Arabica Coffee has permanently closed their location on Commercial Street. They are relocating their bakery to their Free Street coffee shop which is scheduled to re-open on June 1st.
Arabica is also in the process of leasing a new space for their roastery which will also include a new coffee bar. Additional details on the new location will be released later.
Boston magazine reports that Definitive Brewing is expanding to Kittery.
For Definitive Brewing Company, the past month has been a rollercoaster. The almost-2-year-old brewery has temporarily closed its Portland, Maine taproom, and completely changed its business model to focus on to-go sales and home delivery in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The owners have also continued to oversee buildout of a second Definitive location in Kittery, which cofounder and CEO Michael Rankin expects to open soon after the government allows businesses to reopen.
A new coffee shop called Burundi Star Coffee (facebook) is under construction at 261 Saint John Street in the space formerly occupied by Huong’s Ice Cream. As the name suggests, Burundi Star will feature coffee from Burundi.
A new food cart selling Hawaiian shaved ice will be opening this spring. Haole Ice (instagram, facebook) is the creation of Julie and Don Martin who got inspired to open the cart while on a trip to Hawaii for a wedding. They plan to serve “the traditional pineapple, strawberry, lychee and mango to macha tea, sage and passion fruit, basil, sweet corn, and – in tribute to Maine – blueberry and maple.” according to a report in the Press Herald.
It looks like Opening Season may be starting early this year:
Many other restaurants, brewers, bakers, coffee shops, etc are still under construction—here’s the full list.
Helm (website, instagram, facebook), the new oyster bar and bistro under construction on first floor of the new WEX building on Thames Street, has applied for a liquor license. Here’s a look at the draft menu and floor plan.
Helm will be holding a pop-up at the West End Tandem on Sunday March 8th. Details and tickets are available on the Helm website.
The floor plan includes an oyster bar and outdoor seating:
Cong Tu Bot owners Jessica Sheahan and Vien Dobui have leased 300 sq ft of additional space at 75 Washington Ave to expand the CTB kitchen.
A larger kitchen will enable Cong Tu Bot to add a lunch service which has been part of the vision for the business since it opened. It will also provide the room to bring online the in-house production of wheat noodles for the Mi Quang dish (“wheat noodles w/rice noodles, pork, shrimp, peanuts, less broth”) which has been an unrealized part of the menu since 2017.
Dobui and Sheehan hope to have construction completed and launch the lunch service before the start of summer. The lunch options will initially be similar to the menu served for dinner but the plan is to eventually add lunch-only dishes.
The Whiskey Barrel has announced plans to rename as The Yard and expand from their early focus on country music to a more diverse set of musical acts.They also plan to add a full kitchen and begin serving “gourmet smashed burgers, (lobster rolls and vegan options)” as well as a courtyard and a rooftop deck.
Elda (website, instagram) chef/owner Bowman Brown has leased space in the Pepperell Mill Campus in Biddeford. Brown will be taking over building 19A with plans to relocate his restaurant to the 2nd floor, and add bakery and cafe at street level. There are also long term plans to open a second restaurant with a different concept on the 3rd floor next winter.
The new location is situated on Main Street opposite from Lorne Wine. Construction is now underway, and Brown hopes to open the 48-seat Elda 2.0 in early June.
Brown moved to Maine from Salt Lake City where he was the co-owner and chef of Forage (instagram). He was recognized as part of the 2011 class of Best New Chefs by Food & Wine. Additionally, Brown was six time Beard semifinalists in the Best Chef: Southwest from 2011 to 2016.
Elda was named one of the Best New Restaurants in America by Bill Addison at Eater in 2018, and was the feature of a New York Times article in that same year. It earned a 4 1/2 star review from the Maine Sunday Telegram restaurant critic Andrew Ross.
The opening of Elda and now its expanded vision and new location are part of the ongoing evolution of Biddeford’s restaurant and food culture. The city (pop. 21,000) is home to Rabelais Books, Palace Diner, Elda, Magnus on Water, Lorne Wine, Night Moves Bread, Banded Brewing, Round Turn Distilling, Sweet Cream Dairy, two coffee roasters/shops (Time and Tide, Elements) , Big Tree Hospitality’s commissary kitchen and a number of other restaurants and food producers. Keep your eye on Biddeford, there’s no doubt more to come.
A new vegan restaurant called Robin’s Table (website, facebook, instagram) is under construction in Biddeford.
Robin’s Table with serve breakfast and lunch as well as offer cooking classes to “teach the ‘hows and whys’ of vegan transitioning” and provide a meeting space for community events. Owner Robin Adams plans to serve familiar, homestyle dishes and baked goods that just happen to be vegan.
Adams previously owned the Adams Homestyle restaurant in Salem, NH. She’s a longtime adherent to a plant-centered diet.
Robin’s table is located at 420 Elm Street. Adams is hoping to open Robin’s Table sometime in February.