A new market cafe and catering business called Sarah’s Farmstand Kitchen (facebook) is under development and owner Rachel Chiasson hopes to launch the business later this month.

For the initial menu Chiasson will be serving a takeout menu of rice bowls. Options will include Autumn Harvest (marinated kale crisp apple, charred root vegetables, nuts, maple dijon) and Three Bean (garlic black beans, fried chickpeas, edamame, roast corn, charred peppers, spicy cilantro sauce). All bowls come with a choice of shredded chicken, sliced beef, chopped shrimp or sticky tofu.

In addition to meals to go Chiasson plans to sell produce from the farms she buys from and in doing so expand the market for locally grown foods. The launch of Sarah’s Farmstand Kitchen is the culmination of Chiasson’s long term ambition to run her own business after working for many years in the hospitality industry.

Sarah’s will be located at the Urban Farm Fermentory in East Bayside. It will be open Thursday through Saturday, 3 to 8 pm.

 

Atsuko Fujimoto has leased 469 Stevens Ave where she plans to relocate Norimoto Bakery (website, instagram) from South Portland. The new location is in the building formerly occupied by Simply Scandinavian Foods in Deering Center which is also home to Quality Shop, Rwanda Bean Coffee, Pat’s Meat Market, The Honey Exchange, Elsmere, and other businesses.

Fujimoto is looking forward to having more space for her growing business and to creating a work space uniquely tuned to her way of working and that provides room for her and a growing team to work.

Fujimoto hopes to be fully moved in and open for business in time for the holidays. She’ll be closing down her current location later this month (September 18-19 are the last takeout days) and then opening the new bakery as soon as the build out is complete. The new Norimoto will have a takeout window inspired by old tabako-ya corner tobacco kiosks in Japan.

Ian and Kate Malin have announced the sale of Little Giant to the Gin & Luck hospitality group. Gin & Luck is best know for their Death & Co cocktail bars in New York City, Los Angeles and Denver.

“This is the latest example of how Portland has developed a national reputation in the food and beverage world,” said Ian Malin, who started Little Giant with his wife Kate and partners in 2017 .

“COVID was a blow to the entire restaurant industry,” Kate Malin said. “But we changed and adapted—first with paper plates and takeout out cocktails and then with an all-season outdoor space and a vaccine requirement. Our customers responded enthusiastically and 2021 has been our best year ever. We couldn’t be prouder of the team at Little Giant, and we’re very sad to say goodbye.”

Gin & Luck are still working out the details of the unique name and concept (not a Death & Co branded location) for their location in the West End so stay tuned for updates in the next few weeks. Gin & Luck COO and partner Alex P. Day moved to Portland 2 years ago.

The team’s attraction to Portland is a deeply personal one. Gin & Luck partner and COO, Alex Day, has been a resident of Portland for over two years. “Moving to Portland was transformative for me, both personally and professionally,” says Day. “I’ve found myself not only inspired by the beauty of Maine and all it has to offer, but also by a F&B community that has been incredibly welcoming every step of the way. They’ve blown me away by their deep love of hospitality, culinary creativity and enlightened business practices, and I’m thrilled by the chance to contribute in a small way – to create an establishment unique to Portland and a new F&B expression for our company, and above all, to play a meaningful part in what makes this city such an amazing place to live and visit.” The Gin & Luck team plans to release more information about their vision and timeline in the coming weeks.

“The fact that Gin & Luck chose Little Giant and Portland for their next project says a lot about the food scene in our city,” Ian Malin said. “We are excited to see this commitment from such a well-known and well-respected brand.”

A new food truck called The Portland Board (website, facebook, instagram) is set to launch in September by owner Graham Young. The Portland Board will be operating out of a vintage baby blue 1979 Volkswagon bus.

Young plans to offer both medium and larger sized boards for groups as well as smaller “bites” of pairs of chacuterie options. He also hopes to collaborate with local business with one-off menus that expand beyond The Portland Board’s focus on chacuterie.

Young started working in restaurants when he was 11-years-old and “quickly developed a love for the fast pace and hard work which always stayed with me”. He’s worked in the cannabis industry for the last decade in Maine and California. Since he’s moved back to Maine has been inspired by the food community here and the food truck is a way of connecting with it.