Cafe Louis in Knightville

| Posted in Under Construction

Eaux chef/owner Evan Richardson along with business partner Ben Ferri have leased space in South Portland where he plans to open a new restaurant. Cafe Louis (instagram) will be located at 173 Ocean Street in the former home of RJ’s Pub.

Cafe Louis will serve brunch during the day and become a small plate/bar at night. Richardson has Costa Rican and Honduran family, and the cuisine from those countries will be the point of inspiration for the food at Cafe Louis. The menu will include re-imagined classic dishes like gallo pinto, chicharonnes and chorreadas.

Richardson hopes to open the new restaurant this spring in March or April. It will be joining a fast growing restaurant row in Knightville that includes Taco Trio, Judy Gibson, Solo Cucina and SoPo Seafood which is also under construction.

Richardson continues to move forward with plans to relocate Eaux to a larger location in Portland—details on the new spot are forthcoming. He had started work on the Cafe Louis project back in 2019 before making the decision to move his flagship restaurant to new quarters.

Interview with Pete Sueltenfuss

| Posted in People

The Portland Phoenix has published an interview with Pete Sueltenfuss, co-owner of Other Side Deli and Other Side Diner.

It’s a dreary, overcast Friday morning. Pete Sueltenfuss, owner of the three Other Side Diner and Deli locations in Portland, sits in the almost deserted diner at 500 Washington Ave., off Bates Street.

“The delis have been open the whole time, we never had to shut them down at all,” Sueltenfuss said of his East Deering spot nearby on Veranda Street and the West End location on Vaughan Street.

East Ender >> Small Axe

| Posted in Under Construction

Due to cold weather and the pandemic keeping diners away, East Ender has decided to retarget their energies into a takeout and delivery model.

This temporary shift will be under a new/old name. Owner Karl Deuben is reviving the the Small Axe brand—the name of the food truck that he and his then business partner Bill Leavy launched in 2013 and retired when they bought East Ender in 2015.

Follow them on instagram to stay in the loop.

Update: The first round of Small Axe dates are slated for December 17 – 19. Here’s a look at the menu.

Falafelopolis Pop-up Series

| Posted in Under Construction

Palace Diner sous chef, Joshua Smallwood, is launching his own pop-up series. Falafelopolis (instagram) will, as the name implies, serve a falafel sandwich along with some optional ad-on sides such as hummus, harissa, pickles, and reportedly a lemon tahini cookie.

The first pop-up is tentatively scheduled for in mid-February. Follow the Falafelopolis instagram account to stay in the loop on when the date is set.

Calypso Sushi Pop-up

| Posted in Events

Chef Ambrely Ouimette is launching a takeout sushi pop-up. The Calypso Sushi (instagram) menu includes:

To place your order send a direct message to the Calypso Sushi account on instagram, and payment will be handled through Venmo. The two options for pick-up dates are December 14th and 15th, 11am – 7pm in Portland at Ishi Ishi Ramen on Washington Ave.

More & Co. Closing

| Posted in Closings

More & Co. has announced that they’ll be permanently closing their Yarmouth cafe and shop on December 20th.

As with any love story, the imprint of the beautiful, enlightening and challenging experiences lasts even after the story is complete. More & Co., our love story, will always feel like home to us and will always be remembered as a place where creativity and tenderness flourished…We would like to deeply thank all who have worked alongside us; we would like to to thank all of our vendors and makers; we would like to thank all of the dedicated customers who continually preferred something just a little bit different. We love you. It was an honor to share time and space with you.

New Outdoor Deck at Little Giant

| Posted in Under Construction

Little Giant (website, facebook, instagram) has been reconfiguring their back patio into a new outdoor dining deck. The heated backyard deck will seat up to 25-30 people and be made comfortable with 35,000 watts of electric heat.

Little Giant hopes to launch the new dining area before the end of December. They plan to use it to expand the number of nights they’re open, add a lunch service and re-start their weekend brunch. They’ll also be using the space for private dining and events (contact info@littlegiantmaine.com for inquiries).

Owners Ian and Kate Malin sees this investment in an outdoor space a middle way forward for his West End restaurant that allows him to keep business activity high enough to stay in business while side stepping the risks to his staff and customers of indoor dining.

Other establishments building-out more winter-friendly outdoor dining spaces include: Rising Tide, Thirsty Pig, Oxbow, Chaval, The Yard, Mast Landing and Terlingua. For more options see our Outdoor dining list for Portland.

Update: Here’s a look at the completed outdoor space below. Additionally, Little Giant has also purchased some electric heated seat pads from Huga to make the outdoor dining experrience more comfortable for their customers.

Sweet Woodruff Provisions

| Posted in Openings

Kate Fisher Hamm, the excellent pastry chef at Leeward, is launch a monthly bakery pop-up called Sweet Woodruff Provisions (website, instagram).

This month’s menu includes:

    • Satsuma and vanilla cake
    • Double chocolate and rum caramel cake
    • Apples and amaro tart
    • Hazelnut bakewell tart
    • Holiday cookie boxes

Online ordering for the December pop-up is now live and runs through December 18th, for pick-up at Lorne in Biddeford on December 20th and at Leeward in Portland on December 22nd.

The business is named for a flowering herb that’s said to have an aroma of vanilla or honey.

Restaurant Real Estate Listings: December 2020

| Posted in Real Estate

Welcome to the December 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 in these tough times for the hospitality industry some 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

747 Congress St – the space formerly occupied by Flood’s is available for lease. 1,400 sq ft space (not including a shared dining room, bathrooms, and storage area) and features a fully equipped kitchen and working hood system for $2500/month + 3% of gross revenue less taxes and discounts. For more information contact Tony DeLois, tony@uncommongroups.com, (646) 784-3304.

64 Pine St – The former Aurora Provisions space is for sale or lease. The 4,629 sq ft is listed at $12.83/sq ft (NNN) and is also available for sale for $1,495,000.

101 York St – a 15,000 sq ft sub-dividable space in the new building on the corner of York and High Street is available for $15-20/sq ft (NNN). The space already has a hood vent and grease traps installed.

Arts District

11 Brown St – the space where BRGR Bar is located on Brown Street is for lease. The 4,321 turnkey restaurant space is available for $19/sq ft (NNN). All furniture, fixtures & equipment included, as are 2 parking spots and 2,000 sq ft of storage space.

114 Center St –this 1,500 – 10,000 sq ft space off Free Street is for lease at $8-25/sq ft (MG).

555 Congress St – the former Five Fifty-Five is available to lease. The 1,089 – 3,647 sq ft space is listed at $22/sq ft (NNN).

593 Congress St – The former Vinland is available to lease. The 1,720 sq ft space is listed at $19.41/sq ft (MG).

605 Congress St – Two spaces in the State Theater Building is available. They are 543 sq ft and 2,685 sq ft and are listed at $25-35/sq ft (MG).

646 Congress St – adjacent to The Jewel Box, 960 sq ft at $25/sq ft (MG).

Bayside

84 Cove St – The former Milk & Honey in Bayside is available for $13/sq ft (NNN).

23 Marginal Way – a 1,300 sq ft space in Century Plaza is available for $28/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).

5 Commercial St – the former Rosemont Market at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 1,700 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

9 Commercial St – the former Commercial Street location of Arabica is available. 3,018/sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN).

266 Commercial St – 6,689 sq ft of new construction retail space will be available for $20-22/sq ft (NNN).

383 Commercial St – 4 street retail spaces will be available (1,631 – 1,971 sq ft) at $28/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction at the corner of Maple and Commercial Streets. It’s building is expected to be finished in the fall of 2020.

98 Cross St – two retail spaces (991 and 1891 sq ft) are available for $20/sq ft (MG).

90 Exchange St – Eaux is moving to a new location and that’s freeing up their former location on Exchange St. 1,500 sq ft at $40/sq ft (MG).

225 Federal St – the former Old Port Po’ Boys & Pickles is available. 1,000 sq ft at $30/sq ft (MG).

345 Fore St – Vena’s is moving in January and that’s freeing up their current location. 2,310 sq ft for a $3,750/month.

422 Fore St – the former Pearl space is available, 2,400 sq ft at $38/sq ft (MG).

425 Fore St – The former Five Guys is available. $2,900/sq ft and $40/sq ft (MG).

443 Fore St – the space currently occupied by Evo Kitchen + Bar is for lease and will be available once Evo is moves into the Pattern Storehouse building at the 58 Fore site. The 1,706 sq ft are available for $54.51/sq ft (MG) or $7,750 per month.

40 Free St – A new building is under construction on Free Street by JB Brown. The first floor will have 4/5 storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft. The construction is expected to be completed in early 2021. The rate is $30/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 $24/sq ft (NNN).

131 Middle St – 3,512 sq ft at $14.50/sq ft (NNN).

2 Portland Square – the former Walter’s is back on the market. 3,219 sq ft for $28/sq ft (MG).

3 Portland Square – This new building will include 2,500 – 20,000 square feet of retail space for$28.50/sq ft.

3 Spring St – the 2,554 – 3,500 sq ft former Lio space is available at $23/sq ft (NNN).

5 Spring St – the first floor space located below the former home of Lio at the corner of Cross and Spring Streets. 3,069 sq ft at $20-23/sq ft (NNN).

23 Temple St – 947 sq ft at $25/sq ft (MG).

India/Washington Ave

100 Fore St – 2 retail spaces are available in a new building planned for Fore Street. 1,141 and 1,914 sq ft respectively, $27 – 30/sq ft (NNN).

15 Middle St – located in one of the new buildings off India Street. 991 sq ft at $22/sq ft (NNN).

Forest Ave

688 Forest Ave – the former Valley Chinese space is for lease for $12/sq ft (MG).

949 Forest Ave – the former Maelily Ryleigh’s is for lease. The 4,185 sq ft restaurant is available at $19/sq ft (NNN).

1190 Forest Ave – located right in the center of Morrill’s Corner. 3,000 – 5,082 sq ft at $12 – 20/sq ft (NNN).

Other

559 Brighton Ave – when Rosemont Market moved their kitchen, warehouse and office space in one building the retail space in their original building on Brighton became available for sale for $550,000.

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.

1283 Congress St – part of this build was in the process of becoming a restaurant. A hood was installed a couple years. Those plans have apparently been shelved and the space is now for lease. For more information call Harbor City Realty (207) 775-1991.

139 Riverside St – a 5,020 sq ft restaurant space available for $15/sq ft (MG).

Other Spaces – the spaces formerly occupied by Piccolo, Cider House, and Candy’s have all been vacated but there’s no online real estate listings for them. Regardless, they’re probably still worth checking out.

173 Ocean St, South Portland – a 1,000 sq ft space in Knightville available for $15.50/sq ft (NNN).

117 Route 1, Freeport – the former Conundrum building in Freeport is for sale for $1.2M.

66 Cove St – Brewery Extrava is for sale for $750,000.

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.