Category: Under Construction

Culture Shock reports that Empire has changed hands and is going to be split into 2 different venues.

The word on the street is that the downstairs area will be reopened in early summer as a Chinese restaurant – which the Empire building originally was, back in the day – and the upstairs is tentatively planned to reopen this summer as well, still as a music venue.

The Press Herald published an article late Friday with additional information,

The five-year-old restaurant and music venue has been sold by Umbel and will be run by Theresa Chan, a Maine restaurateur, and Todd Bernard, a veteran of Portland’s arts scene. Bernard is a former owner of the Space Gallery music and arts venue, at 538 Congress St.

Umbel said the new operators will close Empire Dine and Dance temporarily so that the downstairs, which now is a bar and restaurant with space for small music groups, can be renovated into a Chinese restaurant.

According to a Insurance Guy Beer Blog Bissell Brothers Brewing (website, twitter) is taking over the space on Industrial Way formerly occupied by Maine Beer Company. The brothers plan to open “over the next few months”.

The plan is to provide 4-packs of 16 ounce cans with their double IPA being the premier and flagship beer. If you are one of the few that has been lucky enough to try The Substance you know this is going to be one of the best IPAs on the market when it hits the shelves of your favorite beer store. Be sure to tell your local beer store and bar that they need to carry this beer when it is released.

Coffee continues to be a growth industry in the Portland area:

• Construction of Cia on Ocean Street in South Portland looks nearly complete and almost ready to open. The name is an acronym for coffee, ice cream and art.
• A new coffee shop and cafe is under construction on Brighton in the old home of Udder Place. According to a report from The Bollard, the space is being developed by “Joe and Shay Mcgonigal, proprietors of The Crooked Mile coffee shop and lunch spot in the Old Port.”

For more info on the 22 other eateries, bakeries and bars under development, see the Under Construction list.

The Porthole has submitted their application for a liquor license. Per usual, the application includes a floor plan (shown below) and a draft menu (page 20).

Owner Ken Macgowan is also renovating the old Comedy Connection space and opening it as the Porthole Pub. For more information read the article in the Press Herald Food & Dining section earlier this week.

The front page of Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes a feature article on the relaunch of The Porthole.

As for the food, the restaurant will be serving breakfast and lunch year-round, and will be open seven months out of the year for dinner, serving mostly seafood.

[Chef Jesse] Poirier said the menu will retain “the staples that made the Porthole famous in the first place.” That includes the fish fry, the Florentine, the lobsterman’s breakfast and the lobster Benedict.

The Forecaster interviewed Portland coffee drinkers and coffee shop workers about the potential impact of a new Starbucks on Commercial Street.

Steven Karan, an East End resident who stopped by Crema last week, said the independents shouldn’t feel threatened by another Starbucks.

“I wouldn’t worry about a Starbucks affecting places like this. They’re apples and oranges,” he said. “Starbucks will always have their customers, I guess. But I don’t see how a chain like that will make that much difference.”

The Bollard has published an article about In’finiti, the brewpub, distillery and eatery being launched by Novare Res on Commercial Street.

Guided by the vision of 32-year-old Yarmouth native Eric Michaud — proprietor of Novare Res Bier Café, the craft beer mecca in the Old Port — In’finiti is the first restaurant of its kind in Maine, and one of only a handful nationwide. It’s a brewery, distillery and eatery where patrons will soon be able to enjoy food, beer and cocktails entirely crafted within their range of sight.

The article also includes an overview of products from other Maine distilleries: Cold River, Twenty 2, New England Distilling, and Bartlett Winery.

For more information on In’finiti see this earlier post on PFM, and the last few comments on this thread on BeerAdvocate.com.

Union Bagel Company (website, Facebook) has leased the old Katie Made space at 147 Cumberland Ave and is in the process of renovating it to serve as their bagel bakery. They hope to open sometime in April.

Co-owner Paul Farrell tells me that in addition to their bakery, 147 Cumberland will also have a small and simple retail operation where you’ll be able to get coffee, juice and, of course, bagels and cream cheese to go.

Chef David Levi has leased 593 Congress Street for his new “100% local food, zero waste, fine dining restaurant” Vinland (website, Facebook).

593 is located just across the street from the Portland Art Museum and around the corner from the new Westin Hotel. The space has been completely renovated; it had been the long time home of The Kitchen.

Levi has worked at Noma in Denmark, at Faviken in Sweeden. He gave some insight into his approach to cooking when interviewed by the Boston Globe for their article on The New New England Cuisine,

“I want to use what grows in this bioregion,” says Levi. “If I can’t use lemon, I need to replace that acidic element. Obviously I could use vinegar, but the flavor is so strong, so maybe rhubarb, or green fruit, or whey.” To that end, in his Portland kitchen Levi prepares an example: soup made by pureeing farmers’ market turnips with his own homemade yogurt and garnishing the bowls with lightly fermented carrots and fresh herbs and flowers from his small garden plot.

Levi hopes to open Vinland this summer.