Category: Under Construction

We’re already seeing hints of Spring and along with the crocuses a number of new restaurants are breaking through the surface due to open mid-year. Here’s highlights of some of the more high profile ventures in development. For a full list of projects you can always check the Under Construction List. Of course, new restaurant projects are getting started all the time so stay tuned.

Bob’s Clam Hut – 109 Cumberland Ave
Michael Landgarten has purchased the former Three Buoys building at the corner of Washington and Cumberland where he’s planning to open a second location of Bob’s Clam Hut. The building is undergoing significant renovation and Landgarten hopes to have it ready for an opening in time for the summer tourist season. Bob’s has been in business since 1956. They’re promising to serve up “fresh, classic fried seafood with straightforward, award-winning simplicity”. More Info

Forage Market – 123 Washington Ave
Forage has has leased space at 123 Washington Ave where they plan to open a Portland branch of their popular Lewiston bakery and cafe. Owner Allen Smith is excited to open on Washington Ave because as he explains, “it feels like a place we can be part of a neighborhood and get to know our customers by name. And we love the camaraderie of the amazing group of food entrepreneurs already on the street.” Forage is perhaps best know for their bagels which Saveur tipped for the best in the country. In addition, Smith and his team lead by Portland store manager Laura Posiak also plans to serve breakfast sandwiches and hand-made pastries in the morning and European-style market sandwiches along with soups and salads for lunch. Smith has ordered a wood-fired masonry oven from Spain which recently arrived in the US and is on its way to Portland. Smith plans to open Forage “as soon as the mortar is dry”.

Lio – 3-5 Spring St
Chef Cara Stadler chef/owner of Bao Bao and Tao Yuan leased space at 6 City Center last year to open a wine-driven restaurant called Lio (instagram, facebook) “where the focus falls on wine first, with cuisine created to match”. The first floor of the space will house a companion retail store where diners can buy wines served at the restaurant. The name Lio is the word for 6 in Mandarin. Early PR for the restaurant indicated Lio will serve “a meticulously curated wine list, drawing inspiration from wine regions around the globe, and a menu that will be seasonally inspired and designed to complement the wines.” Stadler recently shared a look at the floor plans on instagram. The restaurant was initially slated to open last year but the schedule was impacted by construction delays.

Paciarino– 505 Fore St
Owners Enrico Barbiero and Fabiana de Savino have leased the former Zapoteca space where they plan to open a new restaurant which will serve Paciarino pasta as well as “brick-oven pizza, risotto, arancini, gnocchi and other items”. The couple plan to retain their current space on Fore Street where they’ll operate an expanded retail store for their products. They hope to open the new restaurant in May.

Sagamore Hill – 150 Park St
Owner Ryan Deskins is transforming the lobby of the former Lafayette Hotel building into a new cocktail bar called Sagamore Hill (website, instagram). As you might have guessed from the name of the bar, the Deskins is a fan of Teddy Roosevelt, and the nation’s 26th president is a touchstone for the design and cocktail menu. Sagamore will seat 96 overall, including sidewalk seating for 38 during the warmer months. Kaplan Thompson are the architects and Burnham & Lobozzo the contractors. Might & Main has been hired to handle branding and design.

 

The Bier Cellar is opening a second location at 593 Main Street in Gorham.

We will spend the next couple of months building out the new location right on Route 25, located near Lone Pine’s new space as well as the beautiful new Sebago Brewing complex and right down the road from Mast Landing in Westbrook. We want to be a part of making Gorham a craft beer mecca just like we have watched the City Of Portland became one of the best craft beer destinations in the United States since we opened in 2012.

 

Paul and son Rocco Severino are opening the Sportsman’s Kitchen & Keg (facebook, instagram) in Sebago Lake. The restaurant is an “homage to Portland’s old Sportsman’s Grill” which was located at 905-911 Congress Street. The original Sportsman’s had a long run from 1952 – 1999.

The Sentry reports that Cousins Maine Lobster will locate a truck this summer in Fort Williams Park. Bite Into Maine which has been in the park since 2011 will continue to operate in the park in their usual location.

According to Public Works Director Robert Malley, Site A, which was previously located at a 50-square-foot site on the south side of the circle, was moved to accommodate winning bidder Cousins Maine Lobster, a franchise food truck business. The truck will be stationed next to Site B, also 90 square feet, designated for Gorgeous Gelato.

Update: The Forecaster has posted an update on the Cousins food truck.

Mainebiz has published an update on Brickyard Hollow Brewing in Yarmouth.

Brickyard Hollow is owned by Brad Moll and Frank Grondin, both of Yarmouth, and will be the town’s first craft brewery. It will also have a full bar and food and a covered outdoor beer garden. The name comes from early in the village’s history, when a depression in the land was filled and became a town gathering place.

A new business called The Cheese Shop of Portland (instagram, facebook) is under development. Owners Mary and Will Sissle plan to locate on Washington Ave with a target opening date in late June.

The Sissles met when the pair worked at Cowgirl Creamery in the San Francisco Bay Area. Most recently they were on the staff at Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge where Will was the international cheese buyer and Mary worked in the shop and handled their media relations. Mary Sissle is a originally from Maine having grown up in Cape Elizabeth. Will Sissle is an ACS Certified Cheese Professional.

The Cheese Shop will be one of the first businesses to be located in Black Box, a retail space slated for the corner of Washington Ave and Marion Street built out of shipping containers. Developer Jed Harris has conceived of Black Box as a start-up space for new retail businesses.

Quill Books & Beverage (facebook, instagram), the new bookstore/bar/coffee shop located at One Westbrook Common in Westbrook is now open and plans to hold a grand opening this Saturday.

Owners Matthew Irving and Allison Krzanowski will be serving cocktails as well as bagels, baked goods, yogurt and oatmeal for breakfast, and sandwiches and salads for lunch, as well as a line-up of toasts, cheeses and charcuterie. The bookstore will stock a “diverse selection of carefully curated gently used books, including many recent titles” and will host “author and poetry readings, book clubs, and a weekly board game night”.

The new Veranda restaurant in Westbrook, Veranda Kitchen & Bar, is scheduled to open on March 20th.

This will make the fifth location of the Veranda business group. The original restaurant, Veranda Thai, opened in the space that had been formerly occupied by Espans Quick Lunch on Veranda Street in May 2008.

The GM of the Veranda group recently leased retail property in South Portland so it looks like a sixth location is in the works.

Than Pham, the general manager of the Veranda Group, has leased a 1,881 square foot space at 740 Broadway in South Portland, presumably to open a South Portland Veranda Thai restaurant. Veranda currently has a a new restaurant under construction at 672 Main Street in Westbrook.

740 Broadway is in the same strip mall where Two Fat Cats plans to open a second location.