Maine Farmers’ Markets

| Posted in Farming

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a report on Maine farmers’ markets.

Farmers who sell at markets around the state report similar scenarios. While they are seeing a lot of new faces across the mountains of zucchini and greens, in most cases the number of customers is down. But sales are up because shoppers are buying more meat and produce from fewer vendors. Adding to the trend of bountiful sales is the fact that homebound shoppers are stocking their fridges and pantries more fully but may not be comfortable buying food at a grocery store.

Speckled Ax East Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Speckled Ax (website, facebook, instagram) opened their new coffee shop at 20 Thames Street this morning, Their hours are 7:30 am – 3 pm.

In addition to their stellar coffee brewed from wood-roasted beans, the new Speckled Ax will have a food menu that will include two egg sandwich options, a banh mi, a lobster roll and baked goods from Ilma Lopez at Chaval. Speckled Ax has secured a liquor license. In the future they plan to expand the food menu as well as serve beer and wine.

One of the new innovations of the new shop is a Cyclops brewing machine. Also look for flash brewed ice coffee, cascara, and a new infused milk flavor profile as well as pour overs, espresso-based drinks and one of my favorites—tower shots.

Matt Bolinder founded Matt’s Wood Roasted Coffee in 2007 and opened the original Speckled Ax shop on Congress Street opened in May 2012.

 

Broken Arrow Opening in October

| Posted in Under Construction, Openings

 

A new restaurant called Broken Arrow (instagram) is getting ready to open in October. Broken Arrow is located at 545 Congress Street in the storefront formerly occupied by the West End Deli. To address public health guidelines Broken Arrow will launch using just part of its 47-seat capacity.

Chef Matt Jatczak will draw inspiration from classic New England recipes for the 5-course meals. Broken Arrow plans to take a ticket-based model and will  begin taking reservations for their October opening in early September. The menu is expected to change every 5-6 weeks to align with the seasonality of local ingredients.

Owners Lyle and Holly Aker moved to Portland from Chicago where Lyle operated two restaurants, Charlatan and the Three Aces. They had been looking to make a move back to Maine when the opportunity to lease 545 Congress Street came up 3 years ago. Chef Jatczak also has a Chicago connection. His resume includes time in the kitchen at both The Purple Pig and working for Paul Kahn’s One Off Hospitality Group.

Holly Aker is a Certified Cheese Professional and passionate about Maine creamery products so expect a diverse array of Maine cheeses to grace the menu.

Maine Heirloom Apple Guide

| Posted in Farming

For the last six years Portland Food Map and The Righteous Russet (instagram) have held an annual Heirloom Apple Tasting. We were so looking forward to the opportunity to share our passion for heirloom apples with you again in 2020 in person, but, for obvious reasons, that will not be possible.

In its temporary place we’d like to offer up this Maine Heirloom Apple Guide. We hope that in a small way it can take the place of the apple tasting and give you the information you need to go out for a self-directed exploration of Maine orchards and the many heirloom apples they offer.

The Guide includes detailed information on where and when to purchase dozens of heirloom apple varieties grown at fourteen outstanding Maine orchards. Use it throughout the fall to go exploring so you can take advantage of the entire season.

Brewery News: Marshall Wharf, Brewery Extrava

| Posted in Openings, Beer

A pair of updates from Maine’s brewing industry:

  • Marshall Wharf Brewing in Belfast has re-opened under new ownership. According to an article in the Bangor Daily News, Dann Waldron and Kathleen Dunckel purchased the brewery in January and re-opened it on Friday.
  • Brewery Extrava in Portland is for sale. The brewery launched last July and is located in a 5,000 sq ft building in East Bayside. The asking price is $750,00 but the listing says ” will consider all reasonable offers”. The business is for sale because “Partner interests [are] diverging”.

 

Clam Bar

| Posted in Under Construction

Garrett Fitzgerald has leased the former Benny’s Fried Clams building on West Commercial Street where he plans to open a seasonal seafood restaurant. This will be a second location of the Bar Harbor Lobster Company that he operates on Mount Desert Island.

Garrett Fitzgerald has previously launched two restaurants in Portland: the Portland & Rochester, and Royale Lunch Bar.

Update: The name of this new business will be Clam Bar (instagram). Their plan is to launch with a food truck in LAte August or earlier September and then open the brick and mortar space next.

Restaurant Worker Quandary

| Posted in People

An article in this week’s Portland Phoenix explores the difficult choice restaurant workers have to make—balancing personal/family health and financial needs—when considering when to return to work.

“Everyone obviously wants things to be normal and wants things to go back to normal,” said one Portland bartender, Hanna, who left her job in July after feeling uncomfortable with on-premise dining. “If we can make things feel normal for a couple hours then that seems worth it to a lot of people, but I know that my coworkers were pretty uncomfortable with everything.”

Despite new COVID-19 regulations, sanitation precautions, and mandated masks, industry workers said they feel unsafe returning to work, yet feel pressure to continue working at the risk of losing financial security.