Eater Maine reports that a Japanese noodle bar is under construction on Congress near Washington Ave.
…a man named Corey Suzuki and his father are planning to convert at least one of the ground-level units to a Japanese noodle bar.
Category: Under Construction
Under Construction: Press Hotel Restaurant
The Press Herald reports that chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, founders of the former Arrows in Ogunquit, will launch a new restaurant in the Press Hotel when it opens next year.
Frasier was cryptic about the menu, saying they are “keeping it a little bit under wraps,” but said it will be “a personal expression of who we are.” While seafood will be well represented, for example, Frasier said he wouldn’t call it a seafood restaurant. And it won’t be Arrows-style fine dining, with white tablecloths and crystal.
“Our favorites are going to feature prominently in the menu – things that we’ve just loved over the years and are really reflective of our backgrounds both in Maine and California,” he said. “And, as you know, we love to travel. There may be a little bit of rivalry – Mark’s favorite and Clark’s favorite – on the menu as well.”
Under Construction: Dana Street’s Waterfront Restaurant
Today’s Press Herald has a brief mention of Dana Street’s new seafood restaurant in an article about waterfront development in Portland.
He said Dana Street, the restaurateur who owns Fore Street and Street & Co., plans to open a seafood restaurant on the pier, which also houses Fog’s Boat Works, Bangs Island Mussels, Morrison’s Maine Course and Upstream Trucking.
Street could not be reached to discuss his plans, but Goodrich said the restaurant could open as soon as next March.
Under Construction: Tandem West
The Forecaster interviewed the owners of Tandem Coffee about the launch of their upcoming West End bakery/coffee shop.
The owners of Tandem Coffee Roasters, which opened two years ago, are preparing a new bakery and cafe at 742 Congress St. It is expected to open this month.
Under Construction: Bramhall, Sur Lie
Liquor license approval for two new venues are on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the City Council:
- Owner Mike Fraser is opening Bramhall, a 46-seat “old school speakeasy with American comfort food” at 769 Congress Street in the old Bramhall Pub space. Guy Streiburger has been hired as a bar manager. Both Fraser and his wife are longtime employees at Fore Street. A the full draft menu was included in the council info packet (page 38) here’s an excerpt:
Fraser tells me they are making good progress on the renovations (see floor plan). According to paperwork filed with the city, they hope to open Bramhall in September. Bramhall, along with Tandem West and the opening of Salvage BBQ and Tawakal Halal last year are starting to develop the post-Longfellow Congress Street commercial life. - Sur Lie is also up for review. Chef Emil Rivera has produced a draft menu (page 55) for the tapas-style restaurant under construction at 11-13 Free Street. Here’s an excerpt,
According to the cover letter, Sur Lie hopes open in late August. Here’s a floor plan of the space.
Great East Butcher Co & SoPo Farmers’ Market
The Forecaster reports that 3 former Meat House employees have taken over the defunct company’s former location in Scarborough and are launching the Great East Butcher Co.
Great East is hoping for a mid-August opening for its second store, at 450 Payne Road. The first opened in early July in Stratham, New Hampshire. Both are former locations of The Meat House, a choice Chad Parent said was made based on relationships Moulton already had with landlords.
This week’s paper also includes an article about the South Portland Farmers’ Market.
The outdoor market, held Sundays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at City Hall, has unofficially attracted at least 100 customers a week – a small pool for the market’s 10 or 12 vendors.
But its advocates, including market manager Caitlin Jordan of Alewife’s Brook Farm in Cape Elizabeth, remain optimistic about the market’s slow and steady growth.
Under Construction: Sur Lie
Sur Lie is a new bar and restaurant under construction at 11-13 Free Street. I recently had the pleasure of meeting Emil Riverva, the chef who’s slated to lead the kitchen to learn more about his background and what he has planned for the menu.
Rivera moved to Maine after scouting trips to the state this past fall and winter. He’s come to Portland from the DC where he worked for several years as part of the ThinkFoodGroup—a family of 15 restaurants founded by chef/restaurateur Jose Andres.
Rivera tells me he’s excited by the design for the restaurant and looking forward to working in the new kitchen. He’s well on his way to developing a menu that will serve as a starting point for when they open. While it is a tapas-style restaurant Rivera is drawing on a wide range of influences for the menu. He’s especially interested to get a read on customer reactions once they open to further tune the menu. The menu will include some larger plates intended for sharing in addition to the broader range of small plate options.
While construction is under way he’s had the chance to get out and explore the Portland restaurant scene. Pai Men, Eventide, Central Provisions, Hunt & Alpine have been some of the high points so far. In between moving to Maine and helping to launch the restaurant he’s finding the time to plan a wedding, he’s getting married in late August.
Co-owners Antonio Alviar and Krista Cole are combining the spaces formerly occupied by Roost juice bar and Compositions into a single 70-seat restaurant and bar. Their hoping to open sometime in late summer/early fall.
Under Construction: Otto Pizza
The Forecaster has published an update on the 2nd South Portland Otto under construction by the Mall.
Otto Pizza’s second South Portland location at 125 John Roberts Road will open in early August, according to a liquor license application councilors approved Monday.
Review of Bresca and the Honey Bee
The Maine Sunday Telegram has reviewed Bresca and the Honey Bee, Krista Kern Desjarlais’ snack shack in New Gloucester.
The review also shares that “[Desjarlais] tells us she has a location lined up in Lewiston-Auburn, but needs to decide if she’s ready to get back into the scene”. Should she decide to go ahead I imagine there a lot of Bresca fans, myself included, who will be making regular treks to Lewiston-Auburn this Fall.
Under Construction: Ebb & Flow, Golden Lotus
The liquor license application for a pair of new restaurants are scheduled for Monday’s City Council meeting:
- Ebb & Flow (facebook, twitter) is a Mediterranean seafood restaurant under construction at 100 Commercial Street—former home of Spread, Gaucho’s, Oolong. As reported last month, the restaurant is a collaboration between Nova Seafood owner Angelo Ciocca and chef William D’Auvray. An extensive draft menu for Ebb & Flow was supplied with the application (starts on page 31).
- Golden Lotus is a new Asian restaurant that will be taking over the spot at 511 Congress Street which currently is the home of Shanghai Tokyo. Chef/owner Joe Tang has 30 years of restaurant experience, mostly in NH. For several years he was part of the staff at Wok Inn before joining the kitchen staff at Empire Chinese Kitchen. A hand-written draft menu (page 69) was supplied with the application.