A new tea shop called Uncharted Tea (website, facebook, instagram) is set to open this morning at 8 am. Uncharted Tea is located at 662 Congress Street in Longfellow Square.
Owners Michael Bowser and Emma Vonderheide will be serving a menu of “inspired bubble tea” such as the Bermuda Triangle which is made with jasmine tea, lychee, simple syrup and lychee jelly.
A new cocktail bar called Cocktail Mary (website, instagram) held a soft opening last night. They’ll be back open tonight at 5 pm. Cocktail Mary is located in the former Ramen Suzukiya space located at 229 Congress Street.
Owner Isaac MacDougal grew up in Portland where his family owned and operated Vaughan Street Variety. MacDougal has worked as a general manager or bartender in a number of restaurants in New York City including at WD-50. In Portland he was the original bartender at Izakaya Minato from 2017 until earlier this year.
The Cheese Shop (website, instagram, facebook) plans to open their new store located at 107 Washington Ave on Friday at 10 am. A wine tasting with Devenish Wines is taking place 4 – 6:30 pm.
The new store will sell a larger selection, they’ll also begin offering evening classes and have some space for seating and producer demonstrations. Here’s a look at the opening day menu:
Owners Will and Mary Sissle opened The Cheese Shop opened September 28, 2018 and have quickly developed a loyal customer base working out of their container sized space in The Black Box incubator.
Ishi Ishi Ramen, a 9-seat ramen counter, is slated to takeover their former Black Box shipping container space.
CBG (website, facebook, instagram), the new incarnation of Congress Bar and Grill , held a friends and family dinner on Wednesday and reopens to the public today at 11 am after undergoing a few weeks of renovations.
Business partners Jason Loring and Michael Fraser bought the restaurant earlier this year from Deb Glanville.
CBG 7 days a week, 11 am to 1 am. Here’s a look at the new menu:
I’m very happy to announce the launch of a line of Portland Food Map branded merchandise available via our new e-commerce store. Beautifully designed by Sofija Razgaitis, the t-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, and stickers celebrate tiny Portland’s culinary achievements with the new PFM tagline “Small City. Big Appetite”.
The totes are great for your weekend trips to the Farmers’ Market or for fall apple-picking forays. The soft cotton t-shirts are the perfect, visible way to show your love for our wonderful, food-obsessed city. The coffee mugs and stickers are your constant reminder to visit all those restaurants, bars, coffee shops, breweries, and specialty food businesses we are so lucky to have.
The initial collection includes:
Candy’s (website, instagram) opened for business on Thursday. They’re located at 34 Portland Street adjacent to the Maine Oyster Company. Candy’s is hybrid of a coffee shop by day, a cafe/cocktail bar at night and a “queer community hub” all the time.
grab a coffee and hang in the queer library in the morning. shoot some pool. teach a workshop. attend a workshop. come to a show. host a show. listen to our podcast. bring the fam, whatever that may mean to you. drink a drink. eat some snacks. talk to pals. be kind to one another.
Candy’s is sourcing their coffee beans from Onyx Coffee Lab, a roaster from Arkansas prepared by barista Milo Degoosh. If you stop later in the day when the bar is open I can recommend the Mainer’s Sazerac.
Sticky Sweet (instagram) opened the Cumberland Ave shop on Saturday. They’ll be back open at 119 Cumberland Ave serving their vegan ice cream on Thursday – Sunday, noon to 10 pm.
A new food cart called Chula Elotes (instagram) launched this week. They sell a menu of corn on the cobs that runs from plain with butter, salt and pepper to ones topped with brightly colored ingredients like the Chula and Takis Fuego.
The corn is from Fenderson Farm in Saco.
Here are a few more updates on closings, expansion and ownership changes: