Interview with Sayvepen Sengsavang

| Posted in People

The Lao Food Foundation has published an interview with chef Sayvepen Sengsavang who is the chef and co-owner of Le Mu Eats (instagram) in Bethel, Maine.

Q: What does innovation of Lao cuisine mean to you? Why is it important?
A: To me, innovation in Lao cuisine is all about telling my own personal story, as a first generation Lao American, through food; taking the Lao cuisine I grew up with, understanding it, respecting where it comes from or why something is done a certain way, but then using the ingredients and tools that are more readily available. I’m not making food that is “authentically” Lao, but making it authentically to me and my experience as a Lao American. I’m the child of Lao refugee immigrants, but I was born and raised in the United States, so I’m not going to make food that looks exactly like my parent’s food…It’s important to tell your own story; trying to tell the story of traditional Lao food doesn’t make sense coming from me. I still use the flavors of Laos, Lao techniques, Lao foods that are available because they are a part of my story, but they are not the entirety of my story.

Read the full interview on the Lao Food Foundation blog.

Casa Novello Indefinitely Closed

| Posted in Closings

Casa Novello in Westbrook has closed indefinitely, and perhaps finally. According to a facebook post on Sunday,

We are sad to say that the legacy of Casa Novello has ended. We appreciate all of your support and will miss you all. We are closed due to staffing issues.

They followed up with a second post that read,

We appreciate all of your comments we have been trying to find staff for over 8 months. I have called schools, friends, told customers tried everything. We are hoping for a miracle.

In total the two posts have received more than 400 comments.

Upcoming Events: Timber/Bay Bowls Opening, Beer wo/ Beards, GF Workshop

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – Timber is slated to re-open as the Timber Bourbon Bar & Lounge.

Wednesday – Lucky Pigeon will be hosting a Gluten-Free Chacuterie Workshop and Beer Tasting organized by Mrs. Gee Free Living, and Banded Brewing will be launching the Banded Taproom + Kitchen in Biddeford.

Thursday – Broken Arrow is holding a dinner with 100% of the proceeds going to support World Central Kitchen and their work to support refugees from Ukraine.

Friday – Bay Bowls is scheduled to open on Washington Ave.

Saturday – the Beer With(out) Beards festival will be taking place.

April 14 – Ruby’s West End is hold a party to celebrate their 1-year anniversary.

April 16 – Novare Res is holding Gasharoo, their annual celebration of beers from Allagash Brewing Company.

April 20 – Oxbow Brewing is hosting a Fermentation Fair organized by The Resilience Hub & Portland Maine Permaculture.

April 22 – May 1 – 4th Maine Seaweed Week will be taking place.

April 27 – the regular Portland Farmers’ Market season begins on Wednesday April 27th in Deering Oaks Park. The market has been in operation since 1768.

June 13 – The 2022 Beard Foundation Awards gala is taking place in Chicago. Five Maine chefs and restaurants are contenders for this year’s awards.

June 13 – 19 – the 5th Annual Portland Wine Week will be taking place.

July 21 – Magnus on Water chef Ben Jackson will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Glidden Point Oyster Farm in Edgecomb.

July 23 – Chaval chefs Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will participating in the Outstanding in the Field series with a dinner at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.

September 3 – Tender Table is holding their 2nd Annual Food & Art Fair in Congress Square Park.

October 9 – the Maine Cheese Guild is holding Maine Open Creamery Day.

Bayside Burrito Food Truck

| Posted in Under Construction

A new food truck that began development last year under a different name will launch this summer as Bayside Burrito (instagram).

Owners Kaleb Caron and Gerry Tardiff will be serving a menu (see below) that includes burritos, tacos, quesadillas and nachos. They plan on having gluten-free option on the menu. The burritos are based on Caron’s grandmother’s recipe that is a little different from the traditional dish.

Caron’s family launched a food truck called KG’s Curbside Grill in early 2020. The business was successful, and has since converted into a brick and mortar restaurant in Winthrop called Ted’s Trackside Grill. That experience gave Caron a taste for restaurant and food truck life that’s led to the launch of Bayside Burrito.

30 Years of Fresh Approach

| Posted in Profiles

Mainer has published an article about the Fresh Approach Market.

During its first week, in February of 1992, the fledgling family business also got a boost from an unexpected source: Portland’s restaurant industry. Steve Harris, the legendary proprietor of Ruski’s Tavern, on the West End, and Rosie’s, the Old Port pub on Fore Street, walked into Fresh Approach just days after they’d opened and placed meat orders for both establishments. Harris, who passed away in 2009, was also the head of the local restaurant association, and by the end of the week Fresh Approach had eight or nine restaurant accounts. 

2022 Down East Lobster Roll Competition

| Posted in Events

Down East magazine has put out a call to Maine restaurants, food trucks, and lobster shacks to participate in their  2022 Down East Lobster Roll Competition.

Customers will visit the participating businesses from  May 2nd to July 17th and vote online for their favorite lobster roll. The first, second and third place winners will get ad space in Down East and promotion across all their online platforms and bragging rights of having the top lobster rolls in the state—see this page for all the details.

Restaurants interested in taking part can fill out this registration form.

Banded Brewing Kitchen

| Posted in Openings



Banded Brewing has announced an expanded food program at what they’re now calling the Banded Taproom + Kitchen in Biddeford.

The kitchen has been renovated to allow us to make more food for more folks, [chef Carrie Clark] has been diligently testing recipes, the management team has been diligently sampling french fries and sauces…The menu will feature thoughtful pub fare with all of the housemade sauces, lots of local ingredients, and plenty of options for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike — in addition the Banded staples you’ve come to know and love.

The new menu will launch on Wednesday April 6th when the Biddeford location will be open 4 – 9 pm.

Restaurant Real Estate: April 2022

| Posted in Under Construction, Real Estate

Welcome to the April 2022 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers/retailers to locate their next business.

Even during the pandemic many people are pursuing their dreams and opening new food businesses. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this new resource will make that step just a little bit easier.

West End

235 Vaughan St – the 700 sq ft space most recently occupied by Other Side Deli and which had been the longtime home of Vaughan Street Variety is for lease. Call (207) 650-0846 for more information.

Arts District

554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).

642 Congress St – the former Ada’s space is available to sublet; 2,569 sq ft (MG).

643/647 Congress St – 1,107 – 5,016 sq ft of space near Longfellow Square is available for $20/sq ft (MG).

649 Congress St – this 3,000 sq ft space is available for $22/sq ft (MG).

Bayside

15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.

31 Diamond St – this 2,800 – 22,034 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).

178 Kennebec St – a 2,644 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building in West Bayside is available for $30/sq ft (NNN).

211 Marginal Way – the 4,052 sq ft space on the corner of Marginal Way and Franklin occupied by Bayside Bark is for lease for $40/sq ft (NNN).

65 Portland Street – the beautiful restaurant space that was home to Back Bay Grill for 34 years is available; 2,750 sq ft for $25/sq ft (MG).

24 Preble St – the former Arcadia space is available; 2,835 sq ft for $20/sq ft (NNN).

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).

383 Commercial St – 1,639 – 3,487 of retail space on Commercial Street for $28/sq ft (NNN).

446 Fore St – 1,600 – 3,400 sq ft in the former Pearl space with entrances on Wharf and Fore Streets is available for $30-40/sq ft (MG).

40 Free St – the new building constructed by JB Brown has four storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft for $30/sq ft (NNN).

38 Market St – a 1,200 subterranean space near the intersection with Milk Street for $1,175/month (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 St – the 5,474 sq ft space on the corner of Market and Middle Streets occupied by Rambler’s Way is for lease for $37/sq ft (MG).

1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space 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).

15 Temple St – the 1,702 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).

41 Wharf St – the former Jager space is available; 1,107 sq ft for $43/sq ft (MG).

42 Wharf St – this 3,770 sq ft space in the Old Port includes a 2,000 sq ft patio, $45/sq ft (MG).

India/Washington Ave

100 Fore St – 3,000 sq ft of space that the listing says is “ideally suited for a restaurant use” for $27-30/sq ft (NNN).

5 India St – 1,250 – 2,500 sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction near the intersection with Commercial St.

47 India St – 1,000 sq ft of the former Lois’ Market building is for lease, $40/sq ft (NNN).

68 Washington Ave – the 1,272 sq ft space formerly occupied by Silly’s is for lease for $23.58/sq ft (MG).

Forest Ave

500 Forest Ave – this 3,200 sq ft space is currently occupied by Starbird. It’s available for $16/sq ft (MG).

651 Forest Ave – a 2,200 sq ft retail space in the Odd Fellows building in Woodford’s Corner for $2,500/month (MG).

945 Forest Ave – 500- 1,220 sq ft of space in the former Photo Market building for $12/sq ft (NNN).

Other

873 Brighton Ave – the 1,334 sq ft building that formerly housed the Redemption Center is for sale for $465,000.

441 Congress St – The 2,400 sq ft former home of Guitar Grave across the street from 1 Monument Square is available for $20/sq ft.

1020 Congress St – a 3,375 service station that is going to be “redeveloped as part a planned mixed use development”. The finished space will be available for $18/sq ft (NNN).

88 Danforth St – a 1,231 sq ft free-standing building on Danforth Street is for sale for $269,000.

155 Riverside St – the Season’s Bar & Grille and Banquet Center is for lease. The 23,750 sq ft facility includes parking and all furniture, fixtures and equipment.

240 Saint John St – 2,400 – 10,000 sq ft in Union Station Plaza for $12-14/sq ft (NNN)

Westgate Shopping Center – four spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).

Biscuits & Co, Biddeford – Biscuits & Co closed on October 16th and the business and equipment is for sale. Contact Biscuitsandcompany@gmail.com for more information.

Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.

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.

The Friendly Toast

| Posted in Under Construction

As reported on Monday, The Friendly Toast (website, facebook, instagram) is opening a location in Portland. A friendly tip from a Portland Food Map reader helped uncover that their new restaurant will be located at 211 Fore Street in the space that had been the location of Sebago Brewing. The Friendly Toast serves an all-day menu of brunch food and drink.

Sebago Brewing opened their Fore Street location in 2011 and announced earlier this year that they were selling to an “unnamed restaurant group and use the proceeds to revamp its brewpubs in Gorham and Scarborough and expand canning in Gorham.”