WCSH has aired an interview with Randy and Alison Forester, the owners of Radici, about opening their restaurant during the pandemic.
“We would’ve loved to have had that grand opening and we know one day we will; we will have those ribbons outside, but for now it’s been a quiet ‘getting to know our neighborhood’ and making those connections, instead of in-person, mostly through social media,” says Ally.
Two members of the Portland area restaurant community have won city and state elections for their first time:
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an interview with Vien Dobui, chef and co-owner of Cong Tu Bot. The article includes the recipe for one of the restaurant’s outstanding desserts, the Chè.
Wikipedia tells you that it could be a “sweet beverage, soup, or pudding” and that’s how I’ll usually begin an explanation, but I still find that definition lacking. I’ve yet to explain chè to non-Asians in a way that is satisfying to either party, but I find that gap in translation to be the territory that I’ve always wanted Công Tử Bột to be engaged in.
The article is the first in a series talking with the 5 chefs who were 2020 James Beard Award nominees.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram reports on the backstory behind the closure of Ameera Bread.
Abdul said Abbas tried to renege on the deal after learning Abdul was transgender and in the process of transitioning from male to female. Abdul obtained a protection from harassment order against Abbas, and their agreement wound up in court.
Court documents, interviews and written statements shed light on an unusual dispute that has divided a family and forced the closure of Ameera Bread, one of the city’s most popular food businesses and a fixture in the Portland area’s diverse community of Middle Eastern immigrants.
The article does say, “The business remains closed, but Abdul said it is being refurbished, and they hope to reopen in November regardless of the legal case.” So Ameera may be returning soon.
The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Louis Pickens, the chef and owner of Black Betty’s Bistro.
In Portland, Pickens cooked in hotel and nursing home kitchens before starting his own company, Black Betty’s Bistro, named after the cast-iron stove his grandmother had back in Texas, where Pickens said generations of his family learned to love food.
After the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into his plans to open a storefront in the space next door, he said he’s been grateful that the community has kept him afloat. He’s cooking family-sized meals to go for pickup on Thursdays and Saturdays, and has catered for a school in South Portland.
Vertical Harvest and co-founder Nona Yehia have been named by CNN as one of their 10 Champions for Change in 2020. A one hour show will featuring Vertical Harvest will air this Saturday September 19th.
Vertical Harvest announced plans earlier this year to build a 70,000 square foot greenhouse in Westbrook which is expected to open in 2022.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Tin Pan Bakery owner Elise Richter,
Like many other small, independent business people in this pandemic year, Elise Richer is tired.
She has been forced to rethink many aspects of her homey Tin Pan Bakery in the Nasons Corner neighborhood of Portland, from its packaging and pricing, retail sales and recipes to its menu options and online ordering system.
and an article about managing front of house customer relations during a pandemic.
Four years later, owners and managers across Maine find themselves getting involved in their businesses in a more visible way. They still pitch in behind the scenes, but these days, their skills (and authority) are being marshaled to help waitstaff, bartenders, bussers and hosts (collectively called the “front of house”) navigate the choppy waters of pandemic-era customer service.
Briana Holt from Tandem was the featured guest on the 177 Milk Street podcast with host Christopher Kimball.
An article in this week’s Portland Phoenix explores the difficult choice restaurant workers have to make—balancing personal/family health and financial needs—when considering when to return to work.
“Everyone obviously wants things to be normal and wants things to go back to normal,” said one Portland bartender, Hanna, who left her job in July after feeling uncomfortable with on-premise dining. “If we can make things feel normal for a couple hours then that seems worth it to a lot of people, but I know that my coworkers were pretty uncomfortable with everything.”
Despite new COVID-19 regulations, sanitation precautions, and mandated masks, industry workers said they feel unsafe returning to work, yet feel pressure to continue working at the risk of losing financial security.
Dean’s Sweets will be featured this Thursday on the public radio show Marketplace as part of a report on past and current sales, trends, and future effects of the pandemic on small retailers around the country.
According the an announcement from Dean’s Sweets on the show,
Co-owner Kristin Thalheimer Bingham describes the challenges of owning a food-related business at this time, as well as outlining the strategies Dean’s Sweets has employed to build their business during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Bingham also projects how the pandemic may affect the fall and upcoming holiday season.
Dean’s Sweets last appeared Marketplace late last November. This week’s piece will mark the sixth time Marketplace has featured the Portland chocolate maker.