Category: Under Construction

A chef named William D’Auvray (twitter) has moved from Florida to Portland where he plans on opening a restaurant on Commercial Street. D’Auvray and business partner Angelo Ciocca, president of Nova Seafood are in the final stages of leasing the former Spread restaurant for this new venture.

In North Carolina D’Auvray ran an Asian themed seafood restaurant called Fins, and Buku which served a menu of “global streetfood”. He was also involved in Thasos a Greek restaurant in Fort Laudardale. A very thorough biography of the chef’s education and career can be found on the Eat & Critique Show.

Once the partners have decided on a name for the restaurant they’ll be releasing further details on the concept.

Sprudge has posted an interview with Tandem about the new coffee shop shop they have under construction in the West End.

What’s your approach to serving the coffee?
We’re going to emphasize high-quality batch brew but we’re still debating our exact setup for that at the moment. Pour-over may or may not happen at the new place. Coffee shots are a possible alternative—though we won’t know for sure until we get the new equipment in to start tasting.

Outliers owner Peter Verrill has leased for former JP Thornton’s location in South Portland where he plans on opening SoPo Bar & Grill, according to Eater Maine.

Verrill says the new venture, like its predecessor, will have a cafe/deli component in addition to a restaurant/bar section, and likely even a juice bar to serve health conscious customers of nearby Greener Postures Yoga and Snap Fitness.

Dean’s Sweets has announced that they’re moving to 475 Fore Street into one of the retail spaces across the street from Miyake. According to the press release,

After almost six years in their current location (82 Middle St.), and four years prior to that making chocolate in their home kitchen, Dean’sSweets now needs more space to make and sell their hand-dipped truffles, caramels, and buttercreams. With consistent growth over the years, including retail, wholesale, wedding, special events, and website orders, Dean’sSweets is moving toward greater capacity to accommodate more people, more equipment, and more production. Committed to making chocolate in small batches for absolute freshness while also keeping production and sales all under one roof, Dean’sSweets is pleased to have found a great location in Portland, steps away from Old Port.

The Forecaster reports the Pepperclub is planning to remain in Portland rather than move to Kennebunk.

With the help of real estate brokers and input from customers, Sawyer is now looking for a new home for the restaurant after its lease expires in September.

“We are not looking to move out of the greater Portland area,” [co-owner Melissa Sawyer] said.

Sawyer said the Good Egg Cafe, which reopened about seven years ago as the Pepperclub’s breakfast arm, will also continue to operate.

Nearly the entire Maine food writing corp was on-hand Wednesday night for a press preview event at Lolita (facebook, website). All involved seemed to be having a very enjoyable time.

Thursday night Lolita a friends and family dinner to put the staff through their paces. The date for a public opening should be announced shortly. In the meantime check-out  Blueberry Files, Urban Eye, Spoon & Shutter and Eater Maine for photos from the press event.

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the new local foods market/butcher shop under construction in South Portland,

[Partners Penny Jordan and Ben Slayton] signed a three-year lease two weeks ago for the building at 161 Ocean St. in South Portland’s Knightville neighborhood, near Uncle Andy’s Diner, Taco Trio and the Legion Square Market (formerly Smaha’s). They also looked at the Willard Beach neighborhood, Slayton said, but the Knightville neighborhood was attractive because it’s close to other grocery stores that already attract food shoppers and is part of an up-and-coming neighborhood.

It’s also interesting to note that Joe Fournier will be joining The Farm Stand as the store’s general manager.

The Forecaster reports that Taco Trio will be launching a new food trailer this summer.

Pena and Rasmussen will be preparing their authentic Mexican cuisine this summer in the mid-sized trailer, with their sights set on breaking into the blossoming food truck scene in Portland, and beyond.

Their first stop: the 41st annual Old Port Festival.

Jordan’s Farm and Farmers’ Gate Market are collaborating on a new local foods market they plan on launching at 106 Ocean Street, according to a report from The Forecaster.

The market – Jordan hopes to finalize the name and opening date in the next two weeks – is a partnership with Farmers’ Gate Market, an organic butcher shop in Wales, owned by Ben Slayton. They plan to offer a variety of meats, fruits and vegetables, as well as dairy products, prepared foods, and beer and wine.

Owners Penny Jordan and Ben Slayton have been working on this idea for over a year now and it’s great to see it becoming a reality.

Spoon & Shutter has published a set of preview photos from Timber Steakhouse & Rotisserie, located at 106 Exchange Street.

Timber has announced that they’ll be accepting reservations starting at 10 am today for next week’s opening on Thursday.

The menu is classic steakhouse, with some less-traditional dishes in the mix. The appetizer list includes jumbo shrimp cocktail ($18) and steak tartare ($14), but also “smokey bourbon-infused chicken chili” ($12) and “batter-dipped fried bacon strips with Maine maple syrup.” ($8) Steaks — 16 oz. New York strip ($46), 10 oz. filet mignon ($26), 40-day aged, 24 oz. ribeye ($55) and a 2-pound porterhouse ($78) — are all Certified Angus Beef.

“We are the only restaurant in the state to be Certified Angus,” said Noah. “When you eat here, you will be guaranteed that it will be delicious.”