Category: Under Construction

A new cocktail bar called Proper Charlie’s is under development at 26 Exchange Street.

Owner and Maine native Joshua Miranda “hopes to appeal to Portland’s more refined cocktail consumer” and “bring a modern interpretation of a classic cocktail bar to one of our City’s more iconic thoroughfares.”

Here’s an excerpt of the draft cocktail menu (page 38) supplied with the liquor license application,

and the draft food menu (page 40).

The Press Herald has published an article on a new Food Studies program at USM,

The University of Southern Maine is launching a food studies program next spring to provide a broad, liberal arts-style education in food and offer at least 30 paid internships a year to students who want to try working in food-related businesses or anti-hunger organizations in Maine.

as has the Bangor Daily News.

The first of its kind in the state, USM’s Food Studies Program will launch as an undergraduate minor in the spring semester, and cover subjects such as the economics of Maine’s thriving microbreweries and how public policy might improve food insecurity in the state. The university plans to expand the program over the next two years to include graduate-level courses, a graduate certificate program in food studies and internship placements for students in the various food enterprises around Portland.

For more detail see the original proposal to establish the program (82 pages).

It’s been nearly a full year since news broke about Second Pint Brewing (website, facebook, twitter).

The owners have posted an update on facebook explaining that their original location in East Bayside has fallen through, and that while their opening has been delayed but they’re still working towards launching Second Pint.

Chris and Paige Gould, co-owners of Central Provisions, have applied for a liquor license for their new restaurant Tipo.

Tipo is going to be a full service restaurant offering traditional Italian fare to the local community…We are hoping to provide the Back Cove community with a neighborhood spot to stop for a wood fired pizza, homemade pasta dish, and a small selection of beer, wine and Italian inspired cocktails.

Tipo will be located at 182 Ocean Ave in the former Borealis Bakery. Plans call for it to seat 48 including a 9-seat bar (see floor plan below). Chef Mike Smith and Robyn Lungo have joined the Tipo team as the chef and front of house manager for the restaurant.

Here’s a look at the draft menu provided with the application (click to enlarge):

The Goulds hope to open in December or January, serving dinner Wednesday through Sunday with plans to eventually open for weekend brunch.

Eater has included Krista Kern Desjarlais’ upcoming bakery/cafe The Purple House in their list of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the fall.

At the aptly named Purple House, cooking will be fueled only by the small bakery’s wood-fired oven; mornings will begin with Montreal-style bagels and a serious coffee program, really the only one in town. Other “rustic breakfast pastries” will follow suit, and as the oven’s temperature cools down, more delicate baked goods will be prepared mid-morning. Come lunch time, the menu will switch to Roman-style pizza, hearth breads like boule and baguettes, and vegetables.

A new Thai restaurant called Cheevitdee is under construction at 363 Fore Street on the corner of Fore and Market.

Urban Eye reports that Scratch will be converting one of the buildings at their new Broadway facility into a toast bar,

Is this the greatest thing since sliced bread? A toast bar run by Scratch Baking Co. opens this fall in a former garage that happens to resemble a toaster. “It will have black handles soon,” says a buoyant Bob Johnson, co-owner of the Willard Square bakery a few blocks away.

The one-two punch includes the takeover of a Getty Gas Station on Broadway in South Portland’s Ferry Village for Scratch’s new bread and bagel production HQ. A few steps away a former oil and lube shop is converting into a toast bar.

For more information on Scratch’s expansion plans see this article in the Press Herald from back in April.

Nicholas Nappi and fellow Local 188 restaurant group colleague Gary Bowcott  are holding a pop-up for Black Cow on September 5th to share their “vision for a return to good old days of the soda fountain”. The menu for the pop-up will include burgers, fries and ice cream floats.

Nappi and Bowcott have been working on their project to launch a “re-imagining of the classic soda fountain” for the last year. Nappi is current a consulting chef for the restaurant group and in the past has been the chef de cuisine at Local 188 and has worked at Eventide and Hugo’s.

Tickets for the Black Cow pop-up are for sale on BrownPaperTickets.com for $20 per person.

Vien Dobui and Jessica Sheahan have leased a 1600 sq ft space at 55 Washington Avenue where they plan to open Cong Tu Bot (Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter), a Pho noodle bar. Dobui and Sheehan ran a few Cong Tu Bot pop-up dinners back in 2013 and I can say from personal experience that Vien’s noodles and soup are outstanding. I am very excited to see opening day for this new venture.

They’re planning a casual, moderately priced restaurant that customers want to, and can afford to make a regular destination. Cong Tu Bot will be open 10am to 10pm serving primarily lunch and dinner items but with some breakfast dishes in the mix and takeout will be available.

Vien was the first employee and a former partner at Tandem. He’s currently cooking at Palace Diner. A fellow Blue Bottle alum, Joseph Zohn, will be moving to Portland from Los Angeles to work as the sous chef at Cong Tu Bot. Zohn has also cooked at Reynard and at Marco’s in Brooklyn.

Jessica will be the GM for Cong Tu Bot. She has 9 years of experience both in front and back of house in the restaurant industry, both in  San Francisco and Portland.

Dobui and Sheahan are hoping to open sometime in early 2017.