Cantina Calafia Takeout Window

| Posted in Openings

Cantina Calafia (instagram) opened their takeout window today. Owners Dominique Gonzalez and Justin Grey are serving: rolled tacos (chicken or beef), potato tacos, and a Caesar salad with an optional chicken add-on. The menu will continue to develop in the coming days.

The takeout window will be open this week Thursday through Saturday, 11 – 3. Next week they’ll be open Monday through Friday.

Grey and Gonzalez continue to work on the renovations to the former Bonobo Pizza location. They don’t have a firm date yet for the full launch of the restaurant. For more information on Cantina Calafia see this article from March.

Wandering in Portland

| Posted in Reviews

A website called Wandering Wheatleys has published their list of the 16 Best Restaurants in Portland.

Portland is a city for foodies, with incredible restaurants around every corner that showcase not only traditional Maine cuisine but foods from all over the world. Yes, there’s lobster and oysters and clams, but there are also unique takes on comfort food classics, special spins on a traditional slice of pizza, and some of the best donuts you’ll ever have. Whether you’re craving something Latin-inspired, Japanese, Italian, or simply something that’s mainly from Maine, you’ll find it in Portland!

Angoor Wine Bar

| Posted in Under Construction

The October issue of Portland City Lifestyle magazine includes an article about Rafael Dones and Sangeeta Nasiff’s plans to open Angoor Wine Bar on Fore Street.

Serving a variety of wines in two, four, and six-ounce servings from pre-calibrated self-pour dispensers, the elevated but approachable wine bar will give customers the opportunity to pour as they go. The process is simple: grab a wine card when you walk in, and head to the self-pour dispensers to fill up a glass at your leisure. “This distinctive experience eliminates the need to wait in line or flag down a bartender,” explains Nasiff… 

Dones and Nasiff hope to open Angoor Wine Bar in early 2024.

Update: photograph added October 23rd.

Beard Awards: Open Call for Recommendations

| Posted in General News

As in past years, the James Beard Foundation has posted an open call for recommendations for the awards committee to consider when building the list of semifinalists for the 2024 chef and restaurant awards program. The deadline to submit recommendations is November 30th.

We’re looking for chefs, creators, food system leaders, and more who could be the next James Beard Award winners! Whether you published a cookbook in the last year, own a restaurant, or advocate for food system change, we encourage you to submit your entries and recommend your talented colleagues.

Reference this PDF for guidelines on the chef and restaurant awards categories.

To create an account and submit your recommendations visit: jamesbeardawards.awardsplatform.com

6 Openings

| Posted in Openings

Six new restaurants have recently opened or will soon do so:

  • A new takeout restaurant called Asian Combo (facebook) is scheduled to open on October 9th in Biddeford. The restaurant is located at 169 Pool Street. Owner Phiangchay ‘Tui’ Dubois will be serving a menu of Thai, Laotian and Vietnamese food that will include banh mi and boba tea.
  • A new banh mi shop called BiddoBanh (instagram) is scheduled to open on October 13th. They’re located at 299 Main Street (bottom right) in Biddeford in the same building as Fish & Whistle and Vickie’s Veggie Table. The menu includes a Banh Mi Lobster Roll (homemade lobster pate, sweet Maine lobster meat, a hint of tangy pickled ginger and topped with fresh chopped scallions).
  • A new tea shop (upper left) recently opened in downtown Westbrook. HoneyBoba (instagram) serves a variety of tea-based drinks including matcha lattes and boba teas. HoneyBoba is located at 947 Main Street. The strawberry with black tea and muddled lime and crystal pearl boba was thoroughly enjoyable.
  • Jodie’s Cafe and Bakery (facebook, instagram) held the grand opening for their cafe, bakery and restaurant on Friday (bottom left) in Wiscasset. Jodie’s is located at 45 Water Street in the space formerly occupied by Sarah’s. Owner Jodie Roquemore moved to Maine from Georgia and opened the first iteration of Jodie’s in 2022. The breakfast and lunch menus includes standards like pancakes, corned beef hash, burgers, BLT, club sandwich, as well as daily specials and house-made baked goods. Jodie’s is also adding a new dinner service.
  • A new restaurant in Bethel called The Watershed (facebook, instagram) held a pre-opening pop-up on Saturday (upper right). They’re in the final stretch towards an opening day in the next couple weeks. The menu will feature house-made pasta, wood-fired pizza as well as kebabs, grain bowls, and salads.
  • Yolked Farm to Table (website, instagram) opened on Tuesday in Windham. Nearly all the items on their menu are gluten-free or can be prepared gluten-free. Yolked began as a food truck in 2019 and has now moved into a building at 868 Roosevelt Trail. Reservations are available online.

Check back for updates on more openings. In the meantime see the Under Construction page for details on other businesses under development.

Botanically Curious on Congress Street

| Posted in Under Construction

A business called Botanically Curious (website, facebook, instagram) is building out a retail location at 419 Congress Street in the first floor of the Masonic building.

Owner Paula Kersch is creating a multi-function space and multi-facetted business. At its center Botanically Curious is an herbal apothecary. Kersch will run her herbal consulting business from the Congress Street location and the retail counter will sell herbal products for customers to use at home as well as serve custom blended herbal teas and mocktails.

The floor plan also has a mixed-use space to host movement-based classes like barre, herbal workshops and other group activities. A back room that is being designed with a more library vibe with books and periodicals about herbal medicine.

The offices and other facilities will also be available to other herbalists as a coworking space. Kersch hopes that will help build community among her fellow practitioners.

Botanically Curious is slated to open this fall. Follow their instagram account to stay in the loop on the schedule of opening weekend activities that are being planned.

Upcoming Events

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – Moe’s Original BBQ will be donating a portion of their sales on Tuesday to Soul Food Paradise to help them launch their new restaurant on Preble Street. See also the SFP GoFundMe campaign.

Wednesday – Cong Tu Bot will be previewing some drinks and dishes from their upcoming new restaurant Oun Lido, and MOFGA is holding an apple tasting at the Maine Heritage Orchard in Unity.

Thursday – Inside Wayside, a fundraising food event for the Wayside Food Programs is taking place. Additionally, Maine Foodscapes is holding their 2nd annual fundraising dinner at Wolfe’s Neck Farm. Browne Trading is holding a Cru Beajolais wine tasting.

Friday – Winemaker Roberto Henriquez will be at Maine and Loire for a wine tasting.

Saturday – Oxbow is holding their annual Goods from the Woods event in Newcastle.

Sunday – Dandelion Spring Farms is holding a Harvest Dinner, and Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

Saturday-Monday – the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta takes place; the pumpkin regatta takes place on Monday the 9th.

October 12 – Gross Confection Bar is holding a 3-course dessert and port tasting event in collaboration with Vieira de Sousa.

October 14 – There will be a community cider pressing at the Mount Joy Orchard.

October 15 – Pacifico is holding Noche Nikkei a  6-course Peruvian-Japanese Dinner. Twelve is holding a Harvest Party. Tickets go on sale on September 15th.

October 20 – Evo is serving a dinner at the Wolfe’s Neck Center in Freeport.

October 21-22 – the Maine Fermentation Fair is taking place at Dandelion Spring Farm.

October 25-28 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.

October 26 – Bar Futo is hosting Roundtable, an event and dinner that “brings together chefs, organizers and neighbors for actionable discussion about social justice, mutual aid and sustainability.”

October 28 – the 18th Annual Veg Fest is taking place.

October 30 – Ore Nell’s North in Biddeford is holding a 5-course beer dinner.

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

December 7 – Secret Supper is holding a (sold out) holiday dinner in the Portland area.

June 26 – Secret Supper (instagram) is holding a dinner in the Portland area.

Owl & Elm Review, Prepared Meal Services

| Posted in General News, Reviews

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a review of Owl & Elm in Yarmouth, and

The gochujang-and-passionfruit double whammy in the Take a Walk makes it a wonderful cocktail to pair with food. Try it with the blueberry-and-arugula panzanella (which is really just a satisfying, creamy salad with some crunch) or the brioche-topped duck burger (but ask for the duck egg on the side). While you’re at it, order a basket of house-cut french fries to satisfy all the people at your table who’ll fight you for them. While the food isn’t yet up to snuff, enjoy the atmosphere, which is pure, medical-grade fun and laughter. The menu, I hope, will catch up soon.

an article about the prepared meal services with details on six of them that are available in Maine.

We talked with Ventura and the owners of six Maine-based prepared meal companies about the particulars of their operations (all except one offers delivery) to help you find one that matches your particular needs. Whether you’re health-minded, seeking plant-based options, are a senior with a medical condition, or just a busy family that needs some crowd-pleasing comfort food, there’s a service here that can help.

Restaurant Real Estate: October 2023

| Posted in Under Construction, Real Estate

Welcome to the October 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.

2 Pine St – Part of the former Treasure Chest space in Longfellow Square is for lease. Enterprise Records has moved into the right-hand portion with the remainder (adjacent to Weekend Vintage) still available. Call (207) 773-7100 for more details.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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 at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is undergoing renovations. The 900-2,950 sq ft is for lease at $35/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).

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 $30-40/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).

46 Market St – the 2,100 sq ft space formerly occupied by Petite Jacqueline is for lease for $45/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).

28 Monument Square – a space on the 2nd floor of the Public Market House is avaialble (143 sq ft with a base rent of $1,185 + utilities and CAM charges—call  413-636-9688 for details).

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).

3 Spring St – the commercial kitchen in the Stars & Stripes Brewery tasting room is available to lease for $2,000/month + utilities.

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 $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 is 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 $30-40/sq ft (MG).

India Street

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 $24-29/sq ft (NNN).

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).

701 Forest Ave – 3,147 – 6,405 sq ft with parking available for $18/sq ft (NNN).

Deering Center

476 Stevens Ave – the Elsmere BBQ building in Deering Center is for sale for $1,450,000; the sale includes all FF&E inventory.

Elsewhere in Portland

1091 Congress St – the former Denny’s building and parking lot are available to lease; 4,901 sq ft at $25.50/sq ft (NNN).

43 York St – this 1,800 sq ft space is tucked around the corner from Yosaku on York Street. It’s available for $3,000/month (MG).

Northgate Shopping Center – 2,000 to 5,700 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

Bath – the former  home of Salt Pine Social is available. The 3,535 sq ft building is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).

372 Cottage Rd, South Portland – the former Omi’s Coffee Shop is available for lease. Call Jennifer Davies at (207) 650-9944 for more 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.

Maine Food & Dining News

| Posted in Maine

Here are some recent food and dining highlights from around the state:

  • Travel and Leisure recently declared the Blue Hill peninsula “One of the Best Places to Eat in the U.S. Right Now“. The article mentions Aragosta, Blue Hill Wine Shop, Tinder Hearth, Fin & Fern, Stonington Ice Cream Company, 44 North, Milkweed & Monarch, El El Frijoles, Barncastle, and more.
  • The September issue of Down East includes an article about The Rooting Pig in Bristol.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that restaurateurs from Bar Harbor have bought the Stonington building that originally housed Aragosta with plans to open a new establishment called 27 Fathoms Waterfront Grille.