Elsmere BBQ Closing

| Posted in Closings

The owners of Elsmere BBQ, Jeremy Rush and Adam Powers, have announced they plan to close their South Portland barbecue restaurant. November 9th will be their last day in business.

Their statement on instagram reads in part,

After 11 amazing years in South Portland, Jeremy and I are leaving the Elsmere ownership group. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you this entire time. We will carry with us fond memories of creating and testing all the wonderful recipes that became the backbone of Elsmere, of learning the subtleties and nuances of Mama, our big beautiful smoker, and of staying up until 3:00 AM painting the dish room so we could get our food license in time to open the next day on August 17th 2013…We never could have anticipated the warmth and encouragement the community would provide to us. We thank you all for embracing us with open arms and allowing us to be the cornerstone of the neighborhood.

Powers and rush launched Elsmere in 2013. They went on to open a second location on Stevens Ave which opened in 2018 and closed in 2022.

Sissle & Daughters Opening Friday

| Posted in Openings

The new Sissle and Daughters (website, facebook, instagram) all-day cafe is set to open this week. It’s located at 634 Forest Ave, and starting Friday, November 1st, Sissle & Daughter will be open daily 8 am – 8 pm.

The new Woodfords Corner business is a coffee shop by day, a wine bar in the afternoons and evening, and a food retail and grocery shop that stocks wine, pantry goods, prepared food, take-and-heat meals and their wonderful sandwiches all day long.

In the morning Sissle and Daughters serves brewed and espresso-based coffee drinks made with whole or oat milk as well as tea, iced tea and chai. Daytime snacks include a frittata, blueberry coffee cake, and other baked goods. They source the coffee for the cafe from Precipice Coffee in Ellsworth.

During the afternoon and evening the menu features house-made pates and rillettes prepared by chef Joe Gaudet along with cheeses and charcuterie, olives, and other wine bar fare. The menu is complemented by a selection of 14 by-the-glass pours along with draft and packaged beer, non-alcoholic beverages and a few wines by the bottle.

The furniture and bar for ~20-seat cafe were designed and built by Studio 89 and design elements including the two portraits were selected with help by Jenny Bravo from Viand Mercantile.

Owners Mary Chapman and Will Sissle opened their first business The Cheese Shop of Portland on September 28, 2018 and moved it into larger digs in 2019. They recently renamed the Washington Ave store Sissle & Daughters Cheesemongers and Grocers. At the new Forest Ave location the Chapman-Sissles run the business with the help of Adelia Scheck who leads the front of office staff and chef Gaudet who manages the kitchen.

Cargo Pizza on Forest Ave

| Posted in Under Construction

Gregory Mihos, the owner of the Cargo Pizza Company (website, facebook, instagram) food truck, has leased the former Falafel Time space at 1053 Forest Ave where he plans to open a pizzeria. He hopes to launch the new restaurant in December.

Cargo Pizza will be serving “Neo-Neapolitan/New Haven-style brick oven pizza”, smash burgers, and house-made fried foods (mozzarella sticks, fries, wings, etc.)  for lunch and dinner. Mihos is also developing a breakfast menu with breakfast sandwiches and coffee to go. He shared,

Our goal is for as many items as possible to be made in-house, delivering a quality product free from fillers, preservatives, and unnecessary ingredients. We aim to create options that are mindful of health and autoimmune considerations, allowing people to enjoy their favorite foods without compromising their wallet or well-being.

The counter service pizzeria will have seating for 20 people with additional outdoor seating in warmer months. The menu will also be available for takeout and delivery.

Mihos launched the Cargo Pizza food truck in 2019. His father Dimitrios Mihos owns Romeos Pizza, and the younger Mihos gained experience working at a number of their locations and managing the Scarborough Romeos.

Next Tea on Congress

| Posted in Openings


Next Tea (instagram) has opened their Arts District tea shop. It is located at 543 Congress Street near Another Round and Regards. The space has a variety of table seating options and a children’s play area stocked with toys.

A wide assortment of hot and iced tea-based drinks (menu below) are available to enjoy including fruit teas like their Hong Kong Lemon Tea and an assortment of milk teas. Six different options for toppings are on the menu including brown sugar and crystal boba. They also have a selection of baked goods like egg tarts and tiramasu.

Next Tea is open weekdays 11 am – 7:30 pm and until 8 pm on the weekends.

Looking Back at October 2009, 2014, and 2019

| Posted in History

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be fun to take a look back each month at what the hot topics were from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s are highlights from October 2009, 2014 and 2019:

  • Shima opened for business on October 2nd in 2009 in the space in Boothby Square that’s now the home of Mami.
  • Binga’s Stadium held their grand opening on October 8th.
  • Dawn Hagin launched her food blog (remember those!) called Appetite Portland. These days you can follow her world travels through her instagram account WayfarerDawn.
  • Veranda Noodle Bar opened for business on October 12th.
  • Word was out that the owners of Bangkok Thai were going to convert the Longfellow Square restaurant into a “a new Asian fusion eatery similar in some respects to their other Congress Street restaurant, the Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro” called Boda.
  • Lindsey Sterling wrote about learning how to prepare Bulgarian Bean Soup & Spanikopita from Svetla Popova for her blog Inside Immigrant Kitchens.
  • Stephen Lanzalotta launched The Baker’s Gallery on Market Street. It served as a gallery for his art and a retail space for his Italian pastries and cookies.
  • Rachel’s L’Osteria closed their Woodford Street restaurant.
  • Chef James Tranchemontagne and members of his family began planning to launch a multi-roaster coffee shop and cafe in Westbrook called The French Press Eatery.
  • Bramhall held their grand opening on October 9, 2014.
  • A new restaurant that we now know as Isa Bistro was under development on Portland Street.
  • The Muthah Truckah food truck launched on October 6th.
  • We all learned that the owners of Eventide and Hugo’s were working on a new restaurant called The Honey Paw that promised to be a “non-denominational noodle restaurant.”
  • Bao Bao opened on October 21st.
  • Briana Warner shut down her business Maine Pie Line, and went on to a roll at the Island Institute. These days she’s the CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms.
  • A lot of changes were taking place in the landscape of Italian restaurants in 2019.
  • Flying Fox Juice Bar closed on Washington Ave, and news broke that the space was going to become the home of a new restaurant being launched by Josh Sobel and Chad Conley. The name and concept were TBD at the time but we now know it was slated to become Ramona’s.
  • Candy’s, a coffee shop, bar, cafe and queer community hub, opened for business on Portland Street.
  • The 6th Annual Heirloom Apple Tasting took place. It brought under one roof 213 apples varieties gathered from 21 orchards in 4 states. The event featured New England ciders from Bent Bough, Rocky Ground, Cornish and Citizen and heirloom apple-based dishes by Ilma Lopez at Chaval, Josh Berry at Union and Krista Kern Desjarlais at The Purple House. The apple tasting took place at The Oyster Shop on Washington Ave and the following week was reprised at the Blaine House in Augusta.
  • Pliny and Melanie Reynolds leased the former Silly’s buildings on Washington Ave with plans to move their restaurant Terlingua to that location.
  • The ownrs of the food truck Falafel Mafia leased 1 Monument Way where they began the development of their restaurant Nura.
  • A emerging topic of discussion was that lack of staff was becoming a challenge for hospitality businesses.

Ocotillo Adding Dinner in November

| Posted in Under Construction

Ocotillo has shared plans to begin serving dinner—in addition to brunch—starting on November 21st. Dinner will be available 5 – 9 pm with a happy hour 3 – 5 pm during the post-brunch/pre-dinner part of their day. The restaurant will be open Thursday through Monday. Reservations are now available via Resy.

The dinner menu will feature Southwestern and Mexican-inspired dishes like their Cowboy Cassoulet (frijoles a la charra, smoked chicken drumstick, house sausage, smoked pork belly, cornbread) and Enchiladas Suiza (potato and corn enchiladas, creamy pumpkin seed suiza sauce, chihuahua cheese, cilantro).

Owners Melanie and Pliny Reynolds launched Ocotillo on April 11. The Reynolds launch their first restaurant, Terlingua, in 2015.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – The annual HospitalityMaine summit is taking place at Sugarloaf. Maine & Loire is holding a wine tasting with wine maker Simona Balzic from Vina Balzic.

Wednesday – Old port Wine Merchants is holding a Croatian wine tasting. Simona Balzic from Vina Balzic will be at Lambs for a special mushroom pizza dinner featuring their wine.

Thursday – Peekeytoe Provisions in Bar Harbor is holding an event to celebrate the relaunch of their business at their new location.

Saturday – Altrusa is holding their 16th Annual Empty Bowl Meal as a fundraiser for Project FEED.

November 4 – Peer Workforce Navigator is holding two sessions to help recently unemployed restaurant workers understand the process to apply for unemployment. Anyone interested in attending can register online.

November 4-10 – 207 Beer Week is taking place. You can see the full schedule of events on the Maine Brewers Guild website.

November 5 – Gross Confection Bar is holding a (sold out) pastry baking class.

November 9 – Chef Jeremiah Langhorne from The Dabney in DC will be at the White Barn Inn for a 5-course collaboration dinner.

November 11-17 – Brunswick Wine Week is taking place—here’s a link to their full calendar of events.

November 12 – Table Bar in Gardiner is teaching a Thanksgiving wine class.

November 14 – Angoor Wine Bar and Taj are collaborating to hold a Friendsgiving Feast with a 3-course meal from Taj paired with a set of wine pairings.

November 16 – SaltWater Fields in Thomaston is hosting their 1st Annual Cider Gala featuring cider from Orchard Girls Cider, Ayuh Cider, Freedom’s Edge Cider, Apres Cider and Absolem Cider.

November 20 – GMRI is holding an event to discuss Climate Resilience Potential in Gulf of Maine Fisheries.

November 21 – Nina June in Rockport is serving a dinner featuring the new pressing of olive oil from chef/owner Sara Jenkin’s family farm in Italy.

November 25 – Friends & Family is holding a Thanksgiving wine tasting with a 10% discount off bottles that are part of the event.

November 27 – It’s the last day of the outdoor Portland Farmers’ Market for the 2024 season. The market will operate indoors starting on December 7th, see below for details.

Thanksgiving – Restaurants, bakeries, markets and other businesses have already begun sharing their plans. See our 2024 Thanksgiving Resource Guide for a fast growing list of dinners, community resources and take-out options as well as turkeys, baked goods and side dishes for your meal at home. We’re adding new offerings every day and information becomes available.

November 29 – The deadline to submit recommendations for the 2025 Beard Awards.

December 1 – Sean Turley will be delivering a presentation on cider & pomology at Lambs in South Portland.

December 7 – It’s the first day of the indoor Portland Farmers’ Market. It will be once again located at 631 Stevens Ave, and will run from Dec 7th through Apr 12, 2025.

December 31 – Elk’s Lodge 188 is holding a Vegas-themed New Year’s Eve party; $80 per person.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.
25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store.

Review of Lil Chippy

| Posted in Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a 4 star review of Lil Chippy.

Don’t miss the classic fish-and-chips, prepared here with local hake dunked in a vodka-and-beer batter and plated up with crisp, dark golden skin-on French fries. And don’t ignore the “Buddies” section of the menu, where you’ll find a few of Portland’s best sandwiches, all served on Little Spruce milk bread rolls. In particular, the mushroom buddy is excellent, with its layers of crunchy fried oyster mushroom, miso mayonnaise and a generous portion of cilantro. But perhaps the best dish on the menu is the fiery, beautifully balanced chicken buddy, a crunchy, deep-fried chicken thigh drizzled with charred onion ranch dressing and homemade Calabrian chili hot sauce.

Lil Chippy was launched by Ashley Wolf and William Durst on June 28th.

Maine Food and Dining News: Greene, Saco, Lisbon Falls, Scarborough, South Paris, Biddeford, Belfast, Rockport, Fairfield

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

    • A new restaurant called Kool Runnins Jamaican Cuisine (instagram) has opened for business in South Paris, Maine. Chef/owner Walton Wray is serving a menu that includes ox tail, jerk chicken and pork, curry goat and sweet potato pudding. Kool Runnins is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – 9 pm.
    • The Sedgley Place (website, facebook, instagram) in Greene is new ownership. Ali Desjardin plans on continuing the 5-course menu and has launched a new brunch service. This winter Desjardin plans to add new dinner hours on Mondays and Wednesdays.
    • Carolina and Luis Tovar are the new owners of Pacifico (website, facebook, instagram) in Saco. The Tovars have been working at Pacifico for two years and purchased the restaurant from Carlos Guzman and Alejandra Herrera who launched Pacifico on November 28, 2020. The Tovars plan to maintain what has made Pacifico a success as “vibrant, welcoming space that celebrates Latin flavors and culture.” They’re planning some new concepts for the menu and look forward to developing partnerships with other local businesses. This Monday they’ll be holding a cocktail event “featuring spooky cocktails from local bartender Jordan Jones.” Guzman and Herrera will continue to own and operate their two other restaurants, the Quiero Cafes in Portland and Saco.
    • Blue Ox Malthouse (website, facebook, instagram) celebrated the grand opening of their new facility in Lisbon Falls last week. The new building has tripled their floor malting space and quadrupled their processing capacity. Blue Ox was launched in April 2013 by Joel Alex.
    • Stacks Pancake Company is working to open a second location at 183 US Route 1 in Scarborough. The Papanikoleau family opened the original Stacks on Riverside in July 2021.
    • The owners of Vickie’s Veggie Table have announced they’ll be closing their Biddeford cafe. Their last day in business will be this Monday, October 28th. Their statement read in part, “we are incredibly grateful for the two years you have all given us. Vickie’s Veggie Table has been such an incredible experience for both of us and we are so happy that we were able to bring downtown Biddeford some healthy vegan options. We hope that we’ve helped inspire Biddeford to open up more vegetarian, vegan, and healthier spots so that our community can grow in a positive way. We also hope we’ve inspired you to cook some yummy vegan food at home!” They plan to write a Vickie’s Veggie Table cookbook.
    • The Midcoast Villager has published an article about Concepta Jones and her business Concepta’s Studio (website, instagram). Jones operates a self service roadside bakery and sells a selection of South African Indian spice blends. The article reports, “Jones plans to sell her baked goods and other dishes at the Belfast Farmers’ Market starting in January. She is planning a menu built around her signature curries, including curry pies and curry wrapped in roti, the flaky Indian flatbread.”
    • Khristine and Zac Leeman have leased the former Joshua’s space on Maine Street in Brunswick where they plan to open a new restaurant. The Harpswell Anchor report the menu will include, “[t]avern-style food, including burgers and sandwiches, will be served, as well as entrees, including gluten-free and vegetarian options.” The Leemans opened Sundrenched, on Bailey Island in 2022, and Linden + Front in Bath this past February.
    • The Maine Bagel has announced their last day in business will be November 27th. They’ve been located on Route One in Scarborough for close to two decades.  A statement posted online (facebook, instagram) reads in part, “Due to circumstances beyond our control we are obligated to vacate the building that has given our family so many wonderful memories. We have been blessed with employees and customers that have allowed our dream to come to fruition. We set out with a vision to provide the community with a bagel shop that prided itself on service, quality, and value. We believe we achieved this and in the process gained many friendships that we will cherish forever.”
    • The Bangor Daily News and Midcoast Villager report that a new owner, Steve Ashey,  has taken over the Chocolate Drop Candy Shop (website, facebook, instagram) in Belfast. Ashey hopes to relaunch the candy shop on November 30th. The previous owners had closed the shop in September after 15 years in business.
    • Nina June owner Sara Jenkins has won an award from Montagna Cortonese for the 2023 vintage of the olive oil she produces in Italy.
    • Meridians restaurant in Fairfield has permanently closed. The restaurant had initially shut down in January and reopened back in June.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

Lay Day Roasters

| Posted in Under Construction

A new coffee roaster is under development in West Bayside. Lay Day Roasters (website, instagram) is the creation of Cashel Stewart and former Buzz Coffee owner Corey Koch. It’s located at 150 Preble Street near Trader Joe’s and will launch next week.

Lay Day is a new coffee roastery anchored by high quality roasted coffee offered affordably to the Maine community as wholesale, bulk, in retail bags, and as a delivery subscription. Lay Day’s coffee emphasizes rich, complex flavors of coffee from all over the world. The initial launch features coffee from Santa Maria in the Huila region of Colombia, in light and medium roast profiles. Later this month, Lay Day will introduce coffee from Guji in the Sidamo region of Ethiopia, darker roast profiles, and cold brew (brewed in-house) on tap available at the roastery. A standard 12 oz bag will be $15, and customers are encouraged to visit the roastery bulk station, a partnership with GoGo Refill, where customers can reduce their waste and save up to 20% on their beans.

Future plans for Lay Day include the launch of a cold brew coffee truck for events, wholesale cold brew kegs, getting Lay Day coffee on shelves at local retail shops and on the menu at local establishments. Koch and Stewart also hope to hold coffee tastings and community events at the roastery.

Online ordering for Lay Day will become available Friday, October 25th, and the retail shop at the roastery will open the following week Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 7 – 10 am, and Wednesday, 3 – 6 pm. Watch their instagram account for news about the launch of the cold brew coffee service at the roastery.