Category: Maine

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

• The Bangor Daily News reports the Whittle Bird Coffee owners Chris and Missy Wallace plan to open a cafe in Guilford.
• Also from the BDN is a report of a food truck called Sawyer’s Shave Ice launching this summer.
• Eater Boston has published an eating guide to Biddeford entitled One Perfect Food-Fueled Day in Biddeford, Maine.

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:

• Goods in Camden closed their retail store and bar/cafe on May 31st. They’re holding a 40% off sale of their remaining retail store items this Saturday.
• In Brunswick Vessel & Vine owner Nikaline Iacono announced that the shop’s in-house bar, Caballeras, will be closing at the end of June.
• Blake Orchard is holding the grand opening for their new Brunswick shop on June 9th. The Brunswick location is located at 2 Station Ave and is part of expansion plans the Portland-based business announced earlier this year.
• Salted Butter Farm Restaurant (website, instagram) in Sherman (photo above) has launched their restaurant. They’re open Thursday through Monday.
• Bay Bowls opened their Biddeford location this past Monday. It’s located at  288 Main Street across the street from Fish & Whistle.
• Anjon’s Ristorante is reopening in Scarborough. The restaurant had been in business for more than 60 years when it closed in 2019.
• The Lincoln County News reports that The Contented Sole has reopened for the season in a new location in Bristol. The former location in Pemaquid Harbor was knocked out of commission by storms back in January.
• Pleasant and Center has launched a new outdoor seating are at their cafe and market in Monson.
• Khristopher Hogg has announced plans to launch his new Swanville restaurant Circumstance (website, instagram) on June 15th.

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:

• Aekier Brewing (website, facebook) has been building out a tasting room in Wiscassett. They’ll be located at 111 Main Street and owner Jeremy Myers hopes to be open in early June. Myers will be doing some brewing onsite but the primary brewery for Aekeir will remain in East Boothbay. Myers moved to Maine from Virginia where he operated the Bad Wolf Brewing Company. Aekeir specializes in the brewing of sour beers.
• Cushnoc Brewing has leased space in Waterville where they plan to open the Cushnoc Cantina (instagram) which will serve beer and tacos and is slated to open this fall. For additional information see this article in Mainebiz.

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

• Elevenes (website, instagram), a hobbit-themed all-day cafe and bakery, is under construction at 50 Maine Street in Brunswick in the space formerly occupied by Kings & Queens. Owners Nicole and Chris Juntura  hope to open Elevenses in late spring or early summer. They describe Elevenses as “a place where you can enjoy delicious and gourmet treats while having fun in a unique hobbitcore atmosphere”. They will offer all-day brunch, cocktails, late night snacks, sweets and specialty coffee drinks, as well as grab-and-go options. Watch for the menu to includes a full English breakfast as well as scones with clotted cream and jam. The Junturas also own Plot Twist Pretzels (facebook, instagram).
• The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Mancini’s, an “Italian micro deli” is under construction at 5 Park Street in Lewiston.
• Cider Craft has published an article about Bon Vent Cider which is located in the town of Hancock.

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

• Lorraine Fagela has purchased the building at 294 Main Street in Saco where she plans to open Sweets & Co. (instagram) a gluten-free bakery/cafe. Fagela will be offering breads, bagels, cinnamon rolls, quiches, pies, pastries, coffee and bubble tea. She will also use the space to teach hands-on gluten-free cooking classes. Sweet & Co. is expected to open in early Fall. Fagela was a co-owner of Roots Cafe in Westbrook and is the founder of Hand + Heart (instagram) which produces gluten-free flour and baking mixes.
• The Holy Donut will be opening their new Brunswick location on May 17th. They’ll be open 9 am – 4 pm with a ribbon cutting ceremony 9 – 10 am.
• Down East has published an article about Bon Vivant, the fine dining restaurant that opened last August in Lewiston.
• The Bangor Daily News has a report about three new food trucks launching in Bangor this year: Dreamer Food, Smoke & Steel BBQ, and Salt & Cedar Kitchen.
• The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that the new Brazilian steakhouse Food Point is getting close to opening. Food Point will be located at 413 Main Street and will be open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.
• Bon Vent Cider (instagram) has launched a $15k crowdfunding campaign. They plan to use the funds to build out the tasting room for the cidery in Hancock, Maine.
• The Little Italy Bus (instagram) food truck has launched a $5k crowdfunding campaign. The funds will help with renovations needed to relocate to Belfast. The Little Italy Bus serves wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza, espresso, and infused Italian ice slushies.

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

• Sam Ostrow, the owner of Festina Lente in Kittery, has launched a second restaurant called Secundo (instagram, menu) in South Berwick. Secundo is located at 279 Main Street and is open Tuesday through Saturday, 4 – 9 pm.
• Bake Maine (instagram) which operates the Pottery Cafe on Washington Ave in Portland, has opened is opening a second location at 2178 Post Road in Wells.
• Roger and Prudence Kiessling have leased the space adjacent to their shop The Kingfisher & The Queen in Damariscotta where they plan to open a European-inspired cafe call Rue 77 (instagram). The cafe will serve Stumptown Coffee, baked goods from Solo Pane e Pasticceria in Bath and gelato from Gelato Fiasco. The design will draw “inspiration from the old-school glamour of the late 1960’s/early 1970’s Italy, Amalfi Coast, Slim Aarons, and luxury sports cars (with a bit of understated chic French elegance thrown in), RUE 77 will transport you to a time and place that lives on in your imagination.” Watch for Rue 77 to open in late spring.
• AfroTaste is Lewiston will be closing down at their current location on April 28th. They hope to re-open this summer in a new location.
• Buttermilk Kitchen at Mariner’s (instagram) opened for business in Camden earlier today. Their hours are Monday and Wednesday through Friday 7 am – 2 pm, and Saturday/Sunday 8 am – 3 pm. For additional reporting, see this article in the Penobscot Bay Pilot.
• Swell Nitro Coffee (instagram) is opening for business on Saturday April 27th in Saco.  The shop is located at 200 Main Street.
• Mason’s Brewing Company’s new location in Machias opened for business on Wednesday. It’s located in the former Bluebird Ranch Family Restaurant space at 78 Main St.

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

• Bay Bowls (instagram) is opening a location in Biddeford. Owners Sal and Soraia Matari hope to have the new shop open in May. Bay Bowls opened their Portland location in 2022 and the business is originally from Brunswick.
• The Courrier-Gazette reports that a new kitchen store called Mis en Place is under construction at 425 Main Street in Rockland. According to the article owner Eileen Gaughan hopes to open the store in May.
• The owners of Ruby Thailand in South Portland, Chonlathis Songprasert and Pavinee Ruangron, have opened a business named Sumrub Thai Cookery (website) in Richmond.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that the Shire Ale House in Houlton is closing.
• Cookbook author Nancy Harmon Jenkins be delivery a presentation entitled “The Extra Virgins: How to Choose Them, How to Use Them” at the Rockport Public Library on May 1st.
• South Portland’s El Rodeo has leased 2,898 square feet of retail space at 736 Sabattus St in Lewiston where the Lewiston Sun Journal reports they plan to open a restaurant.
• A branch of the NH/Massachusetts company Ohana Market is opening a new shop in the former location of the gluten-free sandwich cafe Toast in Kittery. Toast closed earlier this month.

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

• Aki (instagram) has leased space at 10 School Street in Freeport where they hope to open a Japanese fusion restaurant. Aki was formerly located in Brunswick and closed in the summer of 2023. The new edition of Aki will serve favorites from their Brunswick menu plus a tapas menu. Aki will also feature a Boba bar.
• The Black Point Inn has hired Michael Bergin to be their new executive chef. Bergin has worked at Del Posto in NYC and L’Espalier and Coppa in Boston, and was the executive chef at The Fat Hen and at The Salty Pig in Boston. In Maine Bergin has worked for Big Tree Hospitality and at Wandby Landing in Kennebunk.
• Central Maine reports that former judge and mayor Tom Nale has taken over the former Lebanese Bakery building on Temple Street in Waterville where he plans to open a new Lebanese restaurant. Nale has renovated the building and in collaboration Jim Veilleux and Melissa Grant plans to launch Mezza (facebook) later this spring.
• The Bangor Daily News published an article about Doug Hufnagel who passed away recently at the age of 78. Hufnagel operated the Coffeeman food cart at the Common Ground Fair and in Belfast.
• The latest issue of The Lincoln County News includes an interesting article about the owners of the 220 Market & Deli in Waldoboro.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that the Black Moon Public House (facebook) is under construction in Ellsworth and expected to open later this month.

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

• Malcolm Bedell launched his new restaurant Honey’s (website, instagram) this week. The menu features a variety of fried chicken sandwiches (shown above is the Classic) as well as fries, chicken tenders, snacks and sides. Honey’s is located in Bird Plaza in Thomaston. It will be open Monday through Saturday,  11 am – 7 pm.
• A new restaurant called Katahdin Kitchen (instagram) is scheduled to open next week in Veazie. The team at Katahdin Kitchen are taking “a fresh approach to Indigenous and American comfort foods with local ingredients.” The menu includes dishes like a wild rice bowl and a Sisters Salad made with roasted corn, beans, squash, beets, herbs and scallions served over greens. Katahdin Kitchen is located at 1492 State Street.
• Chef Brandon Montes has joined the team at The Waterford Inne. Innkeeper Kember Vanderblue shared that she and Montes “will continue to focus the spotlight we shine on our homegrown produce and that of hyper-local farms, but Brandon brings with him knowledge of sustainable wild foods, and invasive species coming from both the oceans and deep woods of Maine” that will further develop the culinary program. Montes most recently worked with chef Bowman Brown at Elda and Jackrabbit. The inn’s restaurant Tallulah’s (website, instagram) is open seasonally serving pre fixe dinners on Fridays/Saturdays. Vandeblue expect to expand the days open and range of events and menus in the coming year.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that a new restaurant called A Different Point of Brew Bistro is under construction in downtown Houlton. Owners Shyann Miller and Shelby Fitzpatrick plan to offer coffees, teas and energy teas as well as soup, salads and sandwiches.
• A team from The Dunn Bar in Biddeford are launching a new Italian restaurant called Vin Santo in the space adjacent on Washington Street.
• Coastal Wine in Ogunquit is relaunching today as Coastal Alchemist adding cocktails, draft beer, and a new food menu to their existing wine program.