Today’s Press Herald reports that the Public Safety, Health and Human Services Committee will be meeting on Tuesday to review changes to food truck regulations.
Those changes, which were crafted by Associate Corporation Counsel Jennifer L. Thompson, include reducing the fee required to relocate a food truck and allowing food trucks to cluster or operate within close proximity to one another.
A 3rd TV show was filming in Maine earlier this week. Good Food America visited Fore Street, Local 188 and Earth (Kennebunk).
Last September I published a list of real estate for lease that could serve a future home for a new restaurant, coffee shop, market, or other local food business. Several of those listings have been picked up since then to become restaurants (Buck’s Naked, Blue Rooster, The North Point, Teriyaki Exchange and the future homes of Central Provisions and Vinland).
There are 20+ restaurants and other food-related businesses under development in Portland and new ventures are being announced with increasing frequency. The demand for vacant restaurants and retail space remains quite high. So I’ve put together this revised list to help out anyone who’s at that stage in getting their new venture off the ground.
If there are any good ones I’ve overlooked give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com and I’ll add them to the list.
Old Port
Art District
West End
Other
Give a shout out in the comments or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com if there are any additional properties I’ve overlooked and I’ll add them to the list.
An editorial in today’s Press Herald comes out in favor of reforming Portland food truck regulations.
The city is wise to take these concerns seriously. The glitches in even the most carefully crafted of regulations often don’t reveal themselves until the rules take effect. That’s what’s happening here. Food trucks are an expanding part of an industry that’s vital to Portland’s economy and its culture; a revised ordinance can put in place reasonable rules while still giving food service entrepreneurs more freedom to run viable, innovative local businesses.
An article in today’s Press Herald examines the growing trend of hand pies in Portland and mentions a new bakery called Little Bigs that’s set to open in the next few days in South Portland.
Their bakery, Little Bigs, is expected to open at 340 Main St. by Monday and join a growing trend in the Portland area – hand foods, specifically, hand pies.
Hand pies are gaining popularity locally and have been featured this summer in national magazines such as Bon Appetit and Martha Stewart Living.
Maine a la Carte reports that city manager Mark Rees is taking a look at how to improve the ordinance and rules governing food trucks in the Portland.
Among the options being considered are rule changes that would allow clustering of food trucks in the city, and an end to a controversial fee the trucks were being asked to pay when they park on private property. These proposed changes are just “a starting point for discussion,” Reese wrote.
For additional information, see this article in The Forecaster.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article highlighting some of the iced coffee options available in Portland.
At Yordprom Coffee Co., they call it liquid crack. At Tandem Coffee Roasters, regulars go ga-ga over it. And customers at Speckled Ax sip it like a cocktail, slowly with intent.
It’s iced coffee and especially during the recent heat wave, it’s getting some attention.
Portland dining recommendations assembled by polling the preferences local chefs and other dining experts are now in the Find Eat Drink iPhone App.
Rob Evans, Don and Samantha Lindgren from Rabelais, Erik Desjarlais, Stella and Guy Hernandez from Bar Lola as well as Andrew Taylor and Mike Wiley from Hugo’s are among the contributors.
The Bangor Daily News has published an article about The Holy Donut and their latest invention: the lobster donut,
“I’m taking the best of every bit of Maine, which is potatoes, deliciousness, fresh lobster, some herbs,” said the owner of The Holy Donut, frying the lot into golden pockets of love.
Meet the lobster doughnut. No bib required.
and has published a report about the prospective new owner of Colucci’s and his plans for the building.
Simpson said that if his purchase is successful, “it would be my plan to continue (Colucci’s) as a store.”
In a display of optimisim, a window sign on the building that had simply read “closed” has now been replaced with one that says “opening this fall.”
The Holy Donut article also mentions the plans for a 2nd location in Portland slated to open in August and THD’s upcoming appearance on the Cooking Chanel’s show Donut Showdown.
The Press Herald has published an article on Maine’s locally produced gins.
With the launch of its Alchemy gin on July 3, Maine Craft Distilling in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood became the fourth distillery to produce “American-style gin” in the state. Alchemy joins Back River gin from Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery, Maine Distilleries’ Cold River label and New England Distilleries’ Ingenium, each of which has a signature flavor profile.
Today’s paper also includes a report about a white fly infestation that is forcing Backyard Farms to hit the reset button on their hydroponic tomato farm.
Backyard Farms, which produces more than 27 million pounds of tomatoes a year, says an infestation of whiteflies in its greenhouses will force the company to destroy its entire crop of half-a-million plants and start over.