Category: Openings

Isa(facebook, website) is opening for business tonight. Owners Suzie St. Pierre and Isaul Perez have a number of years experience working in restaurants in New York City. It’s billed as a “cozy neighborhood bistro serving an eclectic yet seasonally driven menu“.

The restaurant is located at 79 Portland Street just a couple doors down from Back Bay Grill. Isa will be open 6 days a week Wednesday through Monday. They’ll initially be serving just dinner but plan to eventually be open daily 11am – close.

Update: The Golden Dish has published a first look post on Isa.

Flock & Vine have moved their wine and bicycle repair shop from Cape Elizabeth to 64 E Street in South Portland’s Knightsville neighborhood.

Owner Pete Sueltenfuss opened the Otherside Delicatessen (facebook) yesterday. The Otherside is located  at 164 Veranda Street near the Washington Ave exit from 295. They serve a line up of pizzas, grinders and sandwiches made with house-cured meats. Beer, wine, and other neighborhood market staples are also for sale.

Eater Maine has published a report on The Treehouse, the renamed and recently reopened new incarnation of The Cafe at Pat’s.

After years away from The Cafe, the neighborhood spot he built at 484 Stevens Avenue, owner/chef Greg Gilman has returned. He reopened The Cafe as The Treehouse on January 23, offering a similar menu and even staffed with a similar team, for those who pine for the way things used to be.

Pete Sueltenfuss is planning to open his new market in East Deering, the Otherside Delicatessen(facebook), this Thursday. The Otherside will sell house butchered and cured meats, sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, prepared meals to go as well as market staples.

Hours at the Otherside will be: Monday – Friday 8 -7, Saturday 9 – 6 and closed on Sunday.

Since moving to to Maine from Massachusetts, Sueltenfuss has worked for Fore Street, Miyake, Rosemont and helped launch District. For two years until early 2014 he was the executive chef at Grace.

A new Portland delivery service called Cartender(website, facebook, 207-200-3125) launched yesterday. Cartender has partnered with Old Port Spirits to “deliver beer, wine, spirits, and mixers to your door”. Cartender operates 7 days a week: 4-8pm M-Th, 3-8 on Fri, and 12-8 on the weekends.

For more information read this article on Active Beer Geek,

Have you ever been sitting in your apartment in Portland and wanted a beer but didn’t want to go anywhere? Jim O’Brien and Scott Nevers has created a service that was perfectly designed for that occasion, Cartender. It’s a delivery service that brings beer, wine, spirits and mixers to your Portland residence. You place your order online and they drive it to you.

Tiqa (facebook, twitter) is scheduled to open today. The pan-Mediterranean restaurant is the creation of husband and wife team Deen Haleem and Carol Mitchell with chef Bryan Dame heading up the kitchen staff and Patrick Morang as the bar manager.

Tiqa is located at 321 Commercial Street in the ground floor of the new Marriott hotel.

Food writer Kate McCarty and Maine Beer Mavens founder Lora Burns have started a women’s whiskey club called the Portland Spirit Society,

We are a group of women in Portland, Maine who like whiskey and want to learn more about it. Please join us for tastings, tours, and social events.

Update: McCarty has posted some additional info on the PSS on her blog.

Maine Craft Distilling is having a soft opening for their new Freeport tasting room/mixology shop today.

Maine Craft Distilling-Freeport edition is now open for biz. We are calling it our “soft” opening and are sure there is much that we will need to improve upon but come on by and try us out!!! The gala grand opening will be in the new year.

The tasting room is located at 7 Mill Street.

Otto Pizza’s 2nd pizzeria in South Portland opened today. The new pizza shop is located at 125 John Roberts Rd which is right near the Maine Mall.

The John Roberts Road location is OTTO’s 9th location overall (10, if you count our Portland delivery facility), and is one of our roomiest, with 5 picnic tables, and an indoor bocce court. Diners can enjoy pizza by the slice or whole pie, along with a full array of beverages, including beer and wine. (Yes, we’re serving Autohelm, our brand new collaboration with Rising Tide Brewing Company!)

Photo Credit: Otto Pizza