Category: Openings

Roost, a  vegan juice and biodynamic wine bar, is opening for business at 11 Free Street this morning at 8 am. Roost’s owners Kathleen Flanagan and Jeanette Richelson partially funded their new venture with a successful fund raising effort on Kickstarter.

For more information on Roost, read the Natural Foodie column in today’s Press Herald.

Kathleen Flanagan and Jeanette Richelson, yoga teachers with experience in the restaurant industry, have been planning this eatery for a year and a half. They worked with a large community of vendors, farmers, business consultants, family members, friends and artists to fine tune the restaurant into a space unique for this foodie town.

Tandem Coffee Roasters on Anderson Street in East Bayside is will open for business late Wednesday morning at 7 am.

Tandem is co-owned by Will and Kathleen Pratt. The Pratts and staff member Vien Dobui are all former employees at Blue Bottle Coffee, one of San Francisco’s leading coffee roasters.

For more on Tandem view their Tumblr, visit them on Facebook or read this article in Sprudge.

Zen Chinese Bistro is opening today. Zen is in the location that was formerly occupied by District on Danforth Street.

A new company, Maine Beer Tours, is offering tours of Maine breweries on Friday and Saturday each week. MBT is run by Mark and Nichole Stevens.

Mark and Nichole have been dreaming of getting into the beer scene for years, and finally decided there was no time like the present.  They love craft beer, and know there are many people just like them.  Mark started homebrewing back in 1998, as a freshman in college, with his first batch brewed through his Mr. Coffee.  While it may have been pretty horrible, the love affair with all things beer was born…

The Friday tours visit Shipyard, Sebago, Maine Beer Company and Bull Jager. The Saturday tours go to Allagash, Urban Farm Fermentory, Rising Tide and a 4th stop which is TBD. Tickets are available online.

Portland, Maine Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes From Casco Bay, a new book by  Margaret Hathaway & Karl Schatz is now available. The book includes profiles and recipes from 48 Portland restaurants. Everyone from Artemesia and Aurora Provisions through to Vinalnnd and Zapoteca (see entire list) are included in the book.

Hathaway and Schatz are the owners of Ten Apple Farm in Gray, Maine. Their first book The Year of the Goat: 40,000 Miles and the Quest for the Perfect Cheese, tells the story of how these folks from NYC ended up owning a farm in Maine.

 

On my way to Grace for a Whole Beast Feast tasting dinner (watch the local food press for more details) I spotted the Top Hat Coffee Company cart in Monument Square. As it turns out Friday was their first day in operation. They serve cold brew iced coffee, pour overs using beans from Bard and Others, Thai Ice Tea, and more.

Flores Restaurant is now operating out of the space adjacent to La Bodega Latina on Congress Street. They serve Salvadoran food. I first noticed them this week but I’m not sure exactly when they opened.

The Loft Burger House had their Grand Opening on Sunday at 865 Forest Ave. There menu has 30+ different burger options including #16 the Donut Burger which is made with a Tony’s glazed donut instead of a traditional bun.

 

Josh Potocki from 158 Pickett Street Cafe let me know yesterday about a new project he and some friends are working on called Pocket Brunch. It’s a public underground traveling restaurant which specializes in multi-course Sunday brunches.

Two dates are scheduled so far:

• a 5-course brunch this Sunday (July 29) with guest chef Rocco Salvatore Talarico
• another 5-course brunch on September 2.

Tickets are available online via the website pocketbrunch.com. To add to the mystery the exact destination of each dinner is kept secret and is sent out to ticket holders in advance of each date.

K & A Street Meats has been added to the Food Map list of food carts operating in Portland. K & A is usually located out on Brighton. They serve a standard line-up of hot dogs, chili dogs, sausage sandwiches, chips and soda.