Exchange Street Holy Donut Closing

| Posted in Closings

The Holy Donut is permanently closing their location on Exchange Street.

The Holy Donut team would like to extend our gratitude and appreciation to everyone that has helped make our Exchange Street location a success over the last 7 years. We are humbled by the amount of guests that chose to stop in for a treat. It is with a heavy heart that we announce that our last day of business at our Exchange Street location in the Old Port will be Monday October 19th.

The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on this location and we have made the decision not to renew our lease. We look forward to stepping back into the Old Port again in the future when the timing is right and we can secure a location that can better serve the needs of our loyal guests and our exceptional teammates. Our Park Avenue location will continue to be there for all of our Portland fans! Thank you Portland!”

For a full accounting of closures see the pandemic closure list.

Coveside Coffee in Woodford’s Corner

| Posted in Under Construction

A new coffee shop called Coveside Coffee (instagram) is under construction in Woodford’s Corner at 28 Vannah Street. The shop is being opened Andy Nesheim and Zara Bohan who live in the neighborhood with their two children. They are planning a shop that is a “welcoming, family-friendly neighborhood gathering spot”.

Coveside will serve 44 North Coffee and light breakfast options including a mix of pastries as well as a limited lunch menu. Coveside will feature a walk-up window with outdoor seating in addition to the interior space.

Andy and Zara have started renovations to the building and hope to open Coveside this spring. They’ll be working with Better Lettered Hand Painted Signs to design a mural for the exterior of the building.

This Week’s Events: Broken Arrow, Josh Potocki, Apples Four Days, Ben Jackson, Snapper Fest

| Posted in Events

Tuesday – tickets for the launch of Broken Arrow (website, instagram) go on sale Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday – Josh Potocki from the 158 Pickett Street Cafe is Wednesday’s guest chef at the Duckfat Friteshack, and the weekday Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Thursday – Belleville, Chaval, Leeward, Magnus on Water, Mr. Tuna, Sur Lie, The Purple House and Union are all participating Apples Four Days—a celebration of heirloom and unusual apples. Follow each of them on instagram to see what they’re cooking up with these special apples, and when you visit tag the pictures you post online with #applesfourdays.

Saturday – the weekend Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.

Sunday – Chefs Ben Jackson and Chris Wilcox are collaborating on a sold out dinner at Judy Gibson, and Black Tie and Fore River Brewing are collaborating on Snapper Fest.

For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.

If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.

Apples Four Days

| Posted in Events

In celebration of fall and Maine apple season, The Righteous Russet (instagram) and Portland Food Map are collaborating with a group of local restaurants to showcase heirloom and unusual apple varieties. The restaurants, bars and bakeries listed below will all be featuring dishes this coming Thursday through Sunday produced with varieties like Bramley Seedling and Knobbed Russet.

  • The Purple House is cooking with Tolman Sweet
    The opening of The Purple House has been delayed a week. Visit them starting October 29th for their regular menu and their Apples Four Days special.

Follow them on instagram to see what they’re cooking up with these special apples, and when you visit tag the pictures you post online with #applesfourdays.

Plant-Based Foods from Black-Owned Restaurants

| Posted in General News

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram takes a look at the plant-based foods being offered at Black-owned restaurants in Portland.

In Maine, we’re blessed to have the new directory blackownedmaine.com, which allows users to search by business category and region of Maine. When the site launched in June, it confirmed what I suspected. Portland is home to many Black-owned restaurants, and most offer robust vegan choices.

PBS News Hour: Portland Small Business

| Posted in General News

Chef Damian Sansonetti from Chaval was interviewed for a segment on the PBS News Hour about how the pandemic is impacting small businesses in Portland.

October is a funny business in Maine. Warm days and cold nights; New England’s northern tip offers a confusing waltz between the seasonal past and what is to come. But this October is particularly difficult to read. After a summer nearly canceled by the pandemic, the fall is offering Portland a few extra chances at economic recovery. But, winter is coming, and the brief resumption of business made possible by warmer weather and outdoor space is in its final days.

Also interviewed for the report were Mary Alice Scott from Portland Buy Local, Lauren Wayne from the State Theatre and city councilor Justin Costa.

Portland Banded Brewing Opens Saturday

| Posted in Openings

Biddeford-based Banded Brewing Company (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) will be opening their new brewery and tasting room in Bayside on Saturday. The 2,500 sq ft space at 82 Hanover Street houses a  5-barrel pilot brewing system. It will have limited indoor seating as well as a three-season patio area.

Banded plans to use the brewery to produce “a broader range of styles, as well as small-batch and experimental beers” which will be available at their two tasting rooms.

The Portland location will initially be open 4 – 9 pm Wednesday-Friday, 2 – 9 pm Saturday, and Sunday 2 – 7 pm.

Chef Louis Pickens

| Posted in People

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about Louis Pickens, the chef and owner of Black Betty’s Bistro.

In Portland, Pickens cooked in hotel and nursing home kitchens before starting his own company, Black Betty’s Bistro, named after the cast-iron stove his grandmother had back in Texas, where Pickens said generations of his family learned to love food.

After the coronavirus pandemic threw a wrench into his plans to open a storefront in the space next door, he said he’s been grateful that the community has kept him afloat. He’s cooking family-sized meals to go for pickup on Thursdays and Saturdays, and has catered for a school in South Portland.

Portland Fish Exchange

| Posted in Fisheries

The Portland Phoenix has published an article about the Portland Fish Exchange and an effort to determine its future.

Suggestions range from reevaluating the confusing governance structure (the quasi-public nonprofit Fish Exchange is governed by a board of directors and the fish pier is governed by the Fish Pier Authority), bringing freezing and more processing services to the pier, including more species in the auction, and redesigning it to handle smaller lots. Some have suggested opening a public boat-to-table-style market, similar to Pike Place in Seattle. 

C4C Matching Challenge x 2

| Posted in General News


Evergreen Credit Union has announced that they’ll be matching all donation to Cooking for Community now through Friday up to a total of $2,000.

Combined with the matching challenge already in place this will mean every dollar donated will result $4 for Cooking for Community in their work to feed the hungry while supporting local restaurants, and Maine food producers.

You can make a donation at cookingforcommunity.org/donate-now.