Category: Openings

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

The Portland Food Co-op (website, facebook, twitter) is opening today, 11 – 4. Starting Thursday they’ll be open 9 – 7 and hope to expand the hours of operation as the store’s customer base grows.

The co-op is located at 290 Congress Street at the foot of Munjoy Hill.

Dutch’s (facebook, instagram, twitter)is now open. Owners Lucy and Ian Dutch are serving breakfast and lunch from their cafe at 28 Preble Street. I’d recommend the brioche cinnamon bun.

Ebb & Flow (facebook, twitter, website, instagram, opentable) has been fine tuning their operation over the last few days with a series of private events and plans to open Thursday at 5 pm. The menu is a mix of Mediterranean inspired seafood and meat dishes. Appetizers will generally be in the $8-14 range and entrees $15-25. The “1000 Degree” items will be a bit more expensive.

Ebb & Flow is co-owned by Angello Ciocca, founder of Nova Seafood, and chef William D’Auvray. It is located at 100 Commercial Street in the completely renovated space formerly occupied by Spread.

To start out Ebb & Flow will be open for dinner Monday though Saturday. They to eventually start serving lunch and Sunday brunch as well.

Bao Bao Dumpling House is scheduled to open today at 5 pm. The restaurant was open to the public Saturday night after two days of invitation-only dinner services that saw dedicated fans of chef Cara Stadler lined up on the sidewalk waiting for a table.

MaineBiz, Maine Today and Eater Maine have also posted photos and details on Bao Bao. Check-out Eating Portland Alive some initial impressions on the food and the space.

The C Salt Gourmet Market (facebook) in Cape Elizabeth opened on Wednesday. The market is owned by Mike and Stephanie Concannon. The market sells “Coffee, muffins, cookies and bakery items, gourmet sandwiches and grab and go meals.”

Two more businesses have opened along Congress Street in the West End:

• A new coffee shop called Arabian Days opened on Tuesday at 3 Deering Ave in a store front shared with Tawakal Halal market. Arabian Days serves Carpe Diem Coffee from North Berwick, Maine. The shop is open 7 days a week, 6 am – 8 pm (6-6 on Sundays).
• The new Bramhall (facebook, instagram) had a soft opening last night; they’re grand opening is scheduled for 5 pm today. The bar is located at 769 Congress Street in the old Bramhall Pub space in the basement of the Roma. Bramhall is owned by Michael Fraser, the chef is Chris Beaulieu (form sous chef at Duckfat) and the bar manager is Guy Streitburger. Maine Today has posted a set of photos of the space and the menu and additional details on the bar.

Bramhall and Arabian Days join joins Tandem Bakery, Skillet (still in development), Tawakal Halal and Salvage along with a few established businesses (Yordprom, Flores, and Bodega Latina, Hong Kong Market, etc) in the ongoing development of the business district that stretches from past Longfellow through Bramhall Square and down to Saint John.

A new food truck called The Muthah Truckah (facebook) launched yesterday. The Muthah Truckah serves a menu of Muffuletta-style sandwiches. Eater Maine has published an interview with owner Erica Dionne.

What’s a “Muffuletta” and how did you settle on that as your signature item?
I grew up in a small sandwich shop in the center of Ogunquit called Fancy That. It was a fun little funky shop that was frequented by all the locals and was slamming busy in the summer months with all the beach-frequenting tourists. It has since been changed to Cornerstone Pizzeria. We used to make our version of the Muffuletta. There would be two different types each day. People would line up to see what kind of Muffuletta was being served and the next thing you know, sold out!

The new Bramhall (facebook) is holding a Grand Opening on Thursday evening starting at 5 pm. Bramhall is located in the old Bramhall Pub space at 769 Congress Street in the West End.

Bramhall is owned by Michael Fraser, the chef is Chris Beaulieu and the bar manager is Guy Streitburger.