Ramona’s has announced that Chad Conley has sold his stake in the company to his co-founder Josh Sobel. Both Sobel and Conley have shared that it’s a friendly and mutually beneficial change for them both. Conley is looking forward to spending more time with his family.
No major changes are anticipated to the menu or overall program at Ramona’s.
Ramona’s initially opened as a takeout service in April 2020 and began seating customers indoors in March 2022.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a feature article about Joshua Miranda who leads The Miranda Group that operates Blyth & Burrows, Via Vecchia, Papi and Henry’s Public House.
The 51-year-old Munjoy Hill native developed his acumen as a restaurateur over decades of experience in the industry, starting when he was just 8 years old, working as a busboy at a restaurant in Raymond where his dad cooked. He recalled going behind the bar as often as 10 times a shift to make himself virgin tequila sunrises, fascinated by the stacked effect of the liquids.
“It felt comfortable, natural,” Miranda said. “I loved layering the grenadine over the orange juice and learning how much ice was the right amount. I really paid attention to it.”
StarChefs has released their list of Rising Stars in the Costal New England region.
In New England, cold, snowed-in nights turn into long, sunny beach days. In our over 100 editorial visits across Rhode Island, Maine, and the Massachusetts Islands, we found a group of industry professionals defying the odds of seasonality, embracing the unique challenges of an economy that burns hotter than the summer sun, and understanding how to keep themselves and their teams stimulated and engaged in the winter months. There is a serious focus on agriculture, aquaculture, as well as innovations in showcasing what is fished and farmed locally. From the Narragansett to the Casco, StarChefs is proud to welcome in our newest class of Rising Stars.
A number of Portland area chefs, restaurateurs and bartenders are on the list. Congratulations to all the honorees:
Read more about the Rising Star Awards Program on the starchefs.com website.
Mainebiz has published an interview with Sarah and Karl Sutton, the owners of Bite Into Maine.
MB: How did you finance your startup costs?
Karl Sutton: In 2011, after yet another failed loan application, the loan officer looked at me and suggested we seek out the three F’s for financing. The three F’s? I hadn’t heard of this. He explained: Friends, Family and Fools. It was pretty clear we had to figure it out on our own. After maxing out our credit cards, liquidating 401ks and borrowing $4,000 from Sarah’s father, we were up and kinda running.
Congratulations to Lyanna Sanabria on being named a semifinalist Best New Bartender by Punch. Sanabria is the beverage director at Papi (website, facebook, instagram), the new Puerto Rican cocktail bar that launched earlier this year on Exchange Street.
The bartenders below have been selected as 2023 Best New Bartenders semifinalists—each possessing a distinctive point of view on drink-making, a genuine passion for the hospitality industry and a desire to push it forward.
Punch will be releasing a list of the top 10 Best New Bartenders of 2023 on October 10.
Down East has published an interview with Lulu Ranta the chef/owner of The Quarry in Monson.
What did it feel like to be shortlisted?
Scary, because I’ve never talked about James Beard. To me, that’s for elite chefs. I work hard for my artists and for my guests. That’s what I strive for. But James Beard, now you have the accolades, now comes all the expectations. And I can’t even call myself a chef. My husband and kids say, “Mom, you’re a chef.” I say, “No, I’m not a chef. I’m a cook.” Chef, for me, it’s too formal. I’m not formal. But I mean, James Beard is a huge honor. That’s beyond my wildest dream.
Brewery pioneer David Geary, the co-founder of the DL Geary Brewing Company, has passed away.
The Press Herald has published an article about Geary and his passing.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Bistro Leluco, and
Cocktails are very good, but the star here is chef Will Durst’s menu that seamlessly brings together New England ingredients and European cooking. Unmissable dishes like puffy, ultra-cheesy Parisienne gnocchi and superb steak à poivre with house-smoked fingerling potatoes match up well with the restaurant’s eclectic, affordable wine list. Not sure what to order? Ask a server. They’re friendly and really know their stuff.
an interview with John Naylor and Mark Law about Rosemont Market.
We sat down in late June with Law and Rosemont co-founder John Naylor – who led the company for 18 years before stepping aside for Law, though he remains involved as president and chairman of the board – to talk about Rosemont’s role in the local community, where the company is headed, and what five items are their must-haves in a Rosemont shopping basket.
The June issue of Down East magazine includes an interview with Sam Hayward about his first cooking job at the Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island in the summer of 1974.
How did you first wind up at the Shoals lab?
I was living in Ithaca, New York, and working as a musician. I had studied classical music, on double bass. But like a lot of members of my generation, I was seduced by all the cultural effects of the war, the counterculture, rock ’n’ roll. I ended up playing sort of American roots-based rock in some bands that were pretty successful. It was a good time, but it wasn’t a way to plan a life, and I wanted to make a change. Then, one morning in February of ’74, a Cornell hotel-school student who’d taken a few music lessons with me asked me, “You like to cook for a hobby, don’t you?” And I did. So he said, “Why don’t you chuck all this and come spend a summer on an island off the coast of Maine?”
News Center Maine reports that Red’s Eats’ chef Shannon Brown will be competing in an upcoming episode of the Food TV Network show Alex vs America.
Brown is preparing herself mentally and emotionally, as the day of the competition draws near. She said she knows that this is not just about winning a cooking challenge. It’s about showcasing the flavors of Maine and making her home state proud, one lobster dish at a time.
The Press Herald reports that Nina Interlandi Bell from Woolwich will be competing on the Fox TV show MasterChef.
Bell has already passed her televised audition for the show and will be reintroduced as one of the season’s final 20 contestants during the episode Wednesday. That means she’ll be able to compete against the 19 others for a chance to win the show’s $250,000 prize and the “MasterChef” title.