Category: Under Construction

Two more food trucks have announced plans to launch this year in Portland:

Paddy Wagon (instagram) plans to be located outside Free Range Fish and Lobster on Commercial Street. Owners Luke Benning and David McGuirk will be serving “traditional pub fare” such as fish and chips, battered sausages, and chip butties with a marbled egg. On Saint Patrick’s Day they will also be running a bangers and mash special. McGuirk is from Dublin Ireland, he and Benning have both worked together at the Westin, Saltwater Grille and the Woodlands Club.

Curbside Comfort (instagram) will be serving “plant-based vegan comfort food”. The menu is still under development but will include items such as “mac & cheese with various toppings” and vegan soft-serve ice cream. Owners Suzanne and Trent Grace hope to launch in June.

There’s been  a significant uptick in food trucks and carts planning to launch this year. With these two this brings the count of new/expading mobile food businesses up to 15. See our Under Construction page for a complete list of projects under development right now…and stay tuned for more announcements over the next couple months as more go public.

A new business called Lokahi Foods (instagram) is under development. Lokahi will be a takeout business selling vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free desserts with flavors that will include: triple berry, strawberry chocolate, raspberry lemon, and chocolate hazelnut.

Owner Jelena Cesljarac plans to launch Lokahi in April. In the meantime follow Lokahi on instagram to stay in the loop on their development and get a look at their desserts.

Binga’s Stadium (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has leased 949 Forest Ave and will be converting the former Maelily & Ryleigh’s into an off-peninsula outpost of their location on Free Street, and will be closing their location on Free Street.

The furniture, equipment and fixtures at the Free Street location are for sale for $85,000 and the 17,000 sq ft space is for lease at $4/sq ft (NNN).

According to a report in the Press Herald, “The new Portland location of the Binga’s Wingas restaurant chain, which specializes in wings, will be more like its other neighborhood locations in Yarmouth, Windham and Old Orchard Beach, a press release said.”

Earlier this week when Cheevitdee announced they would be permanently closing their Old Port restaurant the message ended on a hopeful note with, “The spirit of Cheevitdee lives on. Details in the near future.”

That “near future” has arrived and it’s a pleasure to share the news that some of the same team involved in Cheevitdee and its sister restaurant Mi Sen are launching a new Portland restaurant named Mitr (facebook, instagram).

When it opens later this year Mitr will serve a menu of Ping Yang style Thai food. According to Mitr, “Ping Yang style typically means grilled or charbroiled. In Thailand, these techniques are very popular for street food and you can find them just about any corner of the street of every part of Thailand. Sometimes on skewers, sometime it’s a grill meat as a whole. Marinaded and grilled to perfection presenting you with rich aromas. Oftentimes, the meals will be enjoy with various sauces you can choose.”

Follow Mitr on instagram to learn about the restaurant’s future location and on an upcoming pop-up.

The Press Herald has publisihed a report on Arcadia’s move to Congress Street.

Pinball machines and classic arcade games, like Skee Ball and Centipede, are being transported from Arcadia National Bar’s current location on Preble Street in Portland to the former home of Port City Music Hall on Congress Street – a move that Arcadia co-owner David Aceto said he felt he had to make to save the business.

A food cart called The Shuck Wagon (instagram) is planning to expand their mobile oyster shucking business this summer.

In 2020 The Shuck Wagon was onsite at some Portland area breweries including Fore River, Austin Street and Bunker Brewing. This year they’re building a second food cart that they hope to locate along the Portland waterfront and use for catering.

The Shuck Wagon is run by Spartan Sea Farms, an aquaculture operation in Freeport that farms oysters, scallops, quahogs, and kelp.

A new food truck called Cheese the Day (facebook, instagram) is being launched by Aaron Milberger.

Initially Milberger will be operating at Forever Two Wheels in Windham but will be adding dates in Portland as the year progresses. Weather permitting he hopes to launch in the first week of April.

The concept for Cheese the Day is “grilled cheese for adults made with regionally sourced, seasonal, fresh, quality ingredients, with a bit of indulgence.”

Arcadia has announced plans to move their Preble Street barcade to new, much larger digs in the 17,000 sq ft space formerly occupied by Port City Music Hall at 504 Congress St.

To help fund the move, Aceto has launched a $40,000 crowdfunding campaign on Go Fund Me. As of the writing of this article, supporters have already raised $20,000+ of the goal. To make a contribution visit the Go Fund Me page for Arcadia.

As reported back in January, a new brewery called Belleflower Brewing (website, facebook, instagram) has taken over the former Brewery Extrava space in East Bayside. Owners Zach Page, Melissa Page, Nick Bonadies and Katie Bonadies plan on launching later this year producing a line-up of hoppy beers and stouts to start.

Belleflower has now applied for a liquor license. In the cover letter submitted with the application they’ve indiciated that they will offer wine, cider and non-alcoholic drinks in addition to their house-made beer, and will have a changing menu of “pre-packaged snacks from local vendors”. The draft menu includes a cheese and charcuterie board from The Cheese Shop.