Gross Bakery Closing

| Posted in Closings

Gross Confection Bar has announced that they’ll be closing their daytime bakery on September 1st. The announcement reads in part,

The decision to close wasn’t easy, but staffing shortages have made it increasingly difficult to keep things running smoothly. We’ve been battling this challenge since COVID, and unfortunately, it hasn’t improved over the past year.

While it saddens us to say goodbye, we’re not disappearing entirely! We’re excited to continue offering a few baked goods during the evening and plan to host bakery pop-ups on weekends from time to time. We’ll keep you posted on those sweet details as soon as we have them.

Gross Confection Bar’s evening dessert and cocktail bar will be unimpacted by this change. The Gross Bakery opened on July 4, 2019 (when the photo above was taken).

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – 2Gether is holding their next Secret Table dinner at an as-yet-undisclosed farm in the Portland area.

Tuesday – The Best of 2024 Awards celebration is taking place at Portland House of Music—tickets are available online.

Thursday – Billy Hager and Hannah Buoye from Waxwing Bakery will be the featured chefs at the August taco night at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.

Sunday – Tender Table is holding its annual food music and art market in Congress Square Park.

August 21 – San Diego cocktail bar Mothership will be at Crown Jewel for a pop-up.

August 29 – Black Goat in Warren will be holding 4-course dinner in collaboration with Eve’s Cidery.

August 30 – September 1 – The Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

September 8 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.

September 19 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.

September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.

October 13 – The 16th Annual Open Creamery Day is taking place.

October 23 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.

October 24-26 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.
25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store.

Gluten-Free Maine

| Posted in General News

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about gluten-free dining in Maine and a list of 100% gluten-free businesses.

In the 16 years since Maine’s first gluten-free bakery, Wildflours, opened in Brunswick, the options for those with celiac disease or gluten intolerance in Greater Portland have only grown. Back then, “gluten-free eating was still a bit of an anomaly,” as Wildflours website puts it. Today, though, whether someone on a gluten-restricted diet likes to eat out, enjoy a beer at a local craft brewery or snack on a special bakery treat, there are plenty of places where they can do so safely.

Coffee by Design Closes India Street

| Posted in Closings

Coffee by Design has announced the immediate closure of their India Street cafe.

To our loyal customers, friends, and neighbors: We are sorry to announce the immediate closure of our India Street coffeehouse. This decision was not made lightly. We deeply appreciate your support and hope to welcome you soon at our 1 Diamond Street location.

Their Diamond Street location—also the location of the coffee roastery—remains open.

Maine Food & Dining News: Rockland, Stockholm, Bath, Veazie, Poland

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

  • 13 Oak (website, instagram) opened has opened for business. The 36-seat Rockland restaurant has been launched by the team from Fresh & Co. in Camden. It’s located at 13 Oak Street (see above) in the building that had been the longtime home of Cafe Miranda. The menu features dishes like a 14-ounce porterhouse pork chop and a roast eggplant with lentils and red sauce. 13 Oak will initially be open Monday through Friday, 5 – 9 pm. Cafe Miranda owner Kerry Altiero closed the cafe in 2022 after operating the restaurant for 29 years.
  • The Times Record reports that a German bakery and restaurant called The Pelzer (website, facebook, instagram) recently opened in Bath. It’s located at 79-99 Commercial Street and is open 9 am – 5 pm daily (10 am on Sundays). You can see the full menu on their website.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that an Ecuadorian restaurant is the latest eatery to launch out of the Korean Dad incubation space in Veazie. Galindo’s Authentic Ecuadorian Cuisine (facebook) is open on Saturdays 11 am – 7 pm and are serving a menu that includes seco de pollo, ceviche and carne con menestra.
  • The Lewiston Sun Journal has published a feature article about Sebagel (preorder, instagram), a relatively new bagel producer, that bakes at Poland Provisions and has weekend pop-ups at Lakeside Dairy Bar in Naples.
  • Inside Hook has published an article on the expanding Maine oyster aquaculture industry.
  • Maine Public has aired a report on the sovereign market in Stockholm.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

BenReuben’s Closing…2.0 To Come

| Posted in Under Construction, Closings

Graeme Miller announced this morning that he’ll be closing down BenReuben’s Knishery in September.

When we opened the Knishery in 2021, our goal was to nourish and build a community and to share our family recipes and inspiration with those who were willing to enjoy. We are so proud of what BenReuben’s Knishery has been able to accomplish with your help; what an epic community we’ve built together and what beautiful memories we’ve created and shared with each other and our families.

This journey has also confirmed for us that what our community (and we!) really want and need is a full Jewish delicatessen. So we will come back even stronger once again, when it’s the right time and place.

Miller shared that the business has been a great success. He’s now taking the lessons of running the knishery and redirecting his time and energy to launching a full Jewish delicatessen and market. The BenReuben’s catering business will remain in operation during this gap time.

Anyone interested in updates on the delicatessen or on opportunities to provide perspective on what the community needs are of the new enterprise should stay tuned to the BenReuben’s instagram account, or email hello@benreubensknishery.com.

Miller and his wife Caitlin leased the knishery’s current South Portland location at 145 Ocean Street in March 2021 and launched BenReuben’s in May of that year.

Two Fat Cats in the West End

| Posted in Under Construction

Two Fat Cats (website, facebook, instagram) is opening a new location in the West End at 175 Spring Street adjacent to Chocolat Passion.

Owner Stacy Begin shared that the new location will be a bakery, cafe and market which will serve soups, salads and sandwiches, and their house-made baked goods as well as sell market staples, prepared meals. The menu for the cafe is still under development but the draft menu includes items like breakfast sandwiches, overnight oats with buckwheat honey and berries, seasonal salads, soups, a Cape Cod Chicken Salad sandwich, and a Banana Fluffer Nutter sandwich.

The Lancaster Street location in West Bayside will remain the primary production bakery for Two Fat Cats as well as a retail shop and a place where customers can pre-order a custom cake or desserts for events.

Construction has already begun on the 2,477 sq ft space. Begin hopes to open the new Two Fat Cats sometime in October. Initial thoughts on hours of operation are that they’ll be open Tuesday through Saturday, 7:30 am – 4 pm, and Sundays 9 am – 2 pm.

Two Fat Cats was founded on India Street. An outpost in South Portland opened in 2018 and the Portland location moved to West Bayside in 2020. Begin announced the closure of their South Portland location last month.

To learn more about other new food and dining businesses under development visit our Under Construction page.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – It’s the re/opening day of Tiqa on Commercial St (reservations on OpenTable).

Tuesday – It’s the opening day for Lucky Cheetah (reservations available on OpenTable) in the Old Port. It’s the opening day for the new Taj (reservations available on Resy) restaurant in South Portland. Acclaimed author Dana Cowin along with Allagash brewer Jason Perkins and Maine Grain Alliance executive director Tristan Noyes will be participating in a panel discussion at Allagash Brewing to “discuss the ways that locally sourced food / food systems can bring joy, connection and positive transformation.” The Best of 2024 Awards celebration is taking place at Portland House of Music—tickets are available online.

Friday/Saturday – The Saint Peter’s Italian Bazaar is taking place.

Saturday – Space Gallery along with Goodfire Brewing, The Jewel Box and the Ten Mothers food truck will be holding Feastland, a farm dinner, at Broadturn Farm in Scarborough.

Sunday – Dinner en Blanc—a food event and auction—is taking place in East Boothbay as a benefit for Veggies to Table.

Sunday/Monday – 2Gether is holding their next Secret Table dinner at an as-yet-undisclosed farm in the Portland area.

August 15 – Billy Hager and Hannah Buoye from Waxwing Bakery will be the featured chefs at the August taco night at Dandelion Spring Farm in Bowdoinham.

August 18 – Tender Table is holding its annual food music and art market in Congress Square Park.

August 30 – September 1 – The Maine Apple Camp is taking place.

September 8 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.

September 19 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.

September 20-22 – The Common Ground Fair will be taking place.

October 13 – The 16th Annual Open Creamery Day is taking place.

October 23 – Mrs. Gee Free Living and Sur Lie are collaborating on a gluten-free dinner.

October 24-26 – Harvest on the Harbor is taking place.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.
25-packs of the Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now available on our online store.

Restaurant Real Estate: August 2024

| Posted in Under Construction, Real Estate

Welcome to the August 2024 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company—a commercial real estate brokerage that has helped Maine’s restauranteurs buy and lease restaurant spaces since 1975.

This resource gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland (and a few in the surrounding area) that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers and retailers to locate their next business. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this resource will make that step just a little bit easier.

 

Arts District

547 Congress St – the 1,582 sq ft space formerly occupied by Broken Arrow is for lease for $3,800/month (NNN).

553 Congress St – the commercial kitchen in the former Five Fifty Five space (now leased by the Core Cannabis Museum) is available to a co-tenant for $2,000/month (MG).

554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space for $2,301/month (NNN).

594 Congress St – the 2,592 sq ft space in the Upper H. H. Hay Building formerly occupied by Starbucks is available for $28/sq ft (MG).

602 Congress St – The ~1,500 sq ft ground floor space at the corner of High and Congress is available to lease. The Schwartz Building has been under renovation for a decade. For more info contact Joe Atwood at (207) 899-7373.

Bayside/Inner Washington

219 Anderson St – Blue Lobster’s former tasting room in the Rockingham Electric building is available; 2,700 sq ft for $16/sq ft (NNN).

73 Cove St – a 5,519 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is listed for $35/sq ft; it’s expected to become available later this year.

52 Hanover St – On the first floor of the Armature is 1,500 – 3,000 sq ft of retail space available for $30/sq ft (NNN). One spot in the building has earmarked for a coffee shop.

178 Kennebec St – 2,644 sq ft of space are available in a newly constructed Bayside building for $25/sq ft (NNN).

55 Washington Ave – this 7,815 sq ft space is in the Nissen Bakery building right in between Cong Tu Bot and Hardshore Distillery. It’s available for $13,708/month (NNN).

Old Port

1 Canal Plaza – 4,284 – 14,412 sq ft of ground floor retail space will be available as part of upcoming renovations; $30/sq ft (NNN).

15 Chestnut St – the building that was home to Grace restaurant is for sale. It includes the property, business assets and all FF&E. The restaurant seats 175 and features a large circular bar on the first floor of the former church. The building has 14,358 sq ft of space. It’s for sale for $2,985,000.

185 Commercial St – a new building on Commercial Street has a 2,334 sq ft ground floor retail space that is available for $55/sq ft (NNN).

266 Commercial St – a 6,689 sq ft retail space is available in this new construction building for $20-22/sq ft (NNN).

383 Commercial St – 1,193 – 4,805 square feet of space in a newly constructed building on Commercial Street is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).

8 Exchange St – 1,800-3,600 sq ft of space formerly occupied by The Bar & Bites on lower Exchange Street is available for $34.99/sq ft (MG).

201 Federal St – a 2,300 sq ft space in the new 18-story Casco building is available for $40/sq ft (MG). The building owners are looking for someone who wants to open a market in that space.

420 Fore St – the space formerly occupied by the Old Port Slice Bar is for lease. The 2,600 sq ft space is available for $40/sq ft (MG).

477 Fore St – the 1,361 sq ft space formerly occupied by B + B Bakery is available for $30/sq ft (MG).

40 Free St – a 1,511 sq ft space in the new building constructed by JB Brown is available for $27.50/sq ft (NNN).

100 Middle St – a 350 sq ft cafe space on first floor of an Old Port office building is available for $850/month (MG).

111 Middle St – the 1,622 sq ft former Cabana building is for lease for $3,500/month (NNN). See this post on instagram for more information about the property and its history.

121 Middle St – a 2,482 sq ft retail spot is available for $45/sq ft (MG).

157 Middle St – 2,039 – 5,155 sq ft of retail space is available for $27.95/sq ft (MG).

184 Middle St – this newly renovated space becomes available in August. It was formerly occupied by Blanche & Mimi. It includes 1,169 sq of first floor retail and 808 sq ft of basement storage space all for $48.43/sq ft (MG).

5 Milk St – this 2,199 sq ft former hair salon is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).

1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space adjacent to Cera is available for $25/sq ft (MG).

28 Monument Square – a number of spots on the first and second floors of the Public Market House are available.

25 Pearl St – 1,689 sq ft former Subway space available for $30/sq ft (MG).

66 Pearl St – 5,796 sq ft of space—the former Bull Moose retail shop—is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).

3 Spring St – the space formerly occupied by Stage Cannabis is for lease; 2,000 sq ft for $15.50/sq ft (NNN).

144 State St – a retail space is available in the former Mercy Hospital building on State Street. The 2,477 sq ft space are available for $20/sq ft (MG). Chocolate Passions has already moved into the adjacent storefront.

53 Wharf St –a 1,600 sq ft space on the corner of Wharf and Union Streets is available for $30/sq ft (MG).

India Street Area

144 Fore St – the former VA building is near the Portland Foreside development and adjacent to several new office buildings off Thames Street. It has 1,560 – 10,620 sq ft of space available for $22-29/sq ft (NNN).

Outer Forest Ave

503 – 509 Forest Ave – the exterior of this building is slated to be restored to its historic design. It has 1,268 – 6,313 sq ft of space available for $10-15/sq ft (NNN).

Deering

164 Veranda St – the 1,000 sq ft former location of Other Side Deli is available for $2,500/month (Gross).

550 Washington Ave – 2,000 – 2,400 sq ft of the former Botto’s bakery is available to lease for $18/sq ft (NNN).

Elsewhere in Portland

Old Port Bar – an 1,160/sq ft bar/restaurant in the Old Port is for sale for $195,000.

1339 Washington Ave – the 4,150 sq ft former Parker’s Restaurant building in North Deering is for sale for $1,750,000.

Northgate Shopping Center – 1,500 to 2,000 sq ft of space is available.

Westgate Shopping Center – three spaces are for lease 1,400, 3,800 and 5,000 sq ft. The lease rates are negotiable and the property owner has a strong interest in finding a restaurant tenant for the shopping plaza.

Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.

Outside of Portland

372 Cottage Rd, South Portland – the building that formerly was home to Omi’s Coffee Shop is for sale for $675,000. Contact Gail Bruzgo at 372maine@gmail.com for more information.

145 Ocean St, South Portland – the BenReuben’s building in South Portland will become available with the closure of the knishery in September. The ~1,000 sq ft space is for lease for $3,000/month (MG). Contact Josh at (207) 408-3879 for more information.

The Downs – A 2,019 sq ft restaurant space is for sale in The Downs mixed use development.

Trudy Birds, North Yarmouth – The business, land and both building are for sale for $1,450,000.

358 Main St, Yarmouth – the building that had housed a collection of gluten-free baking businesses is for sale for $475,000.

Ferry Village – The building that’s been home to the Knitting Nook is available; 500 -1,200 sq ft at $2,000 (MG).

188 Lincoln St, Lewiston – this 2,371 – 5,554 sq ft former fire station has been renovated for use as a retail/restaurant space. It’s listed at $5-14/sq ft (NNN). See this instagram article for additional information on the building and the neighborhood.

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.

Review of Cantina Calafia

| Posted in Reviews

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a review of Cantina Calafia.

And despite an early-stage spate of press, Calafia seems to have gone unnoticed by many, certainly by tourists. Reader, now’s your chance. If you visit, ask for a creamy, tequila-based Limonada or a nonalcoholic option like the spicy-sweet Orange Gato Energy, then an order of crispy beef-tongue tacos served on Calafia’s homemade tortillas. Shift gears to the halibut in an outrageously herby Veracruz-style stew of summer squash, tomatoes, olives and capers. And don’t skip dessert; the hibiscus-dusted, strawberry tres leches cake is one of the best gluten-free treats in town.

Cantina Calafia opened on March 13th. It’s located in the former Bonobo Pizza space in the West End.