With nearly a full day still to go, the Kickstarter campaign for The Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box has met and is exceeding their $21,000 goal.
The Jewel Box is a craft cocktail bar under development by Nathaniel Meiklejohn. Construction is underway at 644 Congress Street and Meiklejohn hopes to open later this summer.
Meredith Goad’s weekly article in the Press Herald Food & Dining section highlights some of the new restaurants due to launch this summer.
Here are a few more construction updates:
Guy Hernandez, chef and co-owner of Lolita, appeared on WCSH where he spoke about the plans for the restaurant and prepared a dish dandelion greens and garlic puree.
Near the end of the interview Hernandez indicates that they’re targeting “right after Memorial Day” for the launch of Lolita (facebook, website).
The Urban Eye has posted an update on Old Port Spirits.
So much so that two weeks ago he purchased Downeast Beverage Co. from Doug Webber. Five blocks away, the store at 79 Commercial is transforming to Old Port Spirits and Cigars by the end of the month. After eight years running a wine shop downtown, he is ready for more.
“My goal is to have the best selection of bourbon, whiskey and craft beer,” said deVillier, who dropped $150,000 to improve the store, which had seen better days.
Vespucci’s Market has closed. Owner Keith Hickman as begun renovating the space into a 64-seat restaurant and bar called 211 Danforth.
He plans on opening a new neighborhood market in the coming weeks in the retail on the side of the building (formerly Cordell’s) to be called Clark Street Deli & Market.
Eater Maine has published an interview with Nathaniel Meiklejohn on his upcoming cocktail bar, The Jewel Box (website, kickstarter).
What are you hoping to bring to the crowded Portland bar scene that we’re missing, or that hasn’t been fully fleshed out yet?
There are millions of mixed drink recipes out there and thousands more [created] every day. There are forever new distilleries, hundreds of new mixing products, and constantly evolving techniques for making drinks. What we are going to do is honor the ever-changing landscape of mixed drinks by changing our drink menu every week. We will base the week’s menu on a theme, an ingredient we love, our current mixing fixations, and/or seasonal ingredients.
The Jewel Box will be located at 644 Congress Street. Meiklejohn hopes to have it open by the end of June.
Antonio Alviar and Krista Cole have leased the adjacent empty store fronts at 11 and 13 Free Street (formerly Roost and Compositions) where they plan on opening Sur Lie, a wine and cocktail bar/tapas restaurant.
Alviar and Cole are planning on serving a diverse menu of various sized plates intended for solo dining or sharing amongst a group. They’re putting special focus on putting together excellent wine and cocktail program for Sur Lie.
Sur Lie was recently approved for a loan from the Portland Development Corporation. Renovations to the 3,000 sq ft space will begin soon, and if all goes according to schedule Sur Lie should open in August.
Here are a few updates on what’s going on around town:
