A new candy store called Sodt (instagram) is under construction at 119 Cumberland Ave in the space formerly occupied by Sticky Sweet. They hope to be open before the end of May.

For a number of years sisters Nikoline and Signe Ostergaard have been bringing candy back to Maine from trips to Denmark to share with friends. Sodt, which means sweet in Danish, is an effort to share the sweets they love with the people of Portland. The sisters are being joined in the business by their mother Liz Ostergaard.

The Ostergaards plan to sell treats from Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, and England. Customers will be able pick and put together a mixed bag from the range of sweet and sour candies, chocolate, caramels and black licorice available. They shared that their slogan is “The way candy should be” and that they’re putting an emphasis on sourcing candies made with natural products and sugars. Some of the candies they’ll have available will be gluten-free and vegan.

Lanai Monahan will be opening a second location of her Biddeford-based business The Garden Bar (website, facebook, instagram). It will be located in South Portland in the space formerly occupied by Cafe Louis. The South Portland cafe will have 20 seats and Monahan is hoping to add some outdoor seating this summer.

The Garden Bar serves made to order salads and bowls. They have a few signature combinations—you can’t go wrong with the Santa Fe—or customers can select from dozens of ingredients to make a custom combo. The South Portland location will be adding a selection of wraps as well as some appetizer/snack items and a wider range of options for salads and bowls.

Monahan hopes to launch the South Portland location in May. The Biddeford Garden Bar is located at 40 Main Street and it opened May 6, 2023.

See the Under Construction page for a list of other Portland area food businesses under development.

Here’s a look inside Cuties (instagram) the all-day bar that’s been under construction on Market Street in the Old Port. The business is being launched by a group of friends and industry colleagues—Bryce Summers, Garrett Lenderman, Ryan Nielsen, Arvid Brown and Nick Coffin. Coffin and Brown are the team that launched Room for Improvement in 2023.

The 2,100 sq ft former Petite Jacqueline space sports a new look. The central bar is now complemented by soft seating communal areas along the south wall and a long window counter looking out over Market Street. A mural by artist Jenna Pirello graces the main entrance, and John Sundling from Plant Office created the greenery design for the bar and the plant rail that circuits high along the windows.

Cuties will initially be open Tuesday through Sunday, 5 pm  to midnight. The owners will be expanding their hours and embracing their full all-day concept starting in mid-May.

The evening drinks menu will feature wine and cocktails. The opening menu will include options like a frozen Mango Cadillac Margarita, a Miami Vice-inspired Sazerac, an espresso Martini on nitro, and a clarified freezer Martinez served with a sidecar short pour of Oyster River Morphos. The food menu will include a range of bar snacks like Nashville hot popcorn shrimp with black lime mayo, and Oaxacan cheese stuffed hushpuppies prepared in a Japanese taiyaki press.

Cuties is located at 46 Market and is set to open on April 8th at 5 pm.

Hank & Arties (instagram) has been working on a food trailer. This morning they and Argenta Brewing announced a collaboration that will see the trailer stationed outside the West Bayside brewery starting in May.

Chef/owner Sean Telo has been holding a number of pop-ups around Portland since last fall. While his day job is with a software company, a decade ago he was working in kitchens like Miller Union in Atlanta and Extra Fancy in Brooklyn.

Here’s a draft of the menu Telo hopes to serve starting in May. Telo has included a kid’s section and hopes that will be a big part of what they do.