Candy’s (website, instagram), the queer community hub under construction at 34 Portland Street has included a draft menu (below) for their cafe along with their liquor license.
Milo Degoosh will be joining the Candy’s team as the Director of Coffee where he plans to serve coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab, a roaster from Arkansas.
Candy’s hopes to open sometime in late summer.
If you’ve walked down Washington Ave in the last couple of months you’re sure to have noticed the papered windows of the former Coffee by Design location 43 Washington Ave. Construction has been underway for a while and I’m happy to now to be able to share it’s slated to be the future home of Anoche (website, instagram) a cider and spirits bar being opened by longtime Novare Res manager Erika Colby.
In addition to cider and spirits, Colby is also planning to serve a menu of Basque-inspired food centered on pinxtos, tapas-style snacks that are traditionally served on bread with the topping spiked to the base with a small skewer.
Colby shared with me that she started this project with “a simple love for ciders” and it grew from there to encompass the full vision of a cider, spirits bar serving food from the Basque region of Spain. She’s found it a very rewarding process to start with a blank canvas and work to envision the final product of space, service, food and drinks, putting to use what she’s learned from years in the industry.
Colby is “excited to offer Portland something a little different” and hopes to open Anoche in late August.
Black Dinah Chocolatiers has leased space in the Westin Hotel where they plan to open a retail shop by early July.
Black Dinah Chocolatiers at the Westin Portland Harborview will offer boxed assortments of our handmade chocolate confections, and will be a touch point for visitors and Portlanders alike to learn about our use of carefully sourced direct trade chocolates, and our partnerships with Maine dairy and cheese producers, and Maine farmers and foragers.
The Press Herald has published an article on Chicago Michelin star chef Ryan McCaskey and his project to open Acadia House Provisions, a restaurant in Stonington Maine.
Acadia House Provisions will be the more casual little sister of Acadia in Chicago, with a more accessible menu and a price point designed to lure locals. While a tasting menu at Acadia costs $185 – plus another $125 per person for wine pairings – McCaskey expects diners at Acadia House Provisions will be able to eat a burger-and-a-beer lunch for about $20 and enjoy a dinner that includes lobster for around $30. Acadia House Provisions will have no “tweezered food,” McCaskey said.
A new food truck called Twist (instagram) is under development. Twist is a collaboration between Melissa Lombardi a former manager at Woodford F&B, and Dan Zarin, the longtime writer of the Breakfast Serial column in The Bollard/Mainer.
Twist will be serving custom-blended ice cream and shakes made to order, “mixing in everything from Maine blueberries to fruity pebbles to wasabi peas”.
Lombardi and Zarin hope to launch early this summer. You can contact them at info@portlandtwist.com about catering options for weddings, corporate parties, or other private events.
A new food truck called Tacos La Poblanita (instagram) is under development and the owners hope to open in the next few weeks. They’ll be serving “authentic Mexican street food” including tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
Candy’s (website, instagram) has leased the 3,724 sq ft 3-story building at 34 Portland St for their queer community hub which will include a cafe and a bar.
Milo Degoosh will be joining the Candy’s team as the Director of Coffee where he plans to serve coffee from Onyx Coffee Lab, a roaster from Arkansas.
Candy’s hopes to open sometime in late summer.
Yadie Ting (facebook, instagram) a Jamaican eatery has leased the former Maiz space in the Public Market House. Yardie Ting serves “authentic Jamaican dishes with a modern twist , using fresh local ingredients and homemade rubs and spices.”
A couple of new openings have been announced:
The Sunday Telegram has published a rundown of restaurants opening this summer in Southern Maine.
Next weekend marks the unofficial start of the Maine tourist season, and every year new restaurants scramble to open in time for the influx of visitors, hoping to get a big, juicy slice of that economic pie. Open by Memorial Day, the feeling goes among restaurateurs, and hopefully the opening kinks can be worked out by the time the crowds really start to swell in July.