Category: Under Construction

Buzz Coffee (instagram), a new coffee food cart that launched this year in mid-May, has leased space at 19 Exchange Street where they plan to open a brick and mortar cafe in the subterranean space formerly occupied by Blake Orchard.

The new space will enable an expanded menu that includes espresso drinks, drip coffee, cold brew, teas, and locally made bagels and cream cheese spreads as well as “a small curated selection of local art and Maine made goods”.

The cafe is expected to open in October. The coffee cart will continue to be in operation throughout the fall and be back on the streets next spring.

A new business is under construction on the 2nd floor of the Public Market House. The Frying Dutchman (instagram) plans to serve cones of Dutch-style fries with a variety of toppings. Owners Leon Vuong and Cody Leland plan to open in September.

This is a second business for Vuong and Leland who also launched a pop-up business called Seven Seas Food & Co (website, instagram) at the Fork Food Lab back in June. In June and July they sold natural plant-dyed raviolis and cannolis.

Vuong was recently one of 13 chefs participating in the 2021 Great American Seafood Cook-Off which took place last week in New Orleans.

A new Italian restaurant called Topolina is under development by chef Michael Bergin.

I started working in restaurants as a dishwasher 23 years ago and have been working feverishly on building my craft ever since. I believe my time has come to tell my story and I am eager to express my passion for Italian cuisine to Portland and beyond. I’m earnest in my belief that what I have to tell through food, and the experience I want to curate, is something unique and considerable. The fundamental lessons I learned as a dishwasher, and eventually working in Michelin-rated restaurants, as well as my memories of sharing meals with my Grandfather have all made me who I am today. I can’t imagine a better way to pay it forward than to share similar feelings of nostalgia, simplicity, and warmth with my neighbors. More than ever, I want this restaurant to bring friends and families back to the dinner table. What is a better facilitator for that than a house-made bowl of pasta? I hope that our humble, sincere Italian restaurant will be this escape for people.

Bergin grew up in Massachusetts where he got introduced to the culinary world while working with his grandfather at the family business Noe & Sons Produce. He’s worked in Washington DC, Boston and New York at a number of highly regarded restaurants including L’Espalier, Del Posto, and Coppa. Prior to moving to Portland he was the executive chef at The Fat Hen and at The Salty Pig in Boston. Bergin is currently part of the team at the Big Tree Hospitality group in Portland.

A launch date for Topolina (which means ‘little mouse’ in Italian) is still TBD. Bergin has set-up a $10k crowdfunding campaign to help defray some of the development costs for the restaurant.

Back Bay Grill has announced a significant shift in concept and direction. Starting in mid-September Back Bay Grill will be under new leadership operating under the name Six Degrees at Back Bay Grill.

Adrian Stratton, BBG’s well known general manager will be leaving Back Bay Grill at the end of August to pursue a new career direction in the retail wine industry. Under the ongoing ownership of and with oversight and guidance by chef/owner Larry Matthews a new team will be leading the kitchen and overall operation of Six Degrees.

Don Purdy along with Mariah and Matt Dyer will be managing the new business with chef Nick Gratton taking the lead in the kitchen. Gratton has worked in Maine at Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, and for chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier. He has also had experience working in China, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Back Bay Grill will be serving a 3-course prix fixe menu grounded in their well loved current approach during the remainder of the month on August 6-7, 19-21 and 26-28.

Back Bay Grill was founded in 1988 and has been owned and operated by chef Larry Matthews for the last 19 years. The restaurant has been a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Outstanding Service in 2018 and 2019.

A&C Grocery has launch a $25k crowdfunding campaign to help with the expense of moving to their new location on Congress Street.

My vision for A&C has always been a community-based, swashbuckling-owned, neighborhood joint that would benefit the coterie of locals. While the Top of Fox is bustling and profitable, it cannot fund the opening of a new location with it’s current cash flow alone. I am currently paying rent for PART II and there are still permitting and build-out costs I still have yet to tackle. I couldn’t have done Top of Fox without you guys, and again, I can’t do PART II without you either.

Visit their Go Fund Me page to make a contribution.

A new food truck called Quanto Basta (website, instagram) is expected to launch in the next few weeks. Owner Elizabeth English plans to serve a rotating menu of four to five Neapolitan pizzas as well as Italian pastries and provisions.

English has lived and cooked in Rome at the Rome Sustainable Food Project and in the Campania region. She’s also worked as a baker in Chicago and Portland. Recently, she headed up the prepared foods and baked goods at The Cheese Shop on Washington Ave.

Quanto Basta will be operating out of a retrofitted vintage 1959 Morris Minor Van. English plans to regularly be at the Eastern Prom, as well as various other locations around town.

The new Eighty 8 Donut Cafe (website, instagram) opened on Wednesday. It is located 225 Federal Street in the Old Port and is the business’s second brick and mortar location. Eighty 8 began life as a food truck 8 years ago and also has a donut cafe at Sugarloaf Mountain.

The Portland donut cafe will be open 7 days a week, 8 am – 5 pm (Monday – Friday), 9 am – 4 pm on Saturday and 9 am – 3 pm on Sunday serving their full menu of made to order mini donuts.

The new location features some window art by Tessa Green O’Brien.

A & C Grocery (website, instagram) has leased 229 Congress Street where owner Joe Fournier plans to relocate his popular Washington Ave eatery. Fournier announced the intention/need to move to a new location back in early April and has been actively looking at space across the city since then.

Fournier plans to have the new A & C open by September and will run both locations in tandem through the remainder of the year. During those remaining months of 2021 the new location will be open in the evening while the original location will still serve the lunch crowd. In 2022 Fournier plans to expand the menu and offer indoor lunch counter seating. Stay tuned to the A & C instagram for more details on that as they come into focus.

As a prank Fournier has placed a sign in the window of 229 Congress Street (see above) that announces that a Starbucks will be opening this fall. People curious enough to scan the QR code at the bottom of the sign get taken to a video where he shares the good news about the new A & C.

229 Congress Street is located adjacent to Cocktail Mary; it was formerly occupied by Sip of Europe.