Wannawaf Needs Help to Waffle On

| Posted in General News

Wannawaf has sent out an appeal asking for help to recapitalize their business. According to the message, the effort to launch 2nd store in Portland impacted the financially viability of the enterprise.

So here it is, Wannawaf in Boothbay harbor is going to go out of business because of my mistakes in Portland. I bled our consistently profitable Boothbay store in order keep Portland going a little bit longer, and as a result I do not have the capital to reopen this year.

If you want to help Wannawaf out go to their page on Go Fund Me.

Interview with Bob Garver

| Posted in People

The Root has published a 2 part interview (part 1, part 2) with Bob Garver, owner of Bard Coffee.

“We believe that as time goes on and our relationships continue to deepen and strengthen, the impact on quality will only amplify,” Garver wrote in an email to me. “This is part of our general approach to our coffees as one in which we are using “best practices” at every step in the coffees journey, which include not only practices on the farms and in processing the coffees at origin and our involvement there (sourcing), but in our roasting, our preparation/brewing and finally how we present them to our customers.”

 

Fishermen’s Grill Gets Top Rating

| Posted in People, Profiles

Fighting the Tides has published an article about Fishermen’s Grill and its owner Mike Nappi.

The charming hole in the wall seafood joint, tucked unpretentiously across the street from Baxter Woods in an area that’s traditionally been hard on restaurant owners, is known for their large portions and fresh, locally sourced ingredients.

As of last week they’re also becoming known for their national ranking of 60th best restaurant in the entire country and the number one (I repeat, NUMBER ONE) seafood restaurant in all of New England.

Rosemont/Allagash Dinner

| Posted in Events

The Blueberry Files has published a report on the Rosemont/Allagash dinner that took place earlier this week.

Next, in the wild beer room, we enjoyed a curried goat stew paired with a ginger wit (a “ramped up” version of the White with loads of ginger added) and smoked beef ribs over a potato pancake and sauteed spinach with a Curieux reduction. The Curieux was also the pairing for this course.

Shel Doyle was also on site for the dinner and has published a set of photos from the event, as has Allagash Brewing (shown in viewer above).

Review of Local 188

| Posted in Reviews

Drink Up and Get Happy has published a bar review of Local 188.

We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Local runs happy hour, which they call Tapas Time, Monday – Friday from 4-6pm!  They feature $3 Allagash White, House wine selections for $4 per glass or $16 per bottle and $5 Frescas, made in house with infused vodkas.  While the specials list may be small, it does have something for everyone for great prices.

Foundation Brewing & Maine Beer Mavens

| Posted in Beer

foundationToday’s What Ales You column writes about Foundation Brewing and their launch last week of their first two beers: Blaze and Eddy.

Earlier this week the Bangor Daily News published an article about the Maine Beer Mavens.

“The stereotype is that a woman is going to go for a glass of wine and guys go for beer,” said Christie Mahaffey, a member of Maine Beer Mavens, gathering in a new brewery for their monthly meetup.

One part girl’s night out, one part beer appreciation club, the Maine Beer Mavens, together since 2012, are putting a new swirl on the craft beer scene.

Restaurant Roads to Success

| Posted in General News

The USM Free Press has published a report on the challenges of launching and running a successful restaurant.

According to Professor Charles Colgan of public policy and management and the Muskie School of Public Service and long-time former chair of the State of Maine Consensus Economic Forecasting Commission, there’s nothing unusual about that. “Restaurants are the same pretty much everywhere. They are the business most frequently started and most frequently closed.”