Category: Under Construction

According to a report from Maine a la Carte, a new wine bar is in the works for the former Dante’s space in One City Center.

She declined to name the tenant because the lease is not yet signed, but did say that the wine bar would not have a full kitchen; the menu will be limited to “olives, cheese nuts – food to accompany wine and beer.” Wine courses may also be offered, she said.

A separate source emailed yesterday to pass on the news that Once City Center is planning on re-purposing some of the retail space in their food court as office space and so has given notice to some of the food vendors.

Two Portland restaurants under construction were on the agenda for last night’s meeting of the Historic Preservation Board:

• Chris Gould has a proposal to renovate 414 Fore Street (where Dana Street connects Fore and Wharf Streets) for the new restaurant he has under development. According to the documentation, the restaurant will be located on the bottom two floors of the building.
• Empire is planning new signage for 575 Congress Street. The design is reminiscent of the sign that was in place during the early 20th Century when a prior Chinese restaurant called Empire had occupied the space. Edward Hopper may have  incorporated the original sign in his 1929 painting Chop Suey.

Additionally, the May issue of Dispatch contains an article entitled “The Great Restaurant Boom” which includes a brief profile of Portland Hunt and Alpine Club among others. The article isn’t yet available online.

Wannawaf (website, facebook, twitter) is under construction at 15 Monument Square in the space formerly occupied by Cobblestones.

Owner Anya Arsenault (aka Waffle Girl) opened the original Wannawaf in Boothbay in 2003 and is planning to launch Wannawaf Portland in June where, as you might have guessed from the name, waffles will be the signature dish.

The menu will include options like the Sweet Jams waffle, “peanut butter, aged cheddar, and bacon waffle with a tart fruit jam for dipping”, and the Cheeky Monkey waffle, “vanilla ice cream, fresh banana, Nutella, whipped cream and coconut”.

Wannawaf will be open late night and plans on doing takeout.

The Portland & Rochester Public House is under development at 120 Preble Street, the former location of G&R DiMillo’s. Renovations of the building, including a new deck, are underway and owner Garrett Fitzgerald is hoping to open sometime in mid-June with a menu of bistro and pub style dishes.

The Eatery is named for the Portland & Rochester Railroad which ran through Bayside on its way to the Grand Trunk Terminal.

Fitzgerald moved to Portland from Bar Harbor where he still runs the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. He had also been a co-owner of the Dog & Pony Tavern.

A Mexican food truck called El Corazon (website, facebook, twitter) is in the final stages of development having passed their inspection on Thursday, and are planning on having an official launch this Sunday on Cinco de Mayo.

The Urtuzuastegui family moved to Portland last year from California. Chef Joseph Urtuzuastegui plans on serving a menu of “traditional Mexican dishes such as baja style fish tacos, Sonoran hot dogs and many more regional specialties.”

They hope to set-up on Commercial Street near the Ocean Gateway Terminal. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep informed of where the truck is located.

The Forecaster interviewed the owners of Union Bagel as part of an article about the development taking place in East Bayside.

One of the newest is Union Bagel Co., which is now preparing to open its doors at 147 Cumberland Ave. early next month.

Bagel-makers Paul Farrell and Toby Alves are renovating the 500-square-foot space, formerly the site of Katie Made Bakery. Farrell launched Union Bagel last year at the Public Market House in Monument Square, but the demands of the shoestring business forced him to put it on hold last fall.

Wicked Good Truck (Facebook, Twitter) will be running a pair of food trucks in Portland and on Peaks Island this Spring. Owner Nate Underwood hopes to launch the Portland truck sometime in early May, and the Peaks Island truck later in the month. There will be a fixed location for the Peaks truck near the ferry; Wicked Good in Portland is expected to be more of a mobile operation.

Adam Alfter, who many of you will remember as the chef/owner of Deux Cochon, is heading up the culinary staff. The final menu is still under development but they’re aiming for broad appeal, anything from scrapple to lighter/healthier options.

Underwood is hoping that Wicked Good Truck can do its part to expand the choices for moderately priced fare on Peaks. He’s also looking to this new business to give his three kids the opportunity to learn what’s involved in launching and running a business.

Mainely Burgers (Facebook, Twitter) plans to launch their Portland-based food truck, Mainely Burgers 2.0, next month on Monday May 20. Owners Ben Berman and Jack Barber have two spots already picked out and are continuing to explore other options. They’ll be experimenting with serving breakfast at 108 Saint John Street, outside the building where their production kitchen is located, and have leased a spot in the parking lot of the former Press Herald press building on Pearl Street for service later in the day. The menu of traditional beach truck food will be expanding in Portland because being in the city gives them room to be “a little more adventurous” with new specials making it on to the menu throughout the summer.

The pair founded Mainely Burgers last summer and had a very successful inaugural year operating on the Scarborough State Beach (the beach truck will re-open on Memorial Day weekend). They’re both Cape Elizabeth HS grads and are now attending college in the Boston area. They see running Maine Burgers and managing the 15-=erson staff as a great learning opportunity, and hope their success can serve as an example to others their age who want to launch their own start-ups.

Ben and Jack also tell me they expect to also use the MB 2.0 truck to provide catering for public and corporate events.

Maine Burgers was a nominee in Phoenix Best of Portland readership poll and was one of the Final Four the winner best burgers in the recent Eater Maine burger series.

The Portland City Council meets Monday and as part of the agenda will be reviewing the liquor license applications from several new restaurants:

• Empire – in its new guise as a Chinese restaurant, the downstairs of Empire will serve “a menu of traditional Chinese Dim Sum and other authentic dishes” according to letter from the new owner Theresa Chan. The draft menu (page 122) includes items like duck and pan fried duck egg salad, shrimp rice crepes, and foraged conch noodles. Chan plans on using the upstairs as a live music venue and as a space for private events. Chan is hoping to open in May.
  Fun history facts: from 1916 to 1953 a Chinese restaurant called Empire operated in the same building. Portland’s very first Chinese restaurant opened in 1880.
• Boone’s Fish House & Oyster Room – this will be Harding Lee Smith’s fourth restaurant. The draft menu (page 154) includes traditional seafood dishes, a “Snow Island Extreme Lobster Bake”, as well as a selection of oysters “from here and away”.  Smith is hoping to open in June.
  Fun history fact: Boone’s Restaurant operated in this space on Custom House Wharf for more than a century from 1898 to early in the 21st  Century.
• Sypp – Thomas Henderson is opening an “upscale wine/martini bar” at 345 Fore Street in the space most recently occupied by Sebastian’s. The menu is still being worked on but a brief draft menu (page 182) lists “assorted cheese and cracker plates”, olive plate, tuna tartar, antipasto plate. Henderson hopes to open in May.
  Fun history fact: Sypp will be loocated in Boothby Square which was named for Colonel Frederick E. Boothby.

For details on all the food businesses under development in Portland see the Under Construction List.

Krista Kern Desjarlais, chef/owner of Bresca, is working on a new venture which she plans on calling Bresca and the Honey Bee. This week she closed on the purchase of Outlet Beach on Sabbathday Lake in the town of New Gloucester. The property includes docks, boat rentals, a beach and a snack shack (in operation since 1929) which she’ll be converting into her new eatery.

Bresca and the Honey Bee will be open 7 days a week from Memorial Day straight through to Labor Day. The menu “will be picnic inspired with a focus on pastry and ice cream with hamburgers, hotdogs, pizza, salads and snacks.”

I’ve always been a big fan of Bresca and look forward to visiting Krista’s new venture. A trip (or two or three) to New Gloucester this summer are going to be on my calendar.