Speckled Ax Coffee has leased space on Thames Street where they plan to open a second location.
Owner Matt Bolinder is planning a similar coffee program to Congress Street “with a few surprises”. The Thames Street space will have a small kitchen which be used to “offer a focused but extremely high-quality menu of breakfast and lunch staples, with a few twists from coffee countries of origin.”
Bolinder is aiming to open the new shop sometime in October.
Andrea Swanson, owner of the Scattaloni Bakery in Monument Square, has announced plans to move her bakery to Biddeford. The last of operations in Portland will be August 2nd.
Monday – there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire with Ismael Gozalo of MicroBio and Álvaro de la Viña.
Wednesday – Chris Deutsch from Belleville and Niky Watler and Martha Leonard of Maiz will be the guest chefs for a TempoArt dinner, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – it’s the first day of the Greek Heritage Festival, and there will be a wine tasting at Maine & Loire with Georgian winemakers Beka Gotsadze and Zurab Mgvdliasvhili.
Friday – it’s the second day of the Greek Heritage Festival, and there will be a wine tasting at the Munjoy Hill Rosemont.
Saturday – Mast Landing and Hop Culture magazine are co-hosting the Juicy Brews festival, it’s the last day of the Greek Heritage Festival, chef Madison Butler is kicking off a promotional cross-country food tour by taking the Downeaster from Portland to Boston, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.
Northern Hospitality by Andrew and Briana Volk is a final nominee for Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book category in the 2019 Tales of the Cocktail awards program.
Visit the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation website to see a complete list of nominees.
The West End News has reviewed Dutch’s,
With a slight shortage of breakfast options on the peninsula, especially given the profusion of culinary choices in Portland ….. Dutch’s fills an important downtown niche for working stiff urbanites, students, and for those “from away.” As good a breakfast and lunch diner gets here- this is probably it. I will go back. Dutch’s impressed me more this time than from my first visit, a few years back. They’ve stepped-up their game: their product, and their space.
and the Maine Sunday Telegram has explored the food at Hadlock Field.
Bánh Appétit (instagram, facebook) has announced plans to open on Saturday.
Owner Tuyet Le leased 171 Cumberland Ave, the former Ten Te Piè location, where she plans to serve “banh mi, banh bao, banh pateso and more”.
Welcome to the June edition of the PFM restaurant and food retail commercial real estate listings. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place spaces available in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers/retailers to locate their next business. Finding just the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new restaurant, bar, bakery, coffee shop or food retail business and hopefully this new resource will make it a little bit easier.
The listings are organized by neighborhood, and contains square footage, cost, location, background info on prior usage, whether for lease or sale, and a link to the full listing online where you can see all the details. Storefronts that were formerly a restaurant are indicated in the description and those likely already have a hood and grease traps.
Listings that are new or have been updated since last month are flagged with an red asterisks (*).
Feel free to post a comment below or email me at anestes@portlandfoodmap.com if you know of a good one that may have been overlooked.
West End
785 Congress St – a newly renovated 1,378 sq ft space near Bramhall Square is available for lease at $17.42 per sq ft (MG). It’s located on the same side of the street as Roma Cafe, Quiero and Flood’s.
*953 Congress St – the former Rosanna’s at the corner of Saint John and Congress Streets has remained vacant since the ice cream shop closed at the end of February. My understanding is that Dogfish Bar and Grille owner Ted Arcand is the owner of the building.
207 Danforth St – the former Eco-Laundry space on Danforth Street next to Little Giant has been unoccupied for a couple years and is for lease directly from the owner – see the sign in the window for contact information.
101 York St – a 5,249 sq ft sub-dividable space in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $20/sq ft (NNN). The space already has a hood vent and grease traps installed.
Arts District
*114 Center St –this 10,000 sq ft space off Free Street is for lease at $8/sq ft (NNN).
477 Congress St – The first floor mall in the Time & Temperature Building was the longtime home of Whip’s Right Time Cafe. The Cafe closed a few years a go and now this 1,750 sq ft space is available for $13/sq ft (MG).
480 Congress St – 3,513 – 7,213 sq ft space available for $26/sq ft (NNN). This space had been slated be a BBQ restaurant, and that project is not moving forward so the space is back on the market.
*511 Congress St – a 6,100 sq ft first floor space is available in the Ocean Gate Plaza for $18/sq ft (MG).
600 Congress St – The Schwartz Building has been under construction for a while now, and during that time a number of restaurateurs have checked out the space. As one of the best positioned, most visible corners in the city it seems destined to become a restaurant some day. The property owner is Geoffrey Rice.
645 Congress St – a 1,200 sq ft former market space is available for $2,500/month (MG).
Bayside
148 Anderson St – this 9,600 sq ft building in East Bayside is located next to Tandem Coffee. The building is zoned for light industrial so a brewery or distillery with a tasting room would fit the zoning parameters but a restaurant would not. The building is available for $12/sq ft (NNN). The building has a drive-in door and comes with 15-20 parking spaces.
166 Cumberland Ave – this had been slated to become the reincarnation of Uncle Billy’s Barbecue. The project never came to fruition and the storefront, formerly Bayside Variety, remains in the hands of the business partner of Uncle Billy and my understanding is he’s looking for a new partner to work with on a restaurant in the space.
82 Hanover St – there are a number of units available in the redevelopment of this former Department of Public Works building ranging in size from 1,488 to 7,050 sq ft at $16 – 20/sq ft (NNN). A country western bar called The Whiskey Barrel is already slated to be one of the businesses in this building.
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 1,914 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).
98 Cross St – The former Rhum space (Suite A) is 3,800 sq ft is available to lease at $22.50 (MG).
107 Exchange St – this 1,260 sq ft space is located on the corner of Exchange and Federal Street. It’s available for $40/sq ft (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/157 Middle St – Portland Trading Company has moved around the corner to 83 Market Street which will free up their 2,025 sq ft space for $27.95/sq ft (MG). It’s one of 4 spaces available at this address. In total there’s 1,071 – 6,356 sq ft for lease.
1 Monument Square – The owners of 1 Monument Square have a large first floor space available for a restaurant. 4,385 sq ft for lease at $25/sq ft (NNN). You can see some artist sketches of what a restaurant in this spot could look like in the full listing.
*2 Portland Square – Walter’s closed May 31st and is for sale. The business and equipment are listed for $250k or just the furniture, fixtures and equipment are available for $175k. The current lease which runs through March 2020 is $24.98/sq ft (NNN).
47-51 Wharf St – 2 different spaces are available across Wharf Street from the Independent Ice Company, 1,170 and 2,070 sq ft, both for lease at $25-30/sq ft (MG).
1 Union Wharf – a 5,608 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building slated for Commercial Street is available for $20.95/sq ft (NNN).
India Street
100 Fore St – 2 spaces are available in a new building planned for Fore Street. 1,245 and 2,056 sq ft respectively, $27 – 30/sq ft (NNN).
170 Fore St – 5,000 sq ft of retail space at $24/sq ft (NNN).
1 Hancock St – the first floor of the new WEX building has a 5,138 sq ft first floor space available for lease at $27/sq ft (NNN).
20 Thames St – a 1,800 sq ft is available for lease just off India Street for $24/sq ft (NNN). Speckled Ax Coffee has leased 1,800 sq ft in this building already.
Forest Ave
301 Forest Ave – 4,000 sq ft space adjacent to the Bier Cellar is available for $15/sq ft (NNN).
*951 Forest Ave – the owner of Maelily Ryleigh is retiring and this 4,185 sq ft restaurant space is for sale for $750,000.
*1053 Forest Ave – the former Papa John’s on Forest Ave is available, 1,200 sq ft at $18/sq ft (NNN).
Other
*431 Congress St – the Mainely Wraps on Congress Street closed earlier this year. I can’t locate an official property listing but it remains vacant so is likely available for lease.
439 Congress St – the former home of sandwich shop and a cafe, this 1,000 sq ft space is available for $20/sq ft (MG).
1335 Congress St – the longtime home of Espo’s Trattoria is for sale at $899,000. The 5,500 sq ft building comes with 10 parking spaces.
132 Marginal Way – this 2,300 sq ft space is located across the street from Trader Joe’s. It’s available for $23/sq ft (NNN).
25 Portland St – this 550 sq ft retail space is located down the street from Isa and Back Bay Grill. It’s available for $1,100 (MG).
100 Portland St – this 500 sq ft retail space is adjacent to Bayside American Cafe. It’s available for $1,200 per month (MG).
280 Saint John St – 2 spaces are available in the Union Station Plaza. The 4,400 and 2,600 sq ft spaces are available for $8/sq ft (NNN) and $12/sq ft (NNN) respectively.
377 Saint John St – the former Aunt Dee’s Cafe is for sale. The asking price is $400,000.
46 Veranda St – the 600 sq ft building that currently is home to the East Deering location of Union Bagel is for sale for $500,000.
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.
Food & Wine recently published an article on their search for the best coffee in Portland.
As you might expect from a city with so many dark, cold days on the annual calendar, there’s no shortage of coffee in Portland. Who, however, was doing it best, or better than most? To answer that question, I scheduled stops at five prominent local roasters: Tandem Coffee, Coffee by Design, Bard Coffee, Speckled Ax, and Rwanda Bean, as well as the following shops where fine coffee was said to be sold: Coffee ME Up, Little Woodfords, Union Bagel and Rose Foods.
A local Maine company called UnaRes Technologies (website, instagram) launched their first product earlier this month. UnaBrew is
…a comprehensive brewery management solution developed in close collaboration with industry experts. We’ve designed a powerful software platform to overcome the challenges of operating a brewery; from consistently brewing top quality beer to scheduling tasting room staff, and everything in between.
The company was founded by Ivan Novikov and Andrew Camarata. The two are longtime friends and avid beer lovers with backgrounds in software development. They’ve developed UnaBrew over the last 10 months, and are now focusing their energies on identifying and adding new features to the program.
Breweries interested in learning more about UnaBrew can reach them via their website or DM on instagram.
All Week Long – today is the opening day of 2nd Annual Portland Wine Week (website, facebook, instagram, twitter). Over the next 7 days nearly 80 events will be taking place across the city. Wine dinners, panel discussions, special events with winemakers, wine tastings, a wine passpourt program, and even a wine barre class. This is a huge collaborative effort by restaurants, bars, wine shops with leadership and overall organization by Erica Archer from Wine Wise. See the PWW event calendar for all the details.
Wednesday – the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – The Great Lost Bear is holding a 40th Anniversary Bash.
Saturday – nearly a dozen bakeries are collaborating on a bake sale to raise funds for Portland’s Community Fund to benefit the new wave of asylum seekers arriving in the city. The Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.