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 August 2009, 2014 and 2019:
- In 2009 Bon Appétit named Portland the Foodiest Small Town in America.
- The Press Herald reported on restaurant’s use of a new social media platform called Twitter.
- Mainebiz took a look at the claim that Portland has “highest or second highest number of restaurants per capita behind San Francisco.”
- A new Maine law required wine tastings to “be conducted in a manner that precludes the possibility of observation by children.”
- In 2014 word broke that chefs Clark Frasier and Mark Gaier, founders of the former Arrows in Ogunquit, were going to headline a restaurant in the new Press Hotel.
- The Portland Phoenix published a set of reviews of Vena’s Fizz House written by young students taking a food writing workshop put on by The Telling Room.
- Deen Haleem and Carol Mitchell leased the 7,000 sq ft space in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel with plans to open a restaurant called Tiqa.
- Bon Appétit selected Central Provisions and Palace Diner for their 2014 list of the Best New Restaurants in America. Central Provisions would go on to be recognized as #6 on the Top Ten list and Hunt & Alpine was named one of the five Best New Cocktail Bars in America.
- A new local market called Farm Stand opened at 161 Ocean Street in South Portland. It was a collaboration between Farmers Gate butcher shop in Wales and Jordan Farm in Cape Elizabeth. The space would later become Solo Cucina Market which closed in 2023.
- Ten Ten Pie opened for business. It was located in the building on Cumberland Ave that’s now home to Banh Appetit. Atsuko Fujimoto was the chef at Ten Ten Pie.
- O’Maine Studios began construction of a media kitchen at their location on Danforth Street.
- Dobra Tea announced plans to move to Exchange Street from their original location on Middle Street.
- Renovation of the former Down Home Cookin’ space got underway to open the restaurant we know as Dutch’s.
- Zagat included Blue Rooster, Central Provisions, Duckfat, Eventide, Fore Street, Hunt & Alpine, Lolita, Piccolo, Slab, Timber, and Vinland in their list of the Ten Hotest Restaurants in Portland.
- Lindsay Sterling learned how to make Russian Beef Tongue from Yulia Converse and Alla Zagoruyko for the latest article on her website Immigrant Kitchens.
- Uncle Andy’s Diner in South Portland was featured in an episode of Restaurant Impossible. The diner closed in 2020.
- Tandem Bakery opened on Congress Street.
- Father and son team of Katsuaki and Cory Suzuki began construction of Ramen Suzukiya, and Natalie DiBenedetto began development of her West End takeout restaurant that would eventually be known as Figgy’s.
- The inaugural Maine Seaweed Festival took place.
- In 2019, Po’ Boys and Pickles opened a second location on Federal Street in the Old Port, the Cider House opened on Brackett Street, a new food cart called Chula Elotes launched, and the Brighton Ave location of Crooked Mile Cafe opened,
- The Food Coma podcast featured an interview with Andrew Knowlton.
- Word broke that Helm was under development in the WEX building on Thames Street, as did news that Uncharted Tea was going to be located near Longfellow Square.
- Erica Asimov wrote an article for the New York Times about the Maine blueberry wine producer Bluet.
- Conde Nast Traveler published a set of travel guides to Portland.
- The owners of Lolita announced plans to close the Munjoy Hill restaurant in early September, and Colleen Kelley shared plans to close the Silly’s restaurant on September 1st, and Brian Boru closed at the end of August.
