Lio Has Permanently Closed

| Posted in Closings

Cara and Cecile Stadler have announced that they’ve permanently closed Lio.

Dear Friends, Family and Guests – It is with much sadness that we announce the permanent closure of Lio Restaurant. We were unable to weather the pandemic without some rent relief, and with the decreasing temperatures and increasing Covid cases, can find no viable way forward. We hope our food and wine brought some small moments of joy to you during these difficult times, a reminder of the simple pleasure of a shared meal with the hope for better times to come.

The Stadlers are selling off the bottles in the Lio wine cellar.

 All bottles are still 50% off our normal dine-in pricing — which puts us on par or below retail stores with great savings on larger format, higher end wines.  In addition, we have added volume discounts of 10-20% on top of this pricing if you spend $100 or more.  There are also specific bottles priced to move, buy one and get a second for 25% off.  This is a great opportunity to stock up on your favorites or build your wine cellar.  The entire list is now online, and you may order anytime…

The Stadler’s other restaurants Bao Bao (Portland) and Zao Ze (Brunswick) remain in business, and the Stadlers will be re-opening Tao Yuan (Brunswick) for “very limited number of private parties, reservations only with a curated menu and minimum spend, starting mid-late October”.

Roast Beef & Meal Ticketing

| Posted in General News, Profiles

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes a look at the ticket-based reservation model that some restaurants in Maine are starting to use,

“Everything else is changing, so why not?” Lyle Aker, co-owner of Portland’s soon-to-open Broken Arrow, said. “Our intent was to open as a regular full-service restaurant. But now to control costs, the model of Next seems like kind of a good idea.”

“Tickets give us the most control over timing so we can get service right and protect the customers as well when they’re not being forced to wait outside or at the bar,” added co-owner Holly Aker.

and details on three new options for roast beef sandwiches in Portland (George’s, Haltead’s, Roll Call),

Chef Michael Sindoni of Roll Call initially considered focusing on a North Shore sandwich, but he felt the sauces and cheese were “hiding the beef.” Add to that the fact that he didn’t have an emotional connection to the sandwich the way that North Shore fans do, and “it just didn’t do it for me.” George’s came on the scene at about the same time. That was “complete coincidence,” Sindoni said, “but we were probably thinking the same thing at the same time – that no one’s really doing a great roast beef sandwich here.”

Maine Restaurant Relief Fund

| Posted in Events


To promote and raise funds for the Maine Restaurant Relief Fund, a growing number of Maine’s talented chefs are collaborating to produce a biweekly cooking show called Sunday Supper. The first three shows are all available online:

Episode 1 – Summer Classics features chefs David Turin, David’s Restaurants; Paolo Laboa, Solo Italiano in Portland; Charlie Zorich and Kirk Linder, The Hichborn in Stockton Springs; Ilma Lopez, Chaval in Portland.

Episode 2 – Comfort Food features chefs Daron Goldstein, Provender Kitchen + Bar in Ellsworth; Carter Light of Coda in Southwest Harbor; Casey Harmon of Havana in Bar Harbor; Cameron Prescott of Copita in Northwest Harbor; & Sara Jenkins of Nina June in Rockport.

Episode 3 – Backyard Barbecue features chefs Justin Walker of Walker’s Maine; David Vargas of Ore Nell’s Barbecue; Ben Hasty & Jen Fecteau of Engrain; Becca Poirier of DaVinci’s.

Watch the shows and consider making a donation to the fund.

Episode 4 is slated to air on October 4th.

Liu Bian Tan Launched

| Posted in Openings

Portland’s newest food truck, Liu Bian Tan (instagram) launched on Tuesday at the Western Promenade.

Owner Chung Heng Liu is dishing up a menu of “old school” Taiwanese street food which on Tuesday included Yo Mein, Lo Ba Bung, Gua Bao, and Scallion “Bomb” Bing.

LBT will be back on the Western Prom on Thursday, and  is scheduled to hold a pop-up takeout dinner in conjunction with Cong Tu Bot on September 29th.

Sunday Food Reading

| Posted in General News

Grab a cup of coffee and get caught up on some recent food writing about the Portland/Maine food scene:

Backyard Cider Project

| Posted in Under Construction

Anoche (website, instagram) has launched an exciting new initiative called the Backyard Cider Project. The Washington Ave cider bar will be gathering apple donations from the public, and work with Cornish Cider Company (website, facebook, instagram) to press, ferment and bottle a “unique cider that showcases the terroir of Maine”.

The finished product is expected to be bottled and available this coming spring along with a map that shows where in Maine the fruit for the community cider project was sourced from.

All across our state apple trees abound on public and private property alike. A large portion of these apples go to waste, and we want your help turning those apples into a unique cider that showcases the terroir of Maine.

With the apple harvest being upon us, we are asking any and all who have access to apple trees to bring us your fruit! [B]ring whatever you can: blemished apples, small apples, crabapples, etc. from now through the end of October. Because good cider apples don’t typically taste good to eat—the more bitter and sour, the better! Drop them off at Anoche any day of the week between 2 pm and 8 pm. Leave them by the front door and come to the window to let us know they are there…we will bring them in!

Happy picking!

Anoche owner Erika Colby shared, “We thought this project could be a fun way to bring people together at a time when the pandemic is keeping us apart. Pressing and fermenting juice into cider is an expression of hope in a better future—one where we can come together again to taste the fruits of the work we did to make this cider possible.”

Everyone who donate a bushel (40 lbs) or more to the Backyard Cider Project will be entered into a drawing to win an apple tree from a local nursery so “we can keep the tradition going for more years to come.”

Anoche opened late last year on Washington Ave serving a menu of draft and bottled cider and Basque food. During the pandemic Anoche has launched an outdoor seating area and cider takeout window serving draft and bottled cider as well as a cider growler service.

Holy Donut in Auburn

| Posted in Under Construction

Mainebiz reports that The Holy Donut will be opening a new donut shop in Auburn.

Eight years after opening for business with a single shop in Portland, the popular donut maker and retailer is expanding to Auburn, in a former Tim Horton’s coffee shop that’s been vacant for five years. The new store, at 848 Minot Ave., will be Holy Donut’s first location outside greater Portland.

The new location is expected to open before the end of the year.

Salt Pine Social Permanently Closing

| Posted in Closings

The owners of Salt Pine Social in Bath have announced plans to permanently close the restaurant after service on September 26th.

To our Dear friends and loyal followers . We want to thank you for your amazing support during these difficult times and for the love and friendship you have shown us over the years at El Camino and Salt Pine Social. It is with a heavy heart we are reaching out to let you know that Saturday September 26th will be our final day . After over 40 years in this industry we feel it’s time for us to go . The pandemic it seems is the final nail in the coffin for our industry. We find ourselves financially and emotionally unable to continue. We feel truly honored to have been a part of this community and we will miss you .For now we’ll take a deep breath (behind our masks of course) and step boldly into the future and whatever comes next for us we will keep you posted Love and peace to you all . Eloise Daphne and Paul