Category: Under Construction

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.

Outlier’s Eatery (Facebook, Twitter), the restaurant under construction on York Street, has filed for a liquor license application. The restaurant hopes to open sometime in March. According to owner Peter Verrill’s cover letter,

The menu will consist of locally harvested, organic food. The beer will be almost 100%  from Maine brewers. Whenever possible, we will use Maine distilled liquors. Our coffee will be organic and fair trade. In short, Outlier’s Eatery will be a fine dining bistro offering the West End healthy and sustainable farm to table products.

A draft copy of the menu is available online (page 23). Chef Jonathan Dexter will be running the kitchen, he’s formerly worked at Street & Co. and at Hugo’s.

Tivi Design, which designed and built the bar at Grace has been hired to handle the interior design. Take a look at Outlier’s Facebook page for an extensive set of photos of the restaurant.  Eater Maine has some additional details on the interior design.