Maxim magazine has published a list of the 10 Best Places for Drinks in and around Portland.
Highlighted in the article are Blyth and Borrows, Hunt and Alpine, Batson River, Magnus on Water, Great Lost Bear, Via Vecchia, Wandby Landing, Papi, East Ender and Cabelleras.
Nosh Taco (instagram), the new eatery located in the oval-shaped building in Canal Plaza, opened on Friday. The menu includes a selection of carnitas, veggie, chicken and fish tacos and tortas. The drinks menu include a variety of margaritas as well as a mojito, ranch water, beer and wine.
The business has been launched by Michael Fraser, Michael Barbuto and Kevin Doyle. The three are also owners of CBG and Nosh.
Nosh Tacos seats ~40 and during the summer season there will outdoor seating spilling out into the plaza. This week they’ll be open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm.
Monday – Acclaimed chef Rob Evans is preparing a paella dinner at Anoche tonight.
Tuesday – Old Port Wine Merchants is holding a wine tasting.
Wednesday – Chaval will be serving a vegan wine dinner. The 5-course (4 savory courses and 1 dessert course) will feature wines from Chateau Cosme & Chateau Rouanne in the southern Rhone Valley; $88 plus tax and gratuity. Email reservations@chavalmaine.com or call (207) 772-1110 for reservations.
Thursday – Secret Supper is holding a (sold out) holiday dinner in the Portland area.
Sunday – Calling in Love Cacao will be at Cocktail Mary for a sampling and sale of their single origin ceremonial grade cacao. Along with the chocolate event owner Isaac McDougal’s mother-in-law will be serving her homemade arepas.
December 13 – Experience Maine is holding a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner at Ballast.
December 15 – Salt + Pepper Social is holding a vegan wine and cheese event.
December 17 – Helm is holding a Prime Rib dinner.
January 5/6 – Roma Cafe is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the restaurant with a 5-course dinner with optional wine pairings.
January 20 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Catering.
January 27 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Christian Hayes from The Garrison.
February 10 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chef Krista Kern Desjarlais from Bresca and The Purple House.
February 18 – Flanagan’s Farm in Buxton will be holding a Supper Club dinner featuring chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti from Chaval and Devin Finigan from Aragosta.
March 28 – Ballast will be hosting a murder mystery dinner.
June 10-16 – Portland Wine Week is taking place.
June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.
June 29 – The 3rd Annual Mast Landing Wavy Days Festival is taking place.
August 30 – September 1 – Maine Apple Camp is taking place.
Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Sacred Profane in Biddeford.
…Dark lager with lots of foam is a great match for the veggie-friendly, poutine-esque mushroom stroganoff. If you want something lighter, with more crisp acidity, go for pale lager, especially paired with a dish like the snappy Austrian-style pork-and-veal hot dog served with Morse’s sauerkraut, finely diced shallots and fiery Dusseldorf mustard ($10). If you really want to witness the power of foam, try the Allen’s and Milk, a chocolatey, sabayon-reminiscent dessert beverage. You’ll never think about beer the same way again.
Welcome to the December 2023 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company—a commercial real estate brokerage that has helped Maine’s restauranteurs buy and lease restaurant spaces since 1975.
This resource gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland (and a few in the surrounding area) that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers and retailers to locate their next business. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this resource will make that step just a little bit easier.
West End/Parkside
867 Congress St – the 3,200 sq ft former church that had been slated to be the new home of Vena’s is for sale for $775,000.
Arts District
554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).
594 Congress St – with the upcoming close of the Congress Street Starbucks, their 2,592 sq ft space in the Upper H. H. Hay Building will become available for $35/sq ft (MG).
600 Congress St – for lease signs are in the window of the ground floor space at the corner of High and Congress. The Schwartz Building has been under renovation for a decade. For more info call (207) 773-7100.
29 Forest Ave – As part of the renovations at Portland Stage a new 2,700 sq ft restaurant space with a kitchen is being built out. Portland Stage is seeking a restaurant tenant to lease the space for $19.50/sq ft.
44 Oak St – 4,347 sq ft of space in a beautiful historic building at the corner of Oak and Free Streets is available for $15.50/sq ft (NNN).
Bayside
73 Cove St – a 5,519 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is listed for $35/sq ft; it’s expected to become available in 2024.
46 Elm St – this 385 sq ft corner space in the parking garage at the corner of Elm Street and Cumberland Ave. It’s available for $500/month (MG).
52 Hanover St – On the first floor of a new building will be 1,500 – 4,500 sq ft retail space available for $30/sq ft (NNN). One spot in the building has earmarked for a coffee shop.
178 Kennebec St – 2,644 sq ft of space are available in a newly constructed Bayside building for $25/sq ft (NNN).
34 Portland St – the 3,400 sq ft building that was formerly occupied by Candy’s is for sale for $525,000. It’s also available to lease for $13.50/sq ft (NNN).
Munjoy Hill
89 Congress St – 1,200 sq ft available for $25/sq ft (MG) at the top of Munjoy Hill. Contact davit70@gmail.com for more information.
Old Port
1 Canal Plaza – 4,284 – 14,412 sq ft of ground floor retail space will be available as part of upcoming renovations; $30/sq ft (NNN).
1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay location at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 816-2,000 sq ft is for lease at $35-40/sq ft (NNN).
100 Commercial St – 1,535 sq ft of retail space at the corner of Commercial and Portland Pier is for lease for $28.75/sq ft (MG)
185 Commercial St – a new building under construction will include 2,334 sq ft of ground floor retail space that will be available in 2024; $55/sq ft (NNN).
215 Commercial St – 2,487 sq ft of retail space near the corner of Commercial and Dana Streets is available for $65/sq ft (MG).
327 Commercial St – the former Tiqa restaurant is for lease—7,981 sq ft @ $30/sq ft (NNN)—or for sale for $3,500,000.
383 Commercial St – 1,193 – 4,805 square feet of space in a newly constructed building on Commercial Street is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).
441 Congress St – the 2,400 sq ft former Guitar Grave retail space is available for $15/sq ft (MG).
8 Exchange St – the 3,600 sq ft space formerly occupied by The Bar is available for lease for $33.25/sq ft (MG).
201 Federal St – 2 retail spaces will be available in the new 18-story building under construction at the corner of Temple and Federal Streets. The 527 and 2,300 sq ft spaces are listed at $40/sq ft (MG).
420 Fore St – the space formerly occupied by the Old Port Slice Bar is for lease; 2,600 sq ft @ $55/sq ft (MG).
446 Fore St – a 1,600 sq ft space on the corner of Fore and Union Streets is available for $30/sq ft (MG).
40 Free St – a 1,511 sq ft space in the new building constructed by JB Brown is available for $27.50/sq ft (NNN).
28 Market St – the 850 sq ft space formerly occupied by Lucky Juju is available for lease for $2,800/month (MG).
46 Market St – the 2,100 sq ft space formerly occupied by Petite Jacqueline is for lease for $42/sq ft (NNN).
55 Market St – this 3,700 sq ft space on Market Street was formerly occupied by the Big Easy. It’s available for $18/sq ft (NNN).
121 Middle St – a 2,482 sq ft retail spot is available for $45/sq ft (MG).
157 Middle St – 1,091 – 5,155 sq ft of retail space is available for $27 – 29.95/sq ft (MG).
1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space adjacent to Cera is available 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).
24 Preble St – the original Arcadia space is available. The 2,835 sq ft storefront near Dutch’s and Slab is listed for $20/sq ft (NNN).
3 Spring St – the space currently occupied by the Stars & Stripes tasting room is for lease; 2,554 sq ft for $17.50/sq ft (NNN).
3 Spring St – the space currently occupied by Stage Cannabis is for lease; 2,000 sq ft for $15.50/sq ft (NNN).
144 State St – 2 retail spaces will be available in the development in the former Mercy Hospital building on State Street. The 1,100 and 2,566 sq ft spaces are available for $20-26/sq ft (MG).
15 Temple St – the 2,086 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).
23 Temple St – a 947 sq ft retail space in the Temple Street garage is available for $26/sq ft (MG).
110 Thames St – a 2,700 sq ft space and a 3,200 sq ft space are available in the newly constructed building in the Portland Foreside development, $35/sq ft (NNN).
53 Wharf St –a 1,600 sq ft space on the corner of Wharf and Union Streets is available for $30/sq ft (MG).
India Street Area
144 Fore St – the former VA building is near the Portland Foreside development and adjacent to several new office buildings off Thames Street. It has 1,560 – 10,620 sq ft of space available for $22-29/sq ft (NNN).
Outer Forest Ave
301 Forest Ave – the former Higher Concept space is for lease, 4,000 sq ft at $15/sq ft (NNN).
503 – 509 Forest Ave – the exterior of this building is slated to be restored to its historic design. It has 4,500 – 9,500 sq ft of space available for $10/sq ft (NNN).
634 Forest Ave – this former garage is located at the center of Woodfords Corner near Bayou Kitchen Woodford Food & Beverage, and Bird & Co. The 1,305 sq ft building has had a change of use to allow for a restaurant use, and comes with room for 8-12 parking spaces. It is available for $2,750/month (NNN).
701 Forest Ave – 3,147 – 6,405 sq ft with parking available for $16/sq ft (NNN).
Deering
476 Stevens Ave – the Elsmere BBQ building in Deering Center is for sale for $1,450,000; the sale includes all FF&E inventory.
550 Washington Ave – 2,000 – 2,400 sq ft of the former Botto’s bakery is available to lease for $18/sq ft (NNN).
Elsewhere in Portland
1339 Washington Ave – the 4,150 sq ft former Parker’s Restaurant building in North Deering is for sale for $1,995,000.
Northgate Shopping Center – 2,000 to 3,500 sq ft of space is available.
Westgate Shopping Center – three spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).
Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.
Outside of Portland
188 Lincoln St, Lewiston – this 2,371 – 5,554 sq ft former fire station has been renovated for use as a retail/restaurant space. It’s listed at $5-14/sq ft (NNN).
521 Route 1, Scarborough – the 9,211 sq ft former Amore restaurant is for sale for $595,000.
171 Ocean St, South Portland – the 1,500 sq ft space formerly occupied by Judy Gibson is for lease for $25/sq ft (NNN).
1637 Post Rd, Wells – the 4,000 sq ft build that was formerly the home of Joshua’s is for sale for $2,150,000.
Billy’s Chowder House – both the building and business of Billy’s Chowder House in Wells is for sale. The ~200 seat restaurant comes with a 62-car parking lot and sits on Mile Road which connects Route 1 with Wells Beach.
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.
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Chocolats Passion (website, facebook, instagram) opened their new West End chocolate shop on Friday. The new location is at 175 Spring Street in the former Mercy Hospital building.
Founder Catherine Wiersema, lead chocolatier Sarah Levine and their team now have twice the room for their retail shop and chocolate production area which will enable them to significantly increase production of their award-winning chocolates. The shop sits just off the public outdoor seating area for the building which customers can enjoy while sipping their French Hot Chocolate. Chocolats Passion has some vegan products and serves a dairy-free version of their hot chocolate.
The new shop will be open 1 – 6 pm Saturday and Sunday, and then starting on Wednesday will be open everyday through to December 24th, 1 – 6 pm.
Chocolats Passion initially opened for business at 189 Brackett Street September 12, 2018.
Good Wine Bar (instagram) opened for business on Friday. They’re located at 172 Main Street in Saco at the corner of Main and Water Streets. They had expected a slow start on opening day but had a full house by 5:30.
GWB serves wines by the glass and bottle, draft beer and a small selection of classic cocktails. The food menu includes a small selection of salad, snacks, sandwiches, cheese and charcuterie plates all prepared by former Yobo chef/owner Sunny Chung. If you go try the Pear and Parma Ham salad.
Co-owner Kim Lully has put together a selection of primarily Old World wines from France, Italy, Austria and Spain with a few bottles from the US and South America in the mix.
Good Wine Bar will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 4 – 9 pm with a happy hour each day 4 – 6.
Chung and Lully formerly ran the Korean restaurant Yobo, and were partners with Sarah Gabrielson and chef Tony Pastor in the launch of Main Street Steak & Oyster in Brunswick.
New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know on what’s going on:
Owners of the Solo Cucina Market in South Portland have announced that the market is for sale. The announcement on instagram reads in part,
To our dear community: we have some challenging news to share. After a very positive year for Solo Cucina, we have had to make a difficult choice of putting the market up for sale. This is not because the market and what it offers is not deeply valued. To the contrary, and we have been honored by the community’s enthusiasm for the market’s offerings and your ongoing support and patronage…
…This was our first year seeing tangible growth and progress, but building the market came with some legacy liabilities that we have been unable to sufficiently overcome. We also feel that we are a bit stretched thin and don’t want to do a disservice to the concept or to you, the community. A market as locally relevant and specialized as Solo Cucina that supports a dedicated year round community deserves full attention on behalf of its visionaries…
The market opened on March 25, 2020. A final day in business has not been set yet. See the announcement for whom interested parties should contact for details on a purchase.
Solo Cucina is part of a family of businesses that also include Solo Italiano in Portland and Solo Pane e Pasticceria in Bath.
Joseph Robbins, the chef at Bissell Brothers Three Rivers in Milo, has been invited to cook at the White House Tribal Nations Summit taking place on December 6th and 7th.
Robbins is one of a small team of Indigenous American chefs participating in the event. His draft menu includes a turkey roulade made with squash and cranberries served over a wild rice and apple salad with a pumpkin pipian sauce. In addition to representing Indigenous American cuisine Robbins shared he also appreciates the opportunity to showcase produce and meats from Maine farms.
Robbins is Penobscot and has been one of a growing cadre of chefs raising the visibility of Indigenous American cooking traditions. A visitor to Bissell Brothers in Milo will find a menu grounded in local foods and featuring some dishes that make use of indigenous ingredients and food traditions.