Category: Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• As reported back in November, chef/owner Jordan Benissan is in the process of moving his restaurant Me Lon Togo (website, facebook, instagram) to Freeport. The new restaurant is under construction in a courtyard space at 58 Main Street. As you can see from the photos, the dining room and bar are nearing completion as Benissan finishes moving in furniture and decorations from his former location in Rockland. With some delays in fully building out the kitchen (upper left) in Freeport, Benissan is planning a two phase launch. He plans to launch the MLT bar with drinks and light fare in late spring. Later in the year, once the kitchen is completed, he’ll begin serving the full Me Lon Togo menu of West African cuisine. Stay tuned to the restaurant’s instagram account for updates and to learn about an opening day.
• The Portsmouth Herald reports that the Warren Lobster House is soon to be under new ownership with plans to reopen the waterfront Kittery restaurant later this year. “The permitting application was filed with the town March 13. The estimated $50,000 renovation proposal would include the replacement of the 350-seat restaurant’s dining room floor, the installation of new awnings, painting and deck board repairs.”
• The Great Impasta (website, facebook, instagram) has reopened in Brunswick. They’re now located at a large newly renovated space at 11 Pleasant Street and are open Monday through Saturday, 11 am – 9 pm.
• If you’re planning to visit Washington County this year, be sure to check-out the Eat Downeast website for a map of restaurants, bakeries, farms and food producers in Downeast. They also have a list of upcoming events including the Fourth Annual Pennamaquan Alewife Festival taking place in May.
• Mainebiz has published an interview with Krista Cole the owner of Sur Lie in Portland, Gather in Yarmouth, and co-owner of Catface Cafe in Biddeford.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that MacLeod’s in Bucksport is closing after 45 years in business. Their last day in business will be April 1st. The Waterville Sentinel reports that Bee’s Snack Shack in Winslow will not be reopening this year after 77 years in business.
• Mary Dumont from the White Barn Inn will be the guest chef for an Outstanding in the Field dinner taking place in York this summer.
• The Midcoast Villager has published an article about Morse’s Sauerkraut, a market and deli that specializes in European goods that’s been in business in Waldoboro since 1918.
• Taco Trio reopened earlier this week in South Portland.
• The Portsmouth Herald reports that Charlie Caramihalis has sold his York restaurant the Fat Tomato Grill to Greg Flagg and Karen Henderson Flagg.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• The pop-up bagel business Sebagels (instagram) has leased a space of their own in Naples at 679 Roosevelt Trail in a space formerly occupied by Knight’s Cafe. They hope to have their spot open by early summer. Until then they’ll continue to produce their bagels from the kitchen at Poland Provisions.
• The Midcoast Villager has published an article about Kavka Coffee, a Camden-based coffee roaster run by Ukrainian immigrant Maks Isakov.
• Baker Kelsey Mari Morgan will be selling her wonderful baked goods at the Snell Family Farm Flower Bar on Saturday. The farm is located at 1000 River Road in Buxton.
• The Nu Markets campaign to support the launch of Born Yesterday Bakery in Lewiston is wrapping up later today. So far they’ve raised $14k for the bakery they’ll be opening on Lincoln Street.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• The Rooting Pig in Bristol has announced that they’ll be closed for the 2025 season for renovations. While their market and kitchen will be closed this summer, they’ll still be selling at the Boothbay and Damariscotta farmers markets. “Our decision to close this Summer to allow for renovations is bittersweet: we are excited about our plans for a new and expanded home for The Rooting Pig and Market, but we love having people visit the farm and taste our unique approach to Real Food, so will miss you all! But have no fear…we will be back and better than ever next Summer.”
• Fogtown Brewing has announced they won’t be reopening their location in Bar Harbor. “After nearly five years, we’ve made the tough decision not to reopen our Bar Harbor Kitchen & Taproom on Cottage Street. Opening just before the pandemic, this space came with challenges but also so many great moments—open mics, trivia nights, farm-to-table dinners, live music, art shows, and more.”
• A new coffee shop called Grounded (instagram) has recently opened in Wiscasset. The Lincoln County News reports that owner Kalei Haggett is serving coffee from Coffee on the Porch and is open daily 7 am – 3 pm.
• Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls won Best in Show at the Maltsters Guild 2025 Malt Cup. They competed against 34 malthouses from seven countries that overall submitted 112 malt samples to the competition. They were also the top contenders in the Caramel Malt and Light Munich Malt categories.
• The Laughing Loon (instagram) is under development in Norway at 15 Harrison Road, Norway, Maine 04268. They’re located in the space formerly occupied by Waterhouse Talk of the Town and hope to open this summer.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Joe Robbins has joined the team at Marsh Island Brewing as the executive chef for Marsh Island Kitchen at the new location they have under construction in Hampden. The restaurant will have a comfort food like poutine, burgers and wings and include salads, sandwiches, fish and chips and both a pan-roasted rib eye and an herb-crusted house filet. The indigenous inspired dishes which Robbins has become known for will be in rotation as daily specials. Robbins was a 2024 Beard Awards semifinalist in the Emerging Chef category, and has cooked at the White House Tribal Nations Summit in 2023 and 2024. Until it closed last year, he had been the chef at Bissell Brothers in Milo.
• The American Cider Association has recognized Khris Hogg with an award for Individual Excellence in Cider Hospitality. Hogg launched his restaurant Circumstance in Swanville last May and previously operated a cider bar called Perennial in Belfast.
• Michelle Corry was recently interviewed for an episode of Restaurant Unstoppable. Corry and her husband Steve were the founders of Five Fifty-Five, Petite Jacqueline and the Portland Patisserie, and are partners in 555 North in Brunswick.
• As reported earlier this week, The Frog and Turtle in Westbrook is closing. Their last day in business will be March 2nd.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Reverie Coffee is opening their new Bath coffee shop today, 8:30 am – noon. The cafe is located at  9 Park Street. The 1,500 square foot space (three times the size of their Brunswick cafe) has a similar design to their original spot and features a gated children’s area as well as a section with tables and more casual couch seating as well as a retail area selling Maine made products and art. After today’s opening day they’ll be closed Sunday and then moving forward will be open daily 7 am – 2 pm.
• Olive Rose Chocolates (website, instagram) is now open in Rockland (above). The chocolate shop is located at 252 Main Street in the space formerly occupied by Rock City Coffee’s roastery. Owner Leigh Williams produces a range of hand-made chocolates including truffles, chocolate covered pretzels, buttercreams, sea salt caramels and turtles. Williams move to Maine from Vermont where she previously operated Laughing Moon Chocolates in Stowe. The business is named for Olive Rose who was elected the Register of Deeds for Lincoln County in 1853. The shop is open daily 9 am – 6 pm.
• Cafe Luna (website, facebook, instagram) has announced plans to open a second location in Falmouth. The new cafe will be located in the same building as the new Sapporo. Luna launched their first location a little over a year ago at 370 Route 1 in Scarborough.
• Polish cafe Kasha’s Kitchen (instagram) in Kittery has re-opened for business after repairing damage from a car that crashed into the front of eatery. Owner Aaron Varney  bought Kasha’s Kitchen last year from Kasha Gorski who opened the business in 2021.
• Marcy Taubes and Marjory Sweet have launched a $64k NuMarket campaign to help fund the launch of their new Rockland cafe, bakery and market Cafe Grazie. In the first few days the campaign has already raised $11,700 from 51 contributors. The business will be located at 148 Main Street in the building that was formerly occupied by the Wiggins’ Meat Market. The ~1,500 sq ft space is under renovation and the owners hope to open Cafe Grazie in late spring.
• The Portsmouth Herald has published a report on the work underway to rebuild the Oarweed Restaurant in Ogunquit. The restaurant had been damaged by a fire late last year. Owner Jeffrey Fitzgerald expects to relaunch the restaurant in April 2026.
• The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Mancini’s Italian Deli (website, facebook) opened Wednesday. “Entrepreneur and chef Evan Mancini is opening what he calls an Italian microdeli, a strictly carryout and delivery operation featuring about two dozen sandwiches and pasta dishes, and a line of desserts.” Mancini’s is located at 5 Park Street and is open Wednesday through Saturday 11 am – 8 pm.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Born Yesterday Bakery (website, instagram) has announced plans to open a bakery in Lewiston. Owner Syd Coty is leasing space in the former fire station at 188 Lincoln Street where Born Yesterday will be co-located along with a wood worker, and a fitness studio. To help fund this next step in the bakery’s development they’ve launched at $30k NuMarket campaign—supporters have already over $4k since it launched on Thursday. Coty shared “We believe food should be thoughtful, nourishing, and connected to the people and places around us. Every ingredient we use is sourced with intention—from the organic grains we mill in-house to the eggs, milk, and vegetables grown by local farmers we know personally. This bakery isn’t just about making great bread and pastries—it’s about creating a space that supports the people who grow our food and a community that values real, honest ingredients.” Born Yesterday began as a home kitchen bakery and now sells at farmers markets, to wholesale accounts and at pop-ups. When the new Lewiston location opens Coty plans to sell breads, pastries, coffee (with beans from Blind Tiger Coffee in Bangor) and will eventually expand the offerings to include a menu of toasts.
• Mainebiz has a report on two new chefs taking over kitchens in Maine. Mary Dumont is the new chef at the White Barn Inn in Kennebunk, and Matthew Zita is the new chef at Front & Main in Waterville. Zita is expected to launch a new menu at Front & Main this spring. Dumont was a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2006.
• The Midcoast Villager has published a profile of Gary Cooper, the chef at Dos Gatos Gastropub in Belfast.
• Enzo Benzo (website, instagram) have opened their new bakery in Eliot. They serve Italian pastries, donuts and other baked goods. Enzo Benzo is located at 987 Route 236 in Eliot and their winter hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 6 am – 3 pm.
• The Bangor Daily News has published an article about the The County Co-op & Farm Store in Houlton which launched in 2013.
• Pop’s Place in Windham has gone out of business. In their announcement on Facebook the owners shared, “The lack of quality and qualified workers, increasing prices and decreasing demands are some of the factors that have contributed to this decision. Also, as a small family business, the business of “Life“ has gotten in the way and therefore we have collectively, and individually decided to move on to other pursuits and spend more time with our Families, as we have lost too many this past year.”
• The Bangor Daily News reports that a new wine, specialty foods and kitchenware store called Sunbury’s (website, facebook, instagram) has opened in Bangor. They’re located at 86 Hammond Street in the space formerly occupied by Bangor Wine & Cheese. Their hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 7 pm and Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm.
• The Times Record has published an article about The Abbey in Brunswick which is a 2025 Beard Awards semifinalist in the Best New Bar category.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

•  Alex d’Emarese and Tiffany DeMartino have leased the former Drake’s Island Cafe building at 2073 Post Road in Wells where they plans to open the Baker Bru Cafe (instagram). Renovations are already underway with the hope of launching by the end of March. The completed 2,400 sq ft counter service cafe will seat 30. d’Emarese and DeMartino will serve house-made pastries, meat pies and quiches as well as açaí bowls, breakfast bowls, and breakfast sandwiches. For drinks they’ll have 6 different types of smoothies, specialty coffee drinks and a collagen boosted hot chocolate. d’Emarese’s first venture was Baker Bru which had opened in North Berwick last March. Baker Bru Cafe will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 am – 3 pm.
• Brunswick-based Reverie Coffee has a second location under development at 9 Park Street in Bath. The 1,500 square foot space (three times the size of their Brunswick cafe) will have a similar design and feature a gated children’s area as well as a section with tables and more casual couch seating and a larger retail area selling Maine made products and art. In addition to the coffee, tea, and baked goods served in Brunswick, owner Hannah Josselyn. plans to offer more savory food options to the menu like rice bowls, sandwiches, salads and eventually have savory and sweet waffles. Josselyn is planning to use the Bath location to host community events like book readings and to partner with the Bath Run Club on outings to the nearby Thorne Head Preserve. The new Reverie is part of a mixed use development in a former hospital building. Renovations are well underway and Josselyn hopes to open the new cafe by the end of February. Reverie initially got its start as a food truck and their Brunswick coffee shop opened in January 2024.
• The King’s Head Pub is opening a second location in Freeport in the former Jameson Tavern (photo on right) building. Renovations are underway with hopes of opening sometime in April or May. The King’s Head in Portland opened in the summer of 2014. The Jameson Tavern closed this past November and at the time owner Tom Hincks was considering reopening in Windham.
• The Bowdoin Orient has published an article about Pomelia, the popular new Sicilian-inspired restaurant that opened recently in Brunswick.
• Down East magazine has published an article about Buttermilk Kitchen in Camden.
• The Pen Bay Pilot has published an update on the new Spark Bagel cafe that opened recently in Northport.
• Panacea (website, instagram) opened in Wiscasset this past weekend. The quartet of photos (above left) are from our visit on their opening day and show the clam chowder (bottom right) and mushroom and seaweed chowder (upper left). Panacea is open Friday through Monday, 11 am – 4 pm.
• Portland-based culinary shop Skordo has announced plans to open a second location in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
• The Times Record reports that Seafoam Cannabis owner Richard Petron is opening Liberty Pizza in the space next to his Wiscasset Seafoam shop on Route 27. Liberty Pizza expected to open on February 14th.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Marcy Taubes and Marjory Sweet, owners of Midcoast bakery Double Grazie (website, instagram) are launching a bakery, cafe and market in Rockland. Cafe Grazie will be located at 148 Main Street in the building that was formerly occupied by the Wiggins’ Meat Market. The ~1,500 sq ft space has been under renovation since the fall (the photo above is from November) and they hope to open Cafe Grazie in late spring. When they do they’ll be offering, breakfast, lunch, a full coffee program (with beans from Tandem), pasta, cake as well as “a lot of ricotta and seasonal fruits and good groceries and other sweet, sweet fantasies, baby.”
  Sweet and Taubes launched their bakery with a series of pop-up in the summer of 2022. Their prior work experience in farming and baking as well as both having lived and worked in Italy informed their creation of Double Grazie. They shared that, “At its core, Double Grazie is an intersection of these experiences: merging locally sourced ingredients with an Italian influence. The vision has always been to open a space, not only to expand our food offerings, but create a space for gathering, community, and creative opportunities.”
• Owner Chris Franklin has announced the closure of his North Yarmouth business Badger Bagels. “As a new small business owner I started with a single product. Frustrated by the quality and relative cost of many gluten free offerings I set out to make a better GF bagel using honest ingredients. Over the past two years I have personally made and sold over 55,000 bagels with the help of dozens of markets, cafes and individual buyers. While the market remains strong I will be stepping aside to pursue an opportunity to return to my land conservation work full time at the end of February.”
• Dizzy Bird will reopening on February 27th. Tom and Barb Peacock first opened the 50-seat counter service restaurant in early 2019 to serve, ”honest to goodness” elevated scratch comfort foods. They closed Dizzy Bird at the end of 2024 to  consider how they might restructure the business and space with hopes relaunching. This new edition of Dizzy Bird will be open Thursday and Friday, 3 – 7 pm, and Saturdays, 11 am – 5 pm for take out and delivery with online ordering. Stay tuned for full menu details…it will include shepherds pies, thanksgiving pot pies and chicken pot pies in medium, large and single serving sizes.
• The Lewiston Sun Journal has published a report on Two Mom’s Diner (facebook) which is under construction in Lisbon. Owners Desaray Hayes and Jess Hoyt hope to open the 37-seat restaurant by the end of February. The menu is expected to include some gluten-free items as well as gluten-free baked goods prepared by Mary Graziano of Grazi to Go.
• The Bangor Daily News has a published a report on a new bakery in Fort Fairfield. Heather Prouty and Janice Walsh opened the Rolling Pin Bakery (facebook) in December. The bakery is located at 256 Main Street and sells muffins, cookies, pastries, bagels, cinnamon buns, cakes, donuts, and other baked goods. They just launched the bakery in December but the BDN reports they already have plans to move into a larger space and start serving breakfast and lunch.
• The Lincoln County News has published a report about Hen’s Meat Market (facebook) which opened in late December. The market is located at 306 Bath Road in Wiscasset. The Lincoln County News reports that owners Matt Cressey and Miranda Rumery are selling “beef raised in Albion, poultry from Warren, pork raised at Cressey and Rumery’s farm in Wiscasset, eggs from Waldoboro, duck eggs from Phippsburg, and lamb and goat from Nobleboro, customers have a plethora of items to choose from when they walk through the door.” Hen’s is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm.
• The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Fish Bones Grill is being sold to chef Floyd Goding and his wife Megan Cyr, and Ryan Costello and his wife Brittany. Current owners Paul and Kate Landry will retire from Fish Bones but will continue to operate their Scarborough restaurant Pine Point Grill.
• As reported earlier this week, the new Sicilian-inspired restaurant called Pomelia opened earlier this week in Brunswick.
• Lastly if you didn’t catch the post earlier this week, here’s a look at the Rooted Heart Cafe which opened earlier this month in Buxton.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Spark Bagel has launched a cafe and retail bagel shop at their bakery in Northport. Spark has been baking at the former Stone Brick Oven Kitchen building at 681 Atlantic Highway in Northport since last year. They’ll be open Saturday, 8 am to noon.
• The former Muddy Rudder property in Yarmouth is up for auction. The auction will take place February 12th at 11 am with a preview scheduled for January 29th 10 am – noon.
• A new cafe serving chowder, soup and comfort food called Panacea (instagram) is under construction in Wiscasset. It will be located at 100 Main Street in the space formerly occupied by Yonder. Owner Chauncey Erskine hopes to launch Panacea on February 1st. For additional reporting see this article from The Lincoln County News.
• The Pen Bay Pilot has published an article about the Cushnoc Cantina in Waterville.
• Mainebiz reports that Briana Warner is stepping back from her role as the CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms. She’ll be staying on as a strategic advisor.
• Hospitality Maine, Visit Portland and several other organizations have launched the Winter Wednesdays program. The Winter Wednesday website gathers in one place information from participating businesses about the discount programs they’re offering on Wednesdays.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Saint George Pizza (instagram) opened this past week in Warren. The pizzeria is operated by Megs Senk and George Korsnick who previously ran the retail shop/bar Goods in Camden which they closed down in 2024. Saint George will initially be open for dine-in Fridays 4 – 8pm,  and takeout only on Saturdays 4 – 8 pm. Plans are in the works to expand days of service in the near future. The menu includes Caesar and chopped salad, cheese, pepperoni and a weekly special pizza, chocolate cake for dessert and a  selection of beer, wine, cocktails and NA drinks. For additional reporting, see this article from the Midcoast Villager.
• Schooner Landing has announced plans to open around Memorial Day and during the summer operating out of a food trailer. They expect to break ground for a new restaurant in the fall. A fire in early September destroyed the restaurant’s building in Damariscotta.
• When Odd Alewives reopens for the season in May they’ll be focusing on the wood-fired pizza element of their business and will be discontinuing brewery operations. “We are small by design. We love what we do but we’re doing too much. Over the last few years we have experienced incredible growth as a small business (thank you awesome customers!!!) but the reality is that even though we have a staff of amazing people helping out, most of the workload falls onto just the two of us and we are having a hard time keeping up. In order to continue on we have decided to simplify things to keep it fun and sustainable on our end.”
• Blaze Brewing is shutting down their Biddeford tasting room this weekend. They’re launching a new location on Big Moose Mountain in Greenville this coming week and explained that they need to “relinquish one of our licenses elsewhere due to Maine Liquor License laws.” They plan to continue to brew beer in Biddeford until moving the brewery to Dole’s Orchard (instagram) in Limerick in late summer. Additionally, Blaze shared they’ve become part owners in Black Bear Brewing (instagram) and plan to relaunch the Black Beer Brewpub in Orono this February. Finally, Blaze has applied for a wine making license which they plan to use to launch Dole’s Maine Hard Cider Co later this year.
• News Center Maine has reported that Jordan’s Farm is taking over the strawberry fields formerly operated by Maxwell’s in Cape Elizabeth.
• A new bottle shop called Brew England (website, instagram) has opened for business in Biddeford. Owner Brad McCourt plans to focus primarily on craft beer but will also offer a selection of cider, seltzer, and canned cocktails as well as a small selection of wine. The shop is located at 193 Main Street and is open Wednesday/Thursday/Sunday, 11 am – 6 pm and Friday/Saturday, 11 am – 10 pm.
• The Bangor Daily News explored how WA Bean & Sons plans to adapt the recipe of their Red Snapper hot dogs now that red dye #3 has been banned by the FDA.
• After a four year recess, the Chef Summit tasting event is returning to Sunday River. The 6th annual  on February 1st at the Grand Summit Hotel. Tickets are now on sale.
• The Midcoast Villager has published an article about The Place bakery in Camden. Back in December the bakery was chosen by the New York Times for their list of 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now.
• Chef Jason Miller has leased the 2,200 sq ft former Misto space at 436 U.S. Route 1 in Kittery where he plans to launch Stateline Lobster (instagram). For additional reporting see this article from the Portsmouth Herald.
• Patty Turnquist has leased space in Stockhouse Station in Westbrook where she plans to open a new board game cafe called Owlbear’s Rest (instagram). Turnquist is working with chef Josh Berry on a menu for the cafe. She hopes to launch hopes to launch Owlbear’s Rest in April.
• As reported earlier this week, Anneke Jans in Kittery closed on Sunday, January 12th. They were not able to extend the lease of the property they’ve occupied for 20 years. “We thank you all, from the deepest depths, for everything you all have brought to us. For sharing birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, retirements, holidays, and moments that were important to you. We took pride in sharing those times with you, and in helping to make your life moments special. We’ve cherished making so many memories, sharing genuine laughs, having wonderful and meaningful conversations, and just the pure love we’ve felt from so many of you. You have warmed our hearts and kept them full for so many wonderful years.”

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.