Category: Openings

Higher Grounds (website, facebook, instagram) is now open. The new coffee shop and apothecary is located at 45 Wharf street.

Higher Grounds serves coffee from Speckled Ax.

The Scratch Toast Bar opened on Friday at 205 Broadway in South Portland. Here’s a look at their menu.

MaineToday.com has posted a first look at Scratch Baking’s new Toast Bar in South Portland.

The doors opened on Friday, Oct. 6 and I paid a visit the next morning to what was already a bustling location. Coffee by Design cofffee was on the ready, the space is bright and airy and yep, there were plenty of bagels to be had with various toppings along with English muffins and entire loaves you could take home. The buzz has been strong about this opening because fans of the Scratch finally have a place to plunk down and enjoy bagels.

Eater Boston has posted a report on the new Eventide in Boston.

On the menu at Eventide Fenway, aside from the lobster roll, there are oysters, of course — a mix of Maine and Massachusetts types, served by the half dozen and dozen alongside a choice of two accoutrements, from red wine mignonette to pickled red onion ice. There are crudos and tartares on the cold side, while hot dishes include a green curry lobster stew, fish sandwich, and clam chowder. On the side, nori-dusted potato chips and more.

Blue Lobster Wine Company (facebook, website, instagram) launched earlier this month. The”urban winery” import wine and packages it in kegs for service at restaurants as well as in cans for retail sales.

We are Blue Lobster Wine Company, a small urban winery in Portland, Maine. We’re dedicated to bringing exceptional small batch wines to you from wineries from all over in convenient go-anywhere cans and also on tap in restaurants starting summer 2017. We are excited to announce the first release of our Rose and Bayside Blend. Why cans and kegs? Convenient, sustainable, economical and little waste. Stay tuned for the the next two beautiful wines coming soon – Unoaked Chardonnay and Zinfandel.

Blue Lobster wine is available at Bayside Bowl and Taco Trio. Cans are for sale at the Bier Cellar, The Farm Stand and The Honey Exchange.

A new food truck called Nom Bai (instagram, facebook) launched over the weekend. They serve a menu of “Cambodian and Vietnamese street food”. Sovanna Neang is managing Nom Bai in collaboration with Matthew Glatz from Saltbox Cafe who owns the truck.

Nom Bai plans to be on Spring Street 11-3 today and tomorrow, and on the Eastern Prom on Sunday, 11-3.

MaineBiz has published an article about Bruno’s Pasta Company.

Napolitano, the general manager of Bruno’s Restaurant and Tavern, bought the extruder — a machine that makes rounded and hollow pasta — for a few hundred dollars. That purchase spurred the idea and now new state-of-the-art equipment imported from Italy is making ravioli by the batch in the Bruno Pasta Co.’s new commercial kitchen on Read Street in Portland.

Nonesuch River Brewing (website, facebook) opened their “craft brewery + seasonally inspired restaurant” in Scarborough on Thursday. They’re open Monday through Saturday for lunch and dinner.

The Island Creek Oyster Shop (website, instagram, twitter, facebook) is scheduled to open today, noon – 8. Island Creek is serving an assortment of oysters from Maine and Massachusetts, littleneck clams, tinned seafood as well as beer and wine. They’ll also be selling shellfish to go.

Here’s an excerpt from their press release:

The Shop gives guests an opportunity to engage with local products in a casual setting, underscored by the deep understanding of aquaculture Island Creek Oysters is known for. Seasonal seafood offerings for purchase include local bivalves such as Little Island oysters from the Bagaduce River and Mookie Blues oysters from Damariscotta, Maine. Inspired by the heritage of Maine’s canneries, The Shop will feature a selection of international tinned fish and caviar. A rotating selection of champagne and wines by the glass will complement The Shop’s simple, ingredient-forward menu. With 75 total seating capacity inside and outside on the seasonal patio, The Shop is designed to reflect Island Creek’s stripped-down, product driven approach to farming oysters and the people who grow them – the oyster is the focal point.

Island Creek is located at 123 Washington Ave. They’re the latest of a string of new restaurants and bars that have opened on inner Washington over the last couple years, including Oxbow, Drifters Wife, Izakaya Minato, Hardshore, Maine Craft Distilling, Cong Tu Bot and A&C Grocery.