A new “nano brewery/beer hall” called Illmadic is under construction at 41 Fox Street, the former location of One Eye Open Brewing Co.
Owner Mark Miller plans to open this Summer serving not only Illmadic’s own beers but those from other brewers. You can see a draft beer menu on page 91 of the City Council meeting materials.
New owners are taking over the longtime bar Forest Gardens at 371 Forest Ave, and renaming it 371.
Lindsay and Tyler Holden write in their cover letter that the name change was a request from the building owner, but despite the new name they
plan is to keep the tradition, camaraderie and familiarity the current patrons have come to know and love since 1936 the same as it currently exists. With the retirement of the current owner we feel privileged to take on this task.
66S Fusion, the Asian fusion restaurant that’s been under construction at 425 Fore Street since 2016, has applied for a liquor license.
According to the application owner James Yao hopes to open 66S Fusion this Summer. You can see a copy of their draft menu on pages 150-151 of the City Council meeting materials.
Welcome to the newly redesigned Portland Food Map website — the first overhaul in nearly 11 years in operation.
As you can see the new site has an updated visual design while preserving the familiar structure and core features of the PFM 1.0. Behind the curtain is a flexible new technical platform that will make it much easier to keep the site updated with all the latest news and information. The site delivers content in a much more responsive, mobile friendly format, and integrates feeds from the PFM instagram and twitter accounts, adding new dimensions to the information available through the site. There’s also a new integrated search feature that indexes the entire restaurant directory and nearly 8,000 blog posts from the past decade the site’s been in business.
To celebrate the new site, I’m also releasing a limited-edition offline version: a pocket-sized printed Portland Food Map. You can pick-up your copy while supplies last at the Little Giant market in the West End, Maine & Loire in the East End, Portland Trading Co. in the Old Port, and Rose Foods on Forest Ave.
Portland Food Map has been supported in this evolution by Evergreen Credit Union, the first sponsor for PFM. Evergreen was looking for opportunities to promote resources that are important to the culture and vibe of the Portland community, and I’m honored that Portland Food Map was chosen as one of them. They’ve been terrific and a true partner in this big step forward for PFM.
Also crucial to the relaunch has been Dawn Hagin from the marketing consulting firm Rare Bird Strategic, Sarah Hines and her web development team at Shines & Jecker Laboratories, and graphic designer Sofija Razgaitis.
I hope you enjoy the new site!
The Press Herald has published an article on Portland Wine Week, which is taking place next week June 18-24.
Archer, a sommelier, is best known for her business Wine Wise, which educates people about wine as they sample food at a fine local restaurant, walk the streets of the Old Port, or take a sunset sail around Casco Bay. In January, she began planning the first Portland Wine Week (June 18-24), and in just five short months – with the help of sponsors, more than two dozen restaurants, and a long list of local wine enthusiasts – the affair has grown exponentially into a celebration rivaling Portland’s other big food-and-wine festival, Harvest on the Harbor.
A hybrid coffee shop/cafe/knitting shop called the Knitting Nook (website, facebook) is under construction in South Portland. Owner Lillian Rose is converting a space at 124 Sawyer Street in Ferry Village for her new buiness. She plans to “provide an entertaining environment where the fiber artist can obtain supplies, guidance, camaraderie, sustenance and impeccable customer service” along with coffee, food, beer and wine.
I talked with Michael Landgarten, the owner Bob’s Clam Hut (website), yesterday. Landgarten is looking forward to being part of the Washington Ave community and to realizing the full potential of the space he’s taken over at the corner of Washington and Cumberland Aves. If you haven’t driven by there recently you should check it out. It’s quite a transformation from the former Three Buoys.
There isn’t a firm opening date set yet for Bob’s but Landgarten is hoping to open in time for the Fourth of July.
Wednesday – photographer Kari Herer is teaching an iPhone photography workshop at Tipo, and the Monument Square Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Friday – Opus Ten is scheduled to reopen for the season.
Saturday – there will be a Greek wine tasting at RSVP, Sebago Brewing is celebrating their 20th anniversary, and the Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Sunday – there will be a Highroller Lobster pop-up at the Island Creek Oyster Shop on Washington Ave.
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.
The organizers have released the menu for the upcoming Portland Wine Week Gala and it looks wonderful:
Tickets to the event are available at www.portlandwineweek.me
