Category: Under Construction

Mr. Tuna and Goodfire Brewing have combined forces to buy the former Conundrum/El Jefe building on Route One in Freeport where they plan to open a brewery and izakaya bar this fall.

Goodfire will be operating a pilot brewing system and tasting room with both outdoor and indoor seating. In addition to retail sales of their regular line-up Goodfire will have small batch recipes exclusive to the Freeport location.

The Mr. Tuna Izakaya will expand on the sushi hand rolls they’ve been known for to serve a menu that also includes ramen, yakitori, and other Japanese-style food.

Update: Mr Tuna is no longer part of this new brewery project. Goodfire has hired two former Big Tree Hospitality staff to launch the restaurant portion of their brewery.

The Press Herald reports that developers are planning to convert the Time & Temp building into a hotel and build a rooftop bar atop the Chapman Building.

Rhoades said in an interview Tuesday that the bar is proposed for the rooftop, which was recently redone, and that the top two floors, which were added in 1963, will be hotel rooms. He said the rooftop bar will be designed as a three-season space, with a retractable roof, glass walls and bar seating near the elevator shaft.

Rwanda Bean (website, facebook, instagram) has opened two new cafes.

The Roastary and Espresso Bar on Thompson’s Point had its soft opening Wednesday. They’re currently open Wednesday through Saturday, 8 am to 4 pm and will expanding their hours as they bring on more staff.

Rwanda Bean also announced yesterday that they’ve also opened the Rwanda Bean Espresso Bar Bistro in Kigali.

Bissell Brothers is in the process of renovating their Thompson’s Point tasting room with plans to relaunch it in late May or early June. As reported back in January, they have leased the adjacent restaurant space (formerly Locally Sauced Burritos) to launch Bissell Brothers Kitchen as part of their growing business.

Benjamin Martinkovic (linkedin) has been hired as the chef for Bissell Brothers. Martinkovic is a graduate of Johnson & Wales and in his 24-year career has been on staff at Central Provisions, Alinea, Benu, Chez Panisse, Atelier Crenn, and several other establishments in both restaurant and hotel settings.

At Bissell Brothers Kitchen Martinkovic will serve a menu of elevated pub fare with a strong Latin American influence but also with a degree of flexibility to explore other cuisines. BBK will be operating a counter service model—customers will place their food and beer orders and pick-up their meals from the kitchen takeout window.

The Press Herald reports that Taco Trio will be moving from their current location on Ocean Street to the building formerly occupied by Big Babe’s.

The new South Portland location, which she does not expect to open for at least another four weeks, will eventually serve breakfast, Rasmussen said. The old Taco Trio space will be used as a prep kitchen.

A new restaurant called Tokyo Sushi Ramen & Bar has leased the 4,300 sq ft former BRGR Bar space at 11 Brown Street.

The menu taped up in the window has an extensive list of offerings including sushi, ramen, pad thai, tempura, teriyaki, poke bowls and more.

The team that produced the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook are now working on a second volume which will contain more “recipes and stories that will continue the celebration of home cooking and the vibrant cultural tapestry of Maine”. As with their first volume the initiative will also raise money to fight hunger in Maine.

“The feedback we got from the first book was overwhelmingly positive, and at the same time, we heard from many people that they didn’t know we were collecting recipes. They wished that they could submit their family recipe or family food story,” says Karl Schatz, one of the book’s editors. “We know there are more great recipes and stories out there, and this is our chance to be even more inclusive.”

$2 from each book sold will be donated to non-profits with the goal of fighting food insecurity and inequity. The Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook so far has raised and distributed more than $15,000 to 25 different organizations fighting hunger in all corners of the state.

Submit your recipe for Volume 2
Anyone with a connection to Maine can submit a recipe, food story, family photos or scans of recipe cards. A submission portal on the website, maine200cookbook.com, will open on Mother’s Day, May 9, 2021 to receive submissions, and the team will continue to collect recipes and stories through Labor Day, 2021. Recipes can also be mailed to Maine Community Cookbook c/o Rabelais Books, 2 Main Street, Suite 18-214, Biddeford, Maine 04005.

The second volume  is expected to be published on April 15, 2022.

A new food cart called Buzz Coffee (instagram) is in the final stages of development.

Owner Corey Koch and his friend Christopher Weiss are pursuing a dream of launching a cafe by taking the first step with a mobile coffee business. Buzz Coffee will be serving cold brew coffee from a hand-built pushcart throughout Portland. Beans for the cold brew are being sourced from Rwanda Bean in Portland and Buzz will be sourcing milks, honey and syrups locally as well.

They hope to launch Buzz Coffee on Saturday, May 15th at the Eastern Promenade open from 8 am to 1 pm.

A new cheese shop and specialty market called Nibblesford (facebook, instagram, twitter) is under construction in Biddeford. Brothers Travis and Ian Kern hope to open Nibblesford early this summer.

Nibblesford will sell cheeses from a wide variety of Maine producers as well as Maine made culinary equipment and goods such as cutting boards, linens and knives. Nibblesford will be located at 5 Washington Street just on the other side of Shevenell Park next to Palace Diner.

Travis Kern has been working in the restaurant industry for 20+ years—his most recent position was as the chef de cuisine at Local 188. Ian Kern has moved to Maine from New York City where he managed the Mysterious Book Shop.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a report on some of the new food trucks set to open this year.

By April, according to Portland city records, 21 food trucks had been licensed or renewed their licenses, with another 11 licenses pending. On top of that, nearly 15 newcomers have announced plans to hit the road this summer, serving tacos, fish and chips, vegan comfort food, lobster rolls, burritos and banh mi. That’s nearly 50 food trucks that will be roaming the Greater Portland area this summer. Why so many?