Category: Under Construction

Nathaniel Meiklejohn has launched a $21,000 Kickstarter campaign to complete the funding needed for his his new West End craft cocktail bar, The Bearded Lady’s Jewel Box. As you can see in the video the build-out of the space he’s leased at 644 Congress is already well under way:

We have a great team working hard on the Jewel Box already. With the help of Petra Simmons’ architectural designs and layout, North By East Building Company’s build-out of those designs, More & Company’s brand/identity expertise, my industry experience, and your contributions, we will be able to take what was already going to be a cool place and make it sparkle brighter.

To learn more about the project and make a contribution to the campaign visit The Jewel Box Kickstarter page.

Workers renovating the Hilltop Superette (formerly Colucci’s) recently put up the signage for the store.

Chef Cara Stadler has submitted a liquor license application for BaoBao Dumpling House, the new restaurant she has under construction at 133 Spring Street, the former home of the West End Deli. Stadler is the chef/owner of Tao Yuan in Brunswick; she recently was named one of the Food & Wine Best New Chefs of 2014.

According to the cover letter sent with the application,

The concept of baobao is to take the more popular menu items from the Tao Yuan, in particular dumplings and vegetable sides, and offer them in a more casual setting (lower price point and faster service model) but in greater varieties and, of course, the same food quality.

See below for a draft menu and floor plan for the 36-seat restaurant.

Restauranteur Tom Barr has submitted a liquor license application for Lazzari, a new restaurant he has under development at 618 Congress Street, the former location of Mesa Verde. According to the application,

Lazzari will showcase Maine’s exceptional local agriculture by employing culinary techniques from across the Mediterranean region.

Barr is the owner of Taco Escobarr and is a partner in Blue Rooster Food Co. You can see a draft menu on pages 54-55 of the meeting materials.

The USM Free Press has published an article about Arcadia National Bar.

Arcadia National Bar is looking to light up 24 Preble St. with its pixelated colors and ambery brews. With the assistance of the crowdfunding platform, Kickstarter.com, the bar’s owners Dave Aceto and Ben Culver hope to get this nostalgia inducing bar up and running soon.

Tiqa Grille, a “[f]ine dining restaurant serving innovative Mediterranean Cuisine including kabobs with an open grill and open bakery”, is under development in Portland. They’re currently advertising for an Executive Chef on Craigslist.

See the PFM Under Construction page for a complete list of restaurants under development.

Kamasouptra, Peachy’s Smoothies, Amato’s, and Café Crêpe are sharing space in a new retail store called the Freeport Public Market.

Amato’s and Kamasouptra got the start, albeit about a century apart, in Portland, additionally Café Crêpe has been operating a food truck in East Bayside since last Fall.

We are planning on closing down Old Port Spirits for about a month to clean and renovate, but when we open we hope to/will have the best liquor and beer selection in town! So if there is anything special you want to see, please let us know, we want to carry what you guys want!

Maine Today has posted an interview with the owners of Lolita, Guy and Stella Hernandez and Neil Reiter, about their new restaurant.

SA: So you’re going to be doing Italian-inspired food?
GUY: I would say Mediterranean more than Italian. Certainly we all have flavor profiles and dishes that we are attracted to and it is only in retrospect that we say, Oh, those are Italian, Oh, you’re really into those oily fish of North Africa and Spain or the Greek cultures of these slow-cooked foods or whatever it is. All of those things are what we like to eat and we secondarily say those are influences. It’s driven by ‘What do you want to eat? Oh, this is what I like .. Great.’ And that makes it easy for us to say ‘Should this be on the menu? Well would you buy it?

The partners hope to open Lolita (facebook, website) in mid-May.

Vincenza’s Bakery is under construction at 10 Exchange Street. There’s a Vincenza’s Bakery (website, facebook, twitter) in Saco that this new bakery is connected with.