Free Spirited NA Distribution

| Posted in Openings

Courtney Berkholtz has launched a new distribution company called Free Spirited (instagram). Berkholtz is specializing in non-alcoholic beverages and spirits.

Free Spirited distributes products from St. Agrestis, FruitBelt, RSRV Collective, Figlia, Spritzi, and Woodnose, and she is developing new relationships with other NA producers as well. Berkholtz hopes her company can increase the access to NA products and support the development of mocktail options at restaurants and bars in Maine.

You can find some of these products on the menus and retail shelves at Free Spirited’s customers: Another Round, Botanically Curious, Sissle & Daughters, Browne Trading, the Portland Zoo, Bissell Brothers, Terra Cotta, Bar Publica, Barber Brothers, Wilson County, Onggi, and Smalls.

Maine Food & Dining News: Bath, Brunswick, Springvale, Alna

| 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:

  • Tony and Chelsea Bickford have taken over the Scarlet Begonia’s space at 16 Station Ave in Brunswick (right photo) where they plan to launch Pomelia (instagram). Pomelia will serve a menu of Sicilian-inspired pastas, pizzas, and street food along with cocktails and wine. The menu will also have a broad selection of non-alcoholic drinks.
    The Bickfords shared, “We’re opening a Sicilian eatery that blends tradition with a retro-modern twist, serving up the rich flavors of Sicily’s diverse cultural history. Sicily has been influenced by so many different cultures, and that’s reflected in the bold, varied flavors we can’t wait to share with you! We’re all about great food and warm hospitality.”
    The Bickfords are making some renovations to the restaurant and hope to launch Pomelia in early January. Stay tuned to their instagram account for updates and an announcement about a launch date.
    For seven years up until 2021 the Bickfords ran Little Village Bistro in Wiscasset. They both grew up in the Midcoast and now live in Bath. Doug and Colleen Lavallee announced last week that they’d be closing Scarlet Begonias after nearly 30 years in business. The restaurant was originally located at 212 B Maine St.
  • Solo Pane e Pasticceria (website, facebook, instagram) is expanding into the space adjacent to the right of their storefront on Centre Street in Bath (left photo) which was formerly occupied by the Paperback Trader bookstore. The initial phase of construction will provide the bakery some back operation space and capabilities like additional walk-in space and dry storage. Then by early spring Solo will begin installation of a second oven for expanded production flexibility and capacity. The second phase of construction will also include the buildout a larger public space which will nearly triple their indoor seating from 12 seats to 30-36 seats. With the launch of the larger dining area Solo Pane e Pasticceria plans to expand their offerings to include some early evening light fare.
  • Meeting Grounds Cafe (website, facebook, instagram)  recently opened. It is located 489 Main St in the village of Springvale. In addition to coffee and baked goods, Meeting Grounds also serves soup, salads and sandwiches. Meeting Grounds plans to hold a grand opening for the business on December 2nd.
  • The Times Record recently published an article about The Alna Store.

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.

Beard Awards Deadline

| Posted in General News

The James Beard Foundation posted an open call for recommendations from industry professionals and the general public earlier this fall. The deadline for everyone to send in their submissions is coming up on November 29th.

If there’s an exceptional food or drink business or hospitality professional you want to see win a Beard Award then visit jamesbeardawards.awardsplatform.com to create an account and send in a submission on their behalf.

For reference here’s:

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – Bar Futo will be hosting Pickerel from Providence, Rhode Island for a pop-up. Beard Award-winning chef David Standridge from The Shipwright’s Daughter in Connecticut will be collaborating on a dinner with Regards chef Neil Zabriskie.

Wednesday – GMRI is holding an event to discuss Climate Resilience Potential in Gulf of Maine Fisheries. Vagabundo will be serving pork tamales and vegan bean+mushroom tamales at a pop-up at Lambs in South Portland.

Thursday – 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.

Friday-Sunday – Goodfire Brewing in Freeport will be serving Wabanaki-inspired dishes in collaboration with Penobscot chef Joe Robbins. The three day event is being organized in collaboration with the Wabanaki Alliance. Robbins was a 2024 Beard Awards semifinalist in the Emerging Chef category and was the chef at the now closed Bissell Brothers location in Milo, Maine.

November 25 – Friends & Family is holding a Thanksgiving wine tasting with a 10% discount off bottles that are part of the event. A pop-up featuring the former and current bar staff from Round Turn will be taking place at Pacifico.

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 – See our 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List 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. New listings are being added every day.

November 30 – 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 13 – Hanukkah Mexicana is taking place in Bath. The event will include food inspired by the Mexican Jewish cookbook, Sabor Judio, and a talk by authors Ilan Stavans and Margaret Boyle.

December 15 – A gingerbread house decoration event is taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is a fundraiser for Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.

December 18 – Sacred Profane will be holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes at their location in Biddeford.

December 24 – Via Vecchia is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner.

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

February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

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.

2024 Maine Thanksgiving List

| Posted in Events

Thanksgiving is now less than two weeks away. Do you have your holiday meal plans squared away yet?

To help you out with that we’ve put together the 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List. It gathers in one place a list of community meals, restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, and businesses taking orders for sides, pies, turkey and even full thanksgiving dinners for you to serve at home.

There are nearly 100 entries on the list with more being added everyday, and it includes businesses from the Portland area and all over the state.  Drop us a line if you know of any restaurants, food businesses or community meals that should get added to the list.

Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue Opens Friday

| Posted in Openings

The eagerly anticipated Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue (website, instagram) will officially open on Friday at 11 am. It’s located at 476 Stevens Ave in Deering Center. Owner Ryan Carey purchased the building this past spring. With renovations complete and delayed kitchen equipment installed, Carey and his staff are ready to welcome their neighbors and the public.

The menu (see below) includes apps (dry rubbed wings shown above), pizza, salads, and sandwiches featuring Noble’s barbecue. A selection of six house pizzas are on the menu but there’s also a build-your-own option. Vegetarian and gluten-free options are available as is a children’s menu. The beverage list includes draft beer and cocktails.

The dining room and bar seat 88 and there will be outdoor seating for an additional 30 people during warmer months. The overall layout of the restaurant remains the same. Murals by Maine artist Ryan Adams bring a bright and cheerful aspect to the interior. Carey worked with local design agency Toderico Collective on the overall rebranding and graphic design of the building. Starting Friday, Noble will be open 11 am – 9 pm, Tuesday through Sunday.

Roasty’s Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Roasty’s (website, instagram) opened for business today. The counter service sandwich shop showcase a variety of regional roast beef sandwich styles like Chicago’s Italian Beef sandwich, the French Dip which originates from Los Angeles, and the Three-Way from Boston. See below for the full menu. Sandwiches are available in a 5 ounce “Standard” size or scaled up to 8 ounces of roast beef. Shoestring fries are available plain or in five other variations including Beast Style topped with shaved beef, melted cheese and garlic sauce.

Roasty’s is located in the Arts District at 642 Congress Street. Starting off they’ll be open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am – midnight. There are three 2-top tables as well as some counter seating. The entire menu is available for takeout and can be ordered online.

Roasty’s is being launched by Jen Rockwell the owner of Ada’s Kitchen in Rockland. Rockwell had launched a Portland outpost of her Rockland-based restaurant Ada’s Kitchen at 642 Congress Street in early 2020 which closed in late 2021.

Maine Food & Dining News: Bridgton, South Portland, Freeport, Brunswick, Turner

| 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:

  • Bar Kosho (facebook, instagram) has opened for business in Bridgton (bottom left). The Asian fusion restaurant and bar is a collaboration between The Little Mountain Store and Street Eats chef Jeremy Donovan. The menu (see full menu below) includes items like Tuna Tataki (unagi glaze, tarragon oil, karashi mustard, tobiko, purple shiso) and peekeytoe crab toast (toasted milk bread, leeks, red curry coconut, yuzu tobiko). Bar Kosho is open Thursday through Saturday, 4 – 11 pm and 4 – 9 pm on Sunday. They’re located at 1382 North High St in Bridgton.
  • Second Rodeo Coffee (instagram) opened for business on Saturday (top right). The Ferry Village coffee shop and community gathering spot is located at 124 Sawyer Street in South Portland. Second Rodeo is serving Vivid Coffee from Vermont. Brewed coffee and a full range of espresso-based drinks are available. Food options on the menu include breakfast sandwiches, baked goods and avocado toast (see the full menu below). Second Rodeo is open weekdays, 7 am – 2 pm, and weekends 8 am – 3 pm.
  • Chef/owner Jordan Benissan is planning to move his Rockland restaurant Me Lon Togo (website, facebook, instagram) to Freeport. As shared on the MLT restaurant website, the menu “pulls from West Africa’s indigenous and colonial influences to establish his unique representation of West African cuisine.” The new restaurant will be located in a ground floor space at 58 Main Street (bottom right). Benissan plans to close down in Rockland in January and launch the Freeport location in February. This will be Me Lon Togo’s fourth location and is part of his efforts to provide diners in Maine the chance to experience his home country’s cuisine by moving the restaurant to different communities “one small town at a time.” He hopes the success of Me Lon Togo will inspire other immigrants from Africa to launch restaurants in Maine.
  • The owners of Dutchman’s in Brunswick have announced that they will be taking over management of the space they share with Nomad (upper left) in the Fort Andross Mill. Nomad has shared that their last day in business will be November 24th. Dutchman’s post on instagram indicates that, “As we get closer and round the corner into 2025, more details will become available about what is to come with the restaurant side of the space. We are excited and poised to execute yet another vision of what hospitality is to us and we can’t wait to share it with you all.”
  • Elevenes (website, instagram), the hobbit-themed all-day cafe and bakery under construction at 50 Maine Street in Brunswick has announced they’ll be opening on January 11th.
  • The Sun Journal published an article about Deltacom Coffee and its founder John Wayne Nelson.

Vesta Coming to North Yarmouth

| Posted in Under Construction, Maine

A new restaurant is under development in North Yarmouth at the location formerly occupied by Trudy Birds at 424 Walnut Hill Road. Kristen Mixter, Michael Christina and Ramsey Fakhouri have leased the main building and adjacent event space where they plan to open a restaurant called Vesta (instagram).

Vesta will draw its inspiration from the Eastern Mediterranean as well as from traditional Italian cuisine. The team plans to serve a seasonal menu with an approachable selection of appetizers, Roman-style pizza, house-made pasta and sandwiches. Vesta will have wine, beer, and a line-up of draft cocktails. Plans are also in the works to retail their pasta and naturally leavened breads.

Some light renovations are planned for the restaurant. The main dining room will seat 55 with room for an addition 30 in the adjacent event space and outdoor seating for 20 during the warmer months of the year. When Vesta launches early next year it will be open Thursday through Monday, noon – 9 pm. The team hopes to launch Vesta sometime in January.

Mixter and Fakhouri have worked together at Crispy Gai where she was the bar manager and he was the sous chef. Mixter previously was the bar manager at Tipo where she gained an appreciation for Italian cuisine. Christina has been the general manager at CBG for the last four years and has nearly two decades of experience in the hospitality industry.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – Chef Amadeus Florendo will be holding his next Filipino Pulutan pop-up at the Hunt and Alpine Club.

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

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

Thursday – 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. Chaval is holding a dinner featuring wine from Finca El Molar in Spain.

Saturday – Primo is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a dinner in collaboration with 6 guest chefs along with chef/owner Melissa Kelly: Nancy Silverton, Ilma Lopez, Jody Adams, Emily Luchetti, Kathleen Blake, and Larry Forgione. 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.

Sunday – Community Plate is holding a Story Sharing Potluck FUNdraising Supper at the Freeport Grange.

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. A pop-up featuring the former and current bar staff from Round Turn will be taking place at Pacifico.

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 – See our 2024 Maine Thanksgiving List 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 info every day.

November 30 – 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 15 – A gingerbread house decoration event is taking place at the Hilton Garden Inn. The event is a fundraiser for Portland Firefighters Children’s Burn Foundation.

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

February 2 – Rafael Zimmerman from Magnus on Water⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 8 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta⁠ will be the guest chef at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 2 – Sara Jenkins, Dustin Martin, and Lauren Radel from Nina June will be the guest chefs at a 2025 Flanagan’s Farm Supper Club dinner.

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.