisting of eggs, flour vegetables, chicken, toilet paper, etc. Order online.
• More & Co. – is selling weekly Care Packages which include “Wine/beer/sparkling water, coffee, bread, cake, cheese, carrots, micro greens, flowers, tea and honey”. Order online.
• Novare Res – is selling ice cream, waffles, pasta, slim jims, nitrile gloves, potato chips, toilet paper, and other items. Order online.
• Po’ Boys & Pickles – Po’ Boys & Provisions sells “Eggs, Sugar, AP flour, Rice, Butter, Frozen Gumbo, Hot Sauce, and more items coming”. Order online.
• Sur Lie – sells “weekly, rotating selection of vegetables and meats from our local farmers at Stonecipher Farm and LP Bisson and Sons. There are two options…a vegetable farmer’s basket or a meat & vegetable farmer’s basket.” Order online.
• The Garrison – is selling staples like eggs, butter, pasta and paper towels along with chef Christian Hayes food. Order Online.

Update: The James Beard Foundation and the Bangor Daily News have now written about the trend of restaurants selling groceries.