New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
- A new Camden coffee shop and cafe called the Villager Cafe (website, instagram) is scheduled to launch in April. The cafe will serve breakfast and lunch (see menu) and will have a number of grab and go food options. The venue will also host a regular programs to discuss current events and topics of community interest. The business is being launched by Islandport Media which publishes a variety of local newspapers including the Midcoast Villager.
- The owners of Bandaloop (website, facebook, instagram) have announced in a Youtube video that they are seeking a buyer for their Arundel restaurant property. They plan to continue to operate Bandaloop until they find a buyer.
- Edible Maine has published articles about La Laiterie/Flora in Machias, and about the new crop of businesses in the Midcoast—First Fig, Ida’s, Winona’s and Lucky Betty’s—that are “Redefining What it Means to Gather.”
- Rick Boyd, the owner of Backwoods Burger Shack in Gorham is launching Wonderdogs (website) in Naples this summer. Wonderdogs will serve a menu of hot dog sandwiches on poppyseed buns like The Stray Dog which is topped with tomato, kosher dill, sport pepper, neon relish, onions, mustard and celery salt. The menu also includes a variety of loaded baked potatoes and Boyd is working on some novel flavored cotton candy like Spicy Pickle and Chili-Watermelon. Wonderdogs is set to open May 7th. It will be located at 852 Roosevelt Trail in the same building as Rick’s Cafe.
- The Harpswell Anchor reports that the Fishnet Cafe (facebook, instagram) on Bailey Island is under new ownership. Ashley and Ray DeSilva plan to re-open the cafe in May. The article reports that Ashley DeSilva has experience working as “an executive chef for seven years and cooking professionally for 20, having worked in Portland and California’s Napa Valley.”
- The Greene Village Bakery (facebook) recently opened for business. Owner Rachel Bushey sells a variety of baked goods as well as quiche, and breakfast sandwiches in the morning, and for lunch has sandwiches, soups and salads. Cakes, pies and other treats are also available. You can see the full menu on their facebook page: page 1, page 2. The bakery is located at 19 Patten Road and is open Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 6 am – 4 pm and Saturday, 8 am – 2 pm.
- Malcolm Bedell has announced he’s closing his Tenants Harbor restaurant Ancho Honey. In the nearly 2,000 word statement Bedell shares his thought process and considerations in making the decision to close. Bedell’s second restaurant, Honey’s Fried Chicken Palace, opened last year in Thomaston and will remain in business.
For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.