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A new business called Old Port Nutrition (instagram) opened on Monday at 23 Temple Street. They are open Monday thru Friday 7 – 3.
Owner Angie Drinkwater is serving up a menu of tea and shakes with flavors like Sour Gummy Worm (tea) and Lemon Pound Cake (shake). With add-ons like collagen and probiotics for the teas, and protein and fiber for the shakes.
Cellardoor Winery (website, facebook, instagram) is opening their Portland tasting room on Thursday. The new tasting room is located at the corner of Middle and Church Streets in the Old Port. Cellardoor shut down their former tasting room on Thompson’s Point late last year.
They plan to be open Thursday, 3 – 7, Friday and Saturday, 12 – 7, and Sunday, 12 – 5.
After 15 years Big Sky has decided to close their operation in the Public Market House effective November 24th. A statement posted in the Market House reads in part,
…We have been on Monument Square for 15 years and it was a difficult decision to close the store. Unfortunately, the store was unable to rebound from the pandemic. As you know, many office workers in the downtown area are now working remotely and it appears that trend will continue for the foreseeable future. In addition, some businesses have left the downtown area and the result is that our core customers – downtown workers – has substantially diminished. IT is unclear if this will turnaround at some point, but it made sense to close rather than renewing our lease…
The Maker’s Galley (website, facebook, instagram) is set to open this Saturday at 5 Commercial Street. The Maker’s Galley is billed as a “tasting lounge, café, and marketplace” that is an “experiential space showcasing products by Maine makers, artisans, and farmers.”
The Maker’s Galley is a multi-functional venue which includes a café, gift shop, full-service chefs’ kitchen, tasting tables, and casual seating. Open Tuesday through Sunday, the café offers Maine specialty coffees, as well as pastries and homemade bagels made by executive chef, Arianna Stefanilo. A curated collection of Maine-made food products including local cheeses, meats, and pantry products will also be available. The gift shop will feature unique products created by Maine makers and artisans.
Stefanilo was previously the executive chef at Blyth & Burrows and Novare Res, and a pastry chef at Becky’s Diner. The opening menu for Maker’s Galley includes a chacuterie board, whipped feta with tomato jam, mushrooms sautéed with sherry and garlic, and lobster lettuce wraps.
The Maker’s Galley plans to launch an event series in January that will include monthly guest chef experiences, wine dinners, cooking classes and Meet the Makers and Meet the Author events. Starting Saturday its hours will be 9 – 6 on Tuesday, 9 – 8 on Wednesday through Saturday, and 10 – 5 on Sunday.
Monday – Natalie DiBenedetto closed up her West End fried chicken restaurant Figgy’s back in July. She’s now doing a Figgy’s pop-up dinner out of Fork Food Lab next Monday. Fork has a full calendar of November pop-ups by Niyat (6th, 7th, 13th, 20th, 21st), Milk Bottle and Port Box Co (10th, 24th), Little Brother (19th). Maine Beer Company will be releasing Little Whaleboat IPA, a new beer to highlight their support of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust efforts to conserve three islands in Casco Bay, and chef Cara Stadler is teaching a cooking class.
Wednesday – Evo and Liquid Riot are collaborating on a beer dinner, Devenish Wines will be leading an Italian wine tasting at Maine & Loire.
Thursday – Sean Wilkinson from Might & Main and Will Fisher from Austin Street are giving a presentation at AIGA Maine on Beer and Better Brewing.
Friday – Ghee (instagram) will be serving Indian street food at Apres.
Saturday – it’s the grand opening of The Maker’s Galley, Brad Leone will be at the Oyster Shop to celebrate the release of his new book Field Notes for Food Adventure, and SoPo Seafood will be teaching an oyster shucking class.
November 17 – Evo is holding a Rhone wine dinner, and Cheese Louise and Belleflower are holding a 4-course beer dinner.
November 21 – Lorne Wine is holding a Fete du Beaujolais at Broadturn Farm, and Rwanda Bean, Sinful Kitchen and Mrs Gluten Free Living are collaborating on a gluten free brunch.
November 24 – the last day of the regular season of the Portland Farmers’ Market. The Winter Market will start on Saturday December 4th and will be located once again at 631 Stevens Ave.
Thanksgiving – 30+ restaurants and other food producers have announced their Thanksgiving offerings and more are being added to the list each day:
Daybreak Growers Alliance (website, instagram) and CarHop (website, instagram) are teaming up to deliver produce, meats and other products from 60+ Maine farmers and food producers to homes in the Greater Portland area.
Daybreak represents a group of Maine farms and independently owned food producers working together to bring you the best of Maine’s harvest. A Maine and women-owned and managed company, Daybreak distributes 300+ local and organic products from 60+ Maine farmers and food producers year round to Maine families through their Farm Box program and wholesale to Maine restaurants and retailers.
The new service will launch just in time for Thanksgiving—see the list in the article above for how to order farm and butcher boxes for your Thanksgiving meal through CarHop.
Welcome to the November 2021 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers/retailers to locate their next business.
Even during the pandemic many people are pursuing their dreams and opening new food businesses. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this new resource will make that step just a little bit easier.
West End
235 Vaughan St – the 700 sq ft space most recently occupied by Other Side Deli and which had been the longtime home of Vaughan Street Variety is for lease. Call (207) 650-0846 for more information.
101 York St – 7,391 sq ft of a 15,000 sq ft sub-dividable space in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $15-20/sq ft (NNN). The space already has a hood vent and grease traps installed.
Arts District
554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $17.04/sq ft (NNN).
555 Congress St – the former Five Fifty-Five building is for sale for $2,400,000.
Bayside
170 Anderson St – 2,000 – 3,500 sq ft in East Bayside available for $15/sq ft (NNN).
15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.
360 Cumberland Ave – two spaces (900 sq ft on Cumberland Ave and a 1,000 sq ft space in a building set back from the street) are available for $24-25/sq ft (NNN).
31 Diamond St – this 2,800 – 22,034 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).
178 Kennebec St – 4 retail spaces (1,800 – 5,314 sq ft) on the first floor of a new building for $30/sq ft (NNN).
Old Port
1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).
30 Danforth St – 3 units (1,800, 1,881, 2,900 sq ft) are for lease at $2,900 – $3,950/month (MG).
446 Fore St – 1,600 – 3,400 sq ft in the former Pearl space with entrances on Wharf and Fore Streets is available for $30-40/sq ft (MG).
505 Fore St – The 2,996 sq ft former Pizzarino space is available for $24/sq ft (NNN).
40 Free St – A new building is under construction on Free Street by JB Brown. The first floor will have 4/5 storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft. The construction is expected to be completed in 2021. The rate is $30/sq ft (NNN).
5 India St – 1,250 – 2,500 sq ft for $30/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction near the intersection wiith Commercial St.
38 Market St – a 1,200 subterranean space near the intersection with Milk Street for $1,175/month (MG).
55 Market St – this 3,700 sq ft space on Market Street was formerly occupied by the Big Easy. It’s available for $24/sq ft (NNN).
111 Middle St – this 1,600 sq ft space has a storied past as the former location of Piccolo and before that Bresca. It’s available for $3,500/month (NNN), the building is also for sale.
157 Middle St –1,071 – 6,356 sq ft for $27.95/sq ft (MG).
1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space for $3,125/month (MG).
25 Pearl St – 1,689 sq ft former Subway space available for $30/sq ft (MG).
1 Pleasant St – 850 sq ft of space adjacent to Hi Bombay for $4,000/month (NNN).
3 Portland Square – This new building will include 2,500 – 20,000 square feet of retail space for$28.50/sq ft.
3 Spring St – the 2,554 – 3,500 sq ft former Lio space is available at $19/sq ft (NNN).
41 Wharf St – the former Jager space is available; 1,107 sq ft for $43/sq ft (MG).
42 Wharf St – this 3,770 sq ft space in the Old Port includes a 2,000 sq ft patio, $45/sq ft (MG).
India/Washington Ave
100 Fore St – 1,914 sq ft of space that the listing says is “ideally suited for a restaurant use” for $27-30/sq ft (NNN).
22 Hancock St – 978 sq ft for $2,300/month (MG).
Forest Ave
333 Forest Ave – a 2,468 retail space is available for $16/sq ft (MG).
701 Forest Ave – this former Rite Aid building is being converted and has 4 retail spaces available for $16-20/sq ft (NNN).
945 Forest Ave – 500-5,510 sq ft of space in the former Photo Market building for $12/sq ft (NNN).
1190 Forest Ave – located right in the center of Morrill’s Corner. 3,000 – 5,082 sq ft at $12 – 20/sq ft (NNN).
1569 Forest Ave – a 1,400 sq ft “soon to be completed restaurant/retail building” is available on outer Forest Ave.
Other
170 Brighton Ave – a 2,173 sq ft free-standing building which most recently was home to D Ajan’s Market, includes parking; $22/sq ft.
865 Brighton Ave – a 1,232 sq ft former gas station/quick market is for sale for $400,000.
437 Congress St – 1,000 sq ft for $20/sq ft (MG).
441 Congress St – The 2,400 sq ft former home of Guitar Grave across the street from 1 Monument Square is available for $20/sq ft.
1020 Congress St – a 3,374 service station that is going to be “redeveloped as part a planned mixed use development”. The finished space will be available for $18/sq ft (NNN).
88 Danforth St – a 1,231 sq ft free-standing building on Danforth Street is for sale for $269,000.
155 Riverside St – the Season’s Bar & Grille and Banquet Center is for lease. The 23,750 sq ft facility includes parking and all furniture, fixtures and equipment.
240 Saint John St – 1,600 – 10,000 sq ft in Union Station Plaza for $12-14/sq ft (NNN)
Westgate Shopping Center – two spaces are for lease at $17-37/sq ft (NNN).
158 Pickett St, South Portland – the former home of 158 Pickett Street Cafe is for lease. Call (207) 615-2858 for more information.
23 Lincoln St, Biddeford – a 12,600 sq ft space divided equally on two floors, each floor has a kitchen with hoods is available for $11/sq ft (NNN). Contact Tony Delois for more information at anthony@uncommongroups.com.
Gather, Yarmouth – Owner Matthew Chappell has put his Yarmouth restaurant, Gather, up for sale.
Biscuits & Co, Biddeford – Biscuits & Co is closing on October 16th and the business and equipment is for sale. Contact Biscuitsandcompany@gmail.com for more information
Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.
Glossary
MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.
NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.
Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram takes a look at the range of pizza styles and options available in Portland today.
Talk to restaurateurs about the bounty of pizza options in the Portland area today, and they use words like “blessed” and “spoiled.” Yes, the pandemic fueled the demand for inexpensive take-out food and launched a nationwide pizza boom that helped keep Portland’s pizza restaurants open, but the city’s pizza scene was on the rise even before the coronavirus came to town. And it’s not just pizza places that serve it.
Eater Boston has published an eating guide to Portland. written by former Portlander Stasia Brewczynski.
Visiting Portland, Maine, at the height of tourist season is a worthwhile challenge, but a challenge nonetheless — which is why taking an off-season day trip to Vacationland is so appealing. The onset of colder weather can mean more limited hours at top restaurants, but it also means shorter lines and ideal conditions for harvesting oysters and brewing spontaneously fermented beer. Here’s a guide for a short yet sweet off-season adventure in and around Portland.
A new food truck called Brunch Truck 207 (instagram) recently launched in South Portland. The truck is located at 121 Sawyer Street in Ferry Village in the parking lot of Evelyn’s Tavern.
Brunch Truck 207 promises “breakfast and lunch favorites without gettin’ too fancy” with a menu that includes breakfast sandwiches, omelletes, breakfast burgers, steak bombs, burgers and hot dogs.