Fire on Exchange Street

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald reports there was a fire Friday night at on Exchange Street. The damage seems to have been limited to The Grill Room. A statement from the restaurant on imstagram reads,

We regret to inform our customers that our restaurant is closed until further notice due to a fire incident. Our priority is always the safety of our customers and staff, and we are currently assessing the damage and working with the authorities to investigate the cause of the fire. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding during this difficult time. We will update you as soon as possible on when we will be able to reopen and serve you again.
Thank you for your support.

South Freeport Village Market

| Posted in Openings

Big Tree Hospitality is opening the new South Freeport Village Market (website, instagram) this weekend. The building is owned and recently renovated by Mary Beth and Chris Lorenz, and is located a few blocks away from the Freeport Town Wharf and Harraseeket Lunch & Lobster.

The South Freeport Village market has been a staple in the community since the 1950’s and we are excited to be a part of this revitalization project. The market will have a café and a bean to cup coffee program featuring Rwanda Bean. Offerings will include pastries and breads from Little Spruce Baking Co. The Market will focus on breakfast and lunch as well as, local produce, beer and wine, fresh flowers and sundries.

The market will be open daily 7 am – 8 pm.

Big Tree Hospitality bought Hugo’s from Rob Evans and Nancy Pugh and launched Eventide Oyster Company in 2012, they opened The Honey Paw in 2015, and then Eventide Fenway in 2017. In addition to the South Freeport Village Market they also operate the Higgins Beach Market in Scarborough and the Town Landing Market in Falmouth.

Portland Beer Hub to Reopen

| Posted in Under Construction

Zachary Poole, Joey Joseph and David Phillips have bought the Portland Beer Hub (website, instagram) and plan to reopen the business early this summer. The new Beer Hub will retail packaged beer, wine and prepared foods. Customers will also be able to enjoy a menu of drinks and snacks at the Beer Hub. The 10-tap draft system will serve beer, wine, cider and seltzer, and they plan to also serve a limited range of bottled wine.

Poole and Phillips are the co-owners of the Maine Brew Bus. The Portland Beer Hub is located at the corner of Pearl and Fore Streets in Boothby Square.

A Maturing Beer Industry

| Posted in Beer

This week’s Tap Lines article in the Press Herald provides an overview of the developments in brewery industry in Maine.

Bart Watson, the chief economist for the Brewers Association, projects brewery openings and closings to become “more balanced” in the coming years. Writing in The New Brewer, Watson says this is “not a sign of a collapsing market or bubble bursting, but the realization of a longer trend toward a more mature market.”

Lecha Opens Saturday

| Posted in Openings

Lecha (instagram), the new bubble tea cafe and ice cream shop in Deering Center, is scheduled to open this Saturday. Lecha is located at 502 Stevens Ave near Pat’s Meat Market and Norimoto Baking.

Owners Som Mantasut and Genko Stanilov will be serving a selection of hard serve ice cream from Gifford’s, house made Thai ice tea and vanilla soft serve, bubble tea (their brown sugar bubble tea shown above), and coffee. Later this year they hope to add some baked goods to the menu including waffles.

Starting this Saturday Lecha will be open Thursday through Tuesday, 11 am – 7 pm.

To get caught up on all the new restaurants, bars and other hospitality businesses in development visit our Under Construction List.

Angoor Wine Bar

| Posted in Under Construction

Portland Old Port has the story on the Angoor Wine Bar (instagram) which is under development at 100 Fore Street in the new WEX building.

Angoor will be a self-pour wine bar serving a few dozen wines which customers can dispense in 2, 4 and 6 ounce pours. Owners Sangeeta Nasiff and Rafael Dones plan to also serve beer, cocktails and small plates sourced from established local businesses. The owners hope to open Angoor this fall.

Eaux Launches Thursday

| Posted in Openings

The new Eaux (website, instagram) food truck is set to open this Thursday at 4 pm. Eaux will be located  in the Oxbow/Hardshore parking lot. Here’s an advance look at the menu:

Chicken and Waffles – with Steen’s cane syrup, pickled fresno chiles, fried sage and apples.

“Hen” and Waffles – Maitake mushrooms, Steen’s cane syrup, pickled fresno chiles, fried sage and apples.

Pimento Cheese and Firecrackers – Smoked Gouda, roasted garlic, pimento peppers and crystal hot sauce, served with baked and seasoned saltines.

Khmer Kitchen Now Open

| Posted in Openings

Khmer Kitchen (facebook) opened last week initially serving a selection of Cambodian sandwiches. Shown above is a delicious Pork Belly sandwich from the opening week menu.

The menu has been expanding and starting Tuesday, chef/owner Khanya Mimande will begin serving three different types of Katiew soup (Phonm Penh, Sach Ko, Sach Muon), a beef stew with noodles, and Bah Bor which is a rice porridge dish served with chicken, fried garlic and sprouts.

Khmer Kitchen is located on the 2nd floor of the Public Market House in Monument Square. Their hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 am – 9 pm.

The Quarry Wins Beard Award

| Posted in General News, Maine

Congratulations to The Quarry in Monson, Maine on winning the 2023 James Beard Award for Outstanding Hospitality.

Chef/owner Marilou ‘Lulu’ Ranta accepted the award tonight at the awards ceremony in Chicago, “I never dreamed this—never in my wildest that I’d be standing here today. I just have my restaurant in what I call the boonies, and somehow Mr. Beard still found me. Don’t stop believing, please keep working. I want to thank my husband. He told me I have a Sisu in me.” Sisu is a Finnish word that Ranta explained embodies perseverance, moxie and other qualities.

11 Maine chefs and restaurants were semifinalists in 2023. Maine chefs, restaurants and food professionals have won 10 awards since the Beard Awards program began: five in the Best Chef Northeast category, one in the Outstanding Wine, Beer or Spirits Producer category, one in the Outstanding Hospitality category and three America’s Classics winners. Nezinscot Farm in Turner, Maine was announced as an America’s Classic award winner earlier this year.

For additional reporting see these reports in the Press Herald and Bangor Daily News.

Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – The James Beard Awards ceremony will take place. Nezinscot Farm will receive an American Classics award and The Quarry in Monson will learn if they have won in the Outstanding Hospitality category.

Tuesday – Owl & Elm in Yarmouth is opening.

Friday – Chef Josh Berry and Mast Landing are collaborating on a 4-course beer dinner at The Maker’s Galley.

Sunday – Big Tree Hospitality is holding a farm to table dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

June 12-18 – Portland Wine Week is taking place with 56 events and weeklong offerings happening across the city.

June 17 – the annual Ales for Tails event is taking place at the Spring Point Ledge Lighthouse in South Portland.

June 22-24 – The Holy Trinity Church is holding their annual Greek Festival.

June 24 – Lauren Radel will be the guest chef at a 5-course Peruvian dinner at Nina June in Rockport.

July 6 – Author and cooking teacher Viola Buitoni will be the guest chef at a 5-course Italisn dinner at Nina June in Rockport.

July 15 – Cook, author, and immigrant rights activist Louisa Shafia will be the guest chef for a Persian dinner at Nina June in Rockport. Shafia will also be teaching a pair of cooking classes at Nina July on July 9th and 10th.

July 23 – Maine Open Farm Day is taking place, and Maine Bakers for a Cause are holding an event at Ugly Duckling.

August 23 – An Outstanding in the Field dinner is taking place at Dandelion Spring Farm with guest chef Neil Zabriskie from Regards.

September 10 – Maine Cheese Festival.

September 24 – The Saltyard is holding a cocktail brunch at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

September 30 – Tender Table is holding their 3rd annual food and art fair in Congress Square Park.

October 8 – Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

November 5 – Chaval is holding a late harvest dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.