The Maine Donut Tour (website, facebook, instagram) launched last week. The tour combines stops at Portland donut shops with historical highlights in the Old Port. Eighty 8 Donuts, The Holy Donut, and Hifi Donuts are the featured donut shops.
Tours run Tuesday through Saturday at 9:15 and 11:15 each morning—book your spot online.
Monday – Death & Co will be taking over the bar at the Hunt & Alpine Club.
Tuesday – Upcoming restaurants Twelve and Bar Futo are collaborating on a dinner taking place at Evo; there are seatings at 5:30 and 8:30.
Wednesday – Chaval is holding a Star Wars themed May the Fourth dinner, and Liquid Riot and Cheese Louise are teaming up on a 5-course dinner.
Thursday – Bissell Brothers Brewing is holding a beer dinner.
Friday – Roll Call will be opening their new sandwich shop in the Public Market House.
May 11 – Crispy Gai is hosting a dinner in collaboration with Little Brother Chinese, Norimoto Bakery, Indy’s Sandwich, Ghee, Pho Huong and Golden Wat on a 5-course dinner. The dinner is a benefit for United Asian Communities.
May 25 – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
September 19 – 25 – Maine Lobster Week is taking place.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Welcome to the May 2022 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.
Arts District
554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).
642 Congress St – the former Ada’s space is available to sublet; 2,569 sq ft (MG).
643/647 Congress St – 1,107 – 5,016 sq ft of space near Longfellow Square is available for $20/sq ft (MG).
649 Congress St – this 3,000 sq ft space is available for $22/sq ft (MG).
Bayside
15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.
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 – a 2,644 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building in West Bayside is available for $30/sq ft (NNN).
211 Marginal Way – the 4,052 sq ft space on the corner of Marginal Way and Franklin occupied by Bayside Bark is for lease for $40/sq ft (NNN).
65 Portland Street – the beautiful restaurant space that was home to Back Bay Grill for 34 years is available; 2,750 sq ft for $25/sq ft (MG).
24 Preble St – the former Arcadia space is available; 2,835 sq ft for $20/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).
383 Commercial St – 1,639 – 3,487 of retail space on Commercial Street for $28/sq ft (NNN).
40 Free St – the new building constructed by JB Brown has four storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft for $30/sq ft (NNN).
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).
75 Market St – the 5,474 sq ft space on the corner of Market and Middle Streets occupied by Rambler’s Way is for lease for $37/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).
66 Pearl St – 5,796 sq ft of space—the former Bull Moose retail shop—is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).
15 Temple St – the 1,702 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).
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”.
5 India St – 1,250 – 2,500 sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction near the intersection with Commercial St.
47 India St – 1,000 sq ft of the former Lois’ Market building is for lease, $40/sq ft (NNN).
Forest Ave
500 Forest Ave – a 1,500 – 3,200 sq ft space is currently occupied by Starbird. It’s available for $16/sq ft (MG).
945 Forest Ave – 500- 1,220 sq ft of space in the former Photo Market building for $750 – 1,800 (MG).
Other
873 Brighton Ave – the 1,334 sq ft building that formerly housed the Redemption Center is for sale for $465,000.
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 3,375 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).
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 – 2,400 sq ft in Union Station Plaza for $14/sq ft (NNN)
Westgate Shopping Center – four spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).
Biscuits & Co, Biddeford – Biscuits & Co closed 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 provides an overview of some of the new vegan businesses in Maine.
Spring has sprung in Maine and with it a fresh crop of buzzy vegan news: A vegan ice cream and hamburger shop is opening in Gorham. A vegan market is coming soon to Newcastle. A vegan food manufacturer has relocated from the New York suburbs to the western Maine foothills. A vegan scoop shop is ready to open in Freeport. And a new line of vegan macarons is being made in Fort Kent.
Rwanda Bean has announced that they don’t plan to reopen their South Portland location.
After much contemplation, we have officially decided that we will not be re-opening at our South Portland location.
We remain immensely grateful for all the memories and stories shared over coffee through the years. We will miss our friendly neighbors and community on that side of the bridge.
The City has made a decision on regulations impacting food trucks on the Eastern Promenade.
The Eastern Prom has become a favorite spot for trucks to set up in recent years, and this spring the city began looking at different plans to better manage the impacts. Rather than lining the Eastern Prom roadway, food trucks will be allowed only in the middle-level parking lot on Cutter Street, which connects the prom to East End Beach, according to a memo Interim City Manager Danielle West wrote to the City Council on Friday.
Masa Miyake is renovating his eponymous Fore Street restaurant with plans to reopen this summer, hopefully in July. The newly refreshed space will seat 28, with an 9-seat sushi counter and another 20 seats between the new L-shaped bar on the left and tables along the right-hand wall.
The menu will feature “shareable plates, including traditional Japanese preparations, dishes of Masa’s personal creation, rolled sushi, sashimi, and nigiri”. The bar menu will offer sake, wine and beer as well as house-designed cocktails that make use of Japanese spirits and ingredients. When they reopen Miyake will no longer offer an omakase option.
Seating will be available on a first-come first-serve basis with a guest wait list. Miyake will be open for dinner only, Tuesday through Saturday evenings.
Casa Novello has announced plans to reopen their Westbrook restaurant on May 3rd.
We are excited to announce that we are reopening on Tuesday 5/3. We still have our two original BOH staff and they are excited to train our new Chef and new team members so there are no changes in any of the recipes!! I cannot thank all of you for the overwhelming support and Love we received! We are so looking forward to celebrating with all of you!! Kimmy, Karen, Leah, Sarah, Nick, Brandon, Derek and Hannah can’t wait to get back to work… And we are excited for all of our new staff to join our Casa family!! PLEASE SHARE!!! Call for reservations. We are also going to be open on Mother’s Day 4-8…
Casa Novello had closed indefinitely in early April due to a lack of staff and at the time it seemed likely they were likely to close permanently.
Through May 1 – the 4th Maine Seaweed Week will be taking place.
Wednesday – the regular Portland Farmers’ Market season begins on Wednesday April 27th in Deering Oaks Park. The market has been in operation since 1768.
Wednesday through Friday – the Northeast Aquaculture Conference & Exposition is taking place in Portland.
Thursday – Friends & Family is collaborating with American Fizz on the kick-off of an all American wine list they’ll be serving through Sunday.
Saturday – Novare Res is holding their annual celebration of Oxbow beers with Farmhouse Funkadelic, serving 22+ Oxbow beers.
May 2 – Death & Co will be taking over the bar at the Hunt & Alpine Club.
May 3 – Upcoming restaurants Twelve and Bar Futo are collaborating on a dinner taking place at Evo; there are a 5:30 and 8:30 seating.
May 4 – Chaval is holding a Star Wars themed May the Fourth dinner, and Liquid Riot and Cheese Louise are teaming up on a 5-course dinner.
May 11 – Crispy Gai is hosting a dinner in collaboration with Little Brother Chinese, Norimoto Bakery, Indy’s Sandwich, Ghee, Pho Huong and Golden Wat on a 5-course dinner. The dinner is a benefit for United Asian Communities.
May 25 – the debut of Season 5 of the Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil. Season 5 includes an episode shot in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast.
June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.
June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place—see details on their Women in Wine Dinner.
July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.
July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham. The Wavy Days Beer Fest is taking place.
September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.
October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about Dinner Mates,
Just the concept of gathering inside a restaurant with a dozen or so folks you may not have met yet for a leisurely dinner fueled by vibrant conversation and fine wine seems so retro right now, so pre-2020. After living in relative isolation for two pandemic years, many at the Dinner Mates tables at Ruby’s in early April said the new club has come into their lives at just the right time.
and a review of Leeward—the first Sunday Telegram review published since March 2020.
Conceptually, Leeward fits right in with its fellow finalists for this year’s James Beard Foundation Award for Best New Restaurant. Chef Jake Stevens’ pasta-centric, eclectic Italian menu has some over-seasoning kinks to work out, but the kitchen’s strengths are on full display in dishes like sticky pork ribs sprinkled with nutty toasted flax seeds and a creamier take on Green Goddess dressing that I’d happily eat on any vegetable…Cocktails and moderately priced wines (most bottles clock in at around the mid-$50s) are also must-try items, especially the smoky, yet phenomenally balanced Italian on Holiday…Front-of-house manager Raquel Stevens leads the bar team as well as the friendly, knowledgeable servers who seem to love the place as much as locals and tourists do…