This Week’s Events: Pop-ups, Reopenings, MRW, Vy Banh Mi

| Posted in Events

Maine Restaurant Week continues through to Friday March 12.

Monday – Little Giant is hosting Central Provisions for a pop-up (check back on March 15th for a dinner at LG by Minato).

Tuesday – Woodford F&B is taking part in the BBQ collaboration series at Terlinga

Wednesday – Gather is re-opening in Yarmouth with inside and heated outdoor seating.

Thursday – the Vy Banh Mi food truck is launching at Three of Strong, noon to 6pm, and Dizzy Bird is re-opening in Biddeford.

Friday – Lorne Wine in Biddeford is re-opening after a long winter break for “limited indoor seating and bar service”.

Saturday – Ramona’s will be doing a pop-up at A&C Grocery, Mile End will be doing a pop-up at Ramona’s, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Mitr is kick-off its weekly pop-up series at Mi Sen.

Mitr on Outer Congress

| Posted in Under Construction

The founders of Mitr (facebook, instagram) have closed on the purchase of 1281 Congress Street where they plan to open their new Thai restaurant. Mitr is under development by some of the same team who were involved in Cheevitdee and its sister restaurant Mi Sen.

Ping Yang Thai food “typically means grilled or charbroiled. In Thailand, these techniques are very popular for street food and you can find them just about any corner of the street of every part of Thailand. Sometimes on skewers, sometime it’s a grill meat as a whole. Marinaded and grilled to perfection presenting you with rich aromas. Oftentimes, the meals will be enjoy with various sauces you can choose.”

Starting on March 14th, Mitr will be holding a weekly Sunday pop-up menu from the kitchen of Mi Sen. Visit the Mi Sen website or call (207) 747-4838 on the 14th to place your order.

Restaurant Real Estate: March 2021

| Posted in Real Estate

Welcome to the March 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 in these tough times for the hospitality industry some 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

28 Brackett St – the 900 sq ft former Cider House space is for lease for $1,450/month.

101 York St – 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

11 Brown St – the space where BRGR Bar is located on Brown Street is for lease. The 4,321 turnkey restaurant space is available for $19/sq ft (NNN). All furniture, fixtures & equipment included, as are 2 parking spots and 2,000 sq ft of storage space.

555 Congress St – the former Five Fifty-Five is available to lease. The 1,089 – 3,647 sq ft space is listed at $22/sq ft (NNN).

593 Congress St – The former Vinland is available to lease. The 1,720 sq ft space is listed at $19.41/sq ft (MG).

605 Congress St – Two spaces in the State Theater Building is available. They are 543 sq ft and 2,685 sq ft and are listed at $25-35/sq ft (MG).

77 Free Street – the furniture, fixtures and equipment for Binga’s Stadium on Free Street are for sale for $85,000. The 17,000 sq ft of space is for lease at $4/sq ft (NNN).

129 Spring St – Maine Juice Company has relocated and their former space on Spring Street is free. This was the original home of Miyake and for a time was home to the Miyake izakaya.

Bayside

15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.

84 Cove St – The 8,969 sq ft former Milk & Honey in Bayside is available for $13/sq ft (NNN).

360 Cumberland Ave – a 1,900 sq ft back building hidden behind 360 Cumberland Ave is available for $20-25/sq ft (NNN).

23 Marginal Way – a 1,300 sq ft space in Century Plaza is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).

34 Portland St – the 4,256 sq ft building that was formerly was occupied by Candy’s is for sale for $695,000.

225 Oxford St – 600-2000 sq ft of build to suit space in a new building for $25/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).

5 Commercial St – the former Rosemont Market at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 1,700 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

9 Commercial St – the former Commercial Street location of Arabica is available. 3,018/sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN).

266 Commercial St – 6,689 sq ft of new construction retail space will be available for $20-22/sq ft (NNN).

383 Commercial St – 4 street retail spaces will be available (1,631 – 1,971 sq ft) at $28/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction at the corner of Maple and Commercial Streets.

98 Cross St – a 991 sq ft retail space is available for $20/sq ft (MG).

18 Exchange St – 1,800 sq ft of retail space for lease at $6,950/month (MG).

225 Federal St – the former Old Port Po’ Boys & Pickles is available. 1,000 sq ft at $30/sq ft (MG).

345 Fore St – Vena’s is moving and that’s freeing up their current location. 2,310 sq ft for a $3,750/month.

422 Fore St – the former Pearl space is available, 2,400 sq ft at $38/sq ft (MG).

425 Fore St – The former Five Guys is available. $2,900/sq ft and $40/sq ft (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 – 2,996 sq ft of existing restaurant 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 early 2021. The rate is $30/sq ft (NNN).

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).

131 Middle St – this 3,512 sq ft retail spaace is for lease at $14.50/sq ft (NNN).

28 Monument Square – the former Maine Squeeze juice bar in the Public Market House is for lease. Contact leasing@juicery.com for more information. Also, the second floor space formerly occupied by Sichuan Kitchen is available, call (207) 939-0980 for information.

66 Pearl St – the 5,796 space formerly occupied by Bull Moose is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).

2 Portland Square – the former Walter’s is back on the market. 3,219 sq ft for $28/sq ft (MG).

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 $23/sq ft (NNN).

23 Temple St – this 947 sq ft is located in the same building as the Nickelodeon. It’s for lease at $25/sq ft (MG).

India/Washington Ave

100 Fore St – 2 retail spaces are available in a new building planned for Fore Street. 1,141 and 1,914 sq ft respectively, $27 – 30/sq ft (NNN).

Forest Ave

1190 Forest Ave – located right in the center of Morrill’s Corner. 3,000 – 5,082 sq ft at $12 – 20/sq ft (NNN).

Other

559 Brighton Ave – 1,920 sq ft of the original Rosemont Market building is for lease for $12/sq ft (NNN).

1041 Brighton Ave – 1,200 -7,000 sq ft of space available in the strip mall that’s the longtime location of Panda Garden. The space is available for $10-13/sq ft (NNN).

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.

139 Riverside St – a 5,020 sq ft restaurant space available for $15/sq ft (MG).

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.

117 Route 1, Freeport – the former Conundrum building in Freeport is for sale for $1.2M.

111 Main St, Westbrook – the former Ruby Tuesday’s in Westbrook Crossing shopping plaza off of Brighton is for lease. Contact nick.margitza@wsdevelopment.com.

Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner (e.g. Piccolo). 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.

Best Bagels in America

| Posted in Reviews

Food & Wine has included Forage, Rover and Scratch Baking on their list of the Best Bagels in America.

A funny thing happened, while New York began settling for mediocrity: a new generation of American bakers figured out just how easy it was to get into the game. Best of all, most of them have their own ideas about what a modern American bagel should look like. My first glimpse of this exciting future came almost a decade ago, thousands of miles from New York, on a sunny winter morning in Northern California. Here, two East Coast transplants had started making meticulous, wood-fired, Montreal-style bagels, opening up the most charming little deli. After years of accepting second best from my neighborhood bagel slinger in Midtown Manhattan, I took this as a serious wake-up call.

Maine Updates Covid Rules

| Posted in General News

The Governor’s office announced a set of changes to regulations governing the operating of food and dining establishments during the pandemic.

The Moving Maine Forward plan maintains critical health and safety protocols that have protected Maine people over the past year, establishes a clear timeframe to increase capacity limits to support economic activity, and standardizes these limits across sectors by transitioning to a simple model based on percentage of capacity. The plan also revises Maine’s travel policies established last summer under the Keep Maine Healthy Program and sets a target reopening date of March 26 for indoor service at bars.

See the official announcement for all the details.

MJ’s Wine Bar Closing

| Posted in Closings

MJ’s Wine Bar owner Mark Ohlson has announced that he’ll be closing down MJ’s Wine Bar, and that he’s working on launching a new business.

Thank you for all the laughter, memories, music and conversation. MJ’s was a huge success. We fell in love, dressed up, danced and drank some truly incredible wines. Thank you Portland for attending countless wine talks and crazy themed parties. We conga-lined barrels of wine at the bar and sabered bottles of celebration on the patio. It was the dream I had always wanted and we made it come true. Voted Best Wine List in Portland all seven years we were open (humbling). Named Top 20 Wine Bars in the USA by Wine Enthusiast (super humbling), and most importantly, I got to meet you and spend time with you. Thank you. I am so thankful for everything. And now, it is time to move on. Not because MJ’s wasn’t a success, but because I have a new idea in my head and it won’t leave me alone unless I bring it to life.
See you in May, I hope you like to dance…

Siblings Bakery

| Posted in Openings

Victoria Nam has officially launched her new business Siblings Bakery (instagram) which will specialize in naturally leavened breads and pastries. In developing the menu for Siblings, Nam “draws inspiration from her Russian-Korean heritage and her travels in California, DC, Japan, France, and Italy.”

Pre-ordering is now live for a Saturday pick-up. This week Nam is offering rye chocolate chip cookies, brown butter granola, and Strawberry & Cream Donuts which are described as “fluffy and tangy sourdough donuts, filled with brown butter cream cheese, lemon curd glaze, and strawberry milk crumbs.”

Nam was featured in a television report earlier this year. You can see pictures of her creations and stay in the loop on future Siblings news on Nam’s instagram account.

2 More Food Trucks

| Posted in Under Construction

Two more food trucks have announced plans to launch this year in Portland:

Paddy Wagon (instagram) plans to be located outside Free Range Fish and Lobster on Commercial Street. Owners Luke Benning and David McGuirk will be serving “traditional pub fare” such as fish and chips, battered sausages, and chip butties with a marbled egg. On Saint Patrick’s Day they will also be running a bangers and mash special. McGuirk is from Dublin Ireland, he and Benning have both worked together at the Westin, Saltwater Grille and the Woodlands Club.

Curbside Comfort (instagram) will be serving “plant-based vegan comfort food”. The menu is still under development but will include items such as “mac & cheese with various toppings” and vegan soft-serve ice cream. Owners Suzanne and Trent Grace hope to launch in June.

There’s been  a significant uptick in food trucks and carts planning to launch this year. With these two this brings the count of new/expading mobile food businesses up to 15. See our Under Construction page for a complete list of projects under development right now…and stay tuned for more announcements over the next couple months as more go public.

This Week’s Events: Restaurant Week, Reopening and Pop-ups

| Posted in Events

Maine Restaurant Week kicked off this week and runs through March 12.

Thursday – Fore Street, Street & Co, and Scales are re-opening after a long winter break, and Sugar High Donuts will be at Urban Farm Fermentory for a 2-day pop-up.

Saturday – Crispy Gai is participating the guest chef series at Ramona’s (continues on Sunday), Briana Holt from Tandem will be participating in the Small Axe guest chef series (menu) at East Ender (continues on Sunday), Ada’s is holding the first of a series of pop-ups (menu will go live today) in anticipation of fully re-opening later this year, and the Winter Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Outdoor Dining & Retail Program

| Posted in General News

The City of Portland has published details on the 2021 Outdoor Dining & Retail Program. The program details street closure, how restaurants can make use of public spaces such as parks and on how to make use of adjacent on street parking space to expand their outdoor dining areas.

In order to continue helping local businesses through the pandemic, the City is updating its outdoor dining and retail permitting program, which will be in effect from April 2021 to April 2022. The program allows retailers and restaurants to apply to expand into public spaces, including closed streets, parklets, the public right-of-way, and parks. In addition, they may apply to extend their use of private space into the winter season.