Category: Under Construction

A bookstore/coffee shop/bar called Quill Books & Beverage (facebook, instagram) is under construction in Westbrook. Owners Matthew Irving and Allison Krzanowski have leased space at One Westbrook Common.

Irving has worked for several years as a bartender at Lolita in Portland and Krzanowski is a weaver. At Quill they’ll 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 for small snacks.

Quill plans to 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”.

A new brewery called Stars and Stripes Brewing Co. (website, facebook, instagram) is under development in the Portland area. Owner Brad Nadeau is a retired Marine. He plans to donate a percentage of proceeds to veteran related organizations and families.

Nadeau plans to open sometime this Winter.

Sagamore Hill Lounge (website), a new “high-end cocktail with outdoor, seasonal, sidewalk seating,” is under construction at 130 Park Street in the lobby of the Lafayette Building at the corner with Congress Street.

Owners Ryan Deskins and Michael Savona hail from Newton, Pennsylvania. They hope to open Sagamore Hill in April.

The Portland Pottery Cafe has applied for a liquor license. They plan on adding dinner hours when they’ll operate under the name Lena’s and serve an Italian menu. You can see a draft menu for Lena’s on page 72 of Monday’s City Council packet.

Blue Lobster Wine Co. (facebook, website, instagram) launched their wholesale business in September and is now planning to open a tasting room at their location at 219 Anderson Street.

Bow Street Distributing has purchased 495 Forest Ave where they plan to open The Tasting Room. They plan to use for “beer, wine and liquor tastings and trainings”.

Highroller Lobster Company has announced plans to open a brick and mortar restaurant. The restaurant will be located at 104 Exchange Street in the former Portland Meatball Company space.

Owners Baxter Key and Andy Gerry launched their first food cart in June 2015. They’ve been a fixture at tasting rooms in the Portland area and have added a second cart on Commercial Street. Key and Gerry are working with Peter Bissell on this project to as they put it “make this place SLAP!”

Mac Luv (instagram, facebook) is the name of a food delivery service under development that plans to focus solely on the production and delivery of mac ‘n’ cheese.

Owner Kristen Ouellette plans to deliver “warm, gooey, homemade mac and cheese” to Gorham, Portland, South Portland, and Westbrook. The draft menu includes both regular and vegan options with bacon, green onions, buffalo sauce and BBQ sauce as choices for toppings.

News broke Monday that Lone Pine Brewing will be taking over the Sebago Brewing facility when Sebago moves to a new 31,000 sq ft space next year.

Lone Pine has purchased Sebago Brewing Co.’s facility in Gorham, the companies announced Monday. The move represents an aggressive expansion for Lone Pine, which has existed for only 16 months. It brewed 11,844 gallons of beer in 2016, according to data provided by the state; Sebago brewed 327,408 gallons – fifth-most in the state – at the Gorham brewery in 2016.

Update: The BDN has also posted an article about Lone Pine’s expansion plans.

Omi’s is moving forward with their plans to open a new coffee shop at 372 Cottage Ave in South Portland. They will close their West End location when the shop in South Portland opens.