Category: Openings

Tina Cromwell relaunched her gluten-free business Bam Bam Bakery (website, facebook, intagram) this past Friday. The new Bam Bam is located at 125 Bucknam Road in Falmouth just off of the exit from 295.

Cromwell is selling a wide range of gluten-free baked goods including the chocolate-dipped almond horn and cinnamon roll shown above as well as bagels, breads, needhams, brownies, muffins, macaroons, whoopie pies, cookies and coffee. She expects to add savory options to the menu in the future.

Cromwell hopes to initially be open Fridays and Saturdays 9 am – 3 pm and will be expanding hours as she hires more staff. Stay tuned to the Bam Bam on social media for updates.

Rebel Munchies & Libations (website, instagram) opened for business Friday night. The 46-seat bar and restaurant is located at 649 Congress Street near Longfellow Square in the former Dos Naciones/Local Sprouts space.

Owner Peter Murphy and his team are serving a menu of cheesesteaks (shaved steak or smoked mushrooms), house-made chicken nuggets, salad, slaw, chips and a “dirt cup” dessert. Shown above is the 5″ Rebel OG with pickled jalapenos with a Peached Iced Tea cocktail. Rebel has a selection of draft beer, a house cocktail program and beer/amaro spigots. The Cherry Cola (shown above) cocktail is a mix of bourbon, brandy and Luxardo Amaro Abano.

Murphy originally launched Rebel as a food cart on May 23, 2019. The new Rebel Munchies & Libations will be open Thursday through Monday, 5 pm – 1 am.

Catface Cafe (website, instagram) is scheduled to open this Friday. The new daytime cafe is located in Biddeford in the space that was formerly occupied by Part and Parcel.

Sur Lie owner Krista Cole and business partner Tyler VanScoy plan to initially be open Tuesday through Friday, 8 am – 4 pm and on the weekends 9 am – 2 pm for brunch.

Chef Mimi Weissenborn has put together a menu (see below) of toasts, salads, and sandwiches. The cafe also has a full coffee program, beer, wine and cocktails to pair with the food.

Cole and VanScoy want Catface to be a community gathering place. The location includes a back patio which can host warm weather events or be a spot to hang out solo or with friends. They plan to hosts monthly special events at Catface for the people of Biddeford to gather and socialize.

Cole is a founder of Sur Lie which opened for business in 2014. In 2023 she was a James Beard Awards semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category and Sur Lie was a semifinalist in the Outstanding Hospitality category. In 2022 Cole took over ownership of Gather in Yarmouth from the restaurant’s founder, Matt Chappell. VanScoy has worked in the hospitality industry in a variety of front and back of house roles for over 10 years.

Part & Parcel owners Danielle O’Neill and Ali Preble closed their market/cafe in late December.

Cherished Pub opened for business on Sunday. The all-day restaurant begins to address the scarcity of food service establishments in the North Deering.

Located at 64 Auburn Street adjacent to Cherished Possessions, they’re is almost two restaurants in one. During breakfast and lunch hours (7:30 am – 1 pm) they serve a Bayou Kitchen 2 menu—having licensed the Bayou Kitchen menu and recipes from the Woodfords Corner restaurant. The Bayou Kitchen 2 menu includes a wide range of breakfast dishes (omelets, pancakes, hash, French toast, huevos rancheros, etc) and ‘Cajun Classics’ lunch dishes like gumbo, jambalya and chicken piquant. In the afternoon/evening (2 – 10 pm) the Cherished Pub menu (see below) includes options like fish and chips, a muffuletta, a reuben and steak tips with mushroom and onions. A few carryovers from the Bayou lunch menu are available as well.

The 1,805 sq ft space includes table seating for 66 and a 9-seat bar. They plan on having outdoor seating as the weather warms up.

Cherished Pub/Bayou Kitchen 2 is closed on Monday. They’ll be reopening Tuesday 7:30 am – 1 pm and 2 – 10 pm. They hope to eventually be open 7 days a week.

Jerome’s (instagram) opened for business on Friday at 223 Congress Street near the intersection with Washington Ave. It’s a self described “local community New England sports bar that has a love for skateboarding, snowboarding, and surfing.”

Owners Sasha Salzberg, Evan Carroll, and Ian Daly are serving wine, draft and package beer, cocktails (their margarita shown above), nonalcoholic beverages, and beer and shot combos like the Jerome’s Shifter which pairs Budwiser with a shot of Maker’s Mark. The food menu includes some snack plates and four sandwiches: turkey club, ham and cheese, chopped Italian, and PB&J.

Jerome’s is open Thursday through Monday, 4 – 11 pm.

Brea Lu Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) reopened at their new Westbrook location this morning. The new 109 seat cafe—more than doubles the capacity of their former cafe on Cumberland Street— is located at 511 Main Street.

Brea Lu is open daily 7am to 3pm serving a menu of breakfast standards, a range of omlette variations and lunch dishes like the Cuban pork sandwich shown above.

Thai Tree (website, instagram) restaurant is opening today. It’s located at 571 Congress Street in the former location of Pom’s Thai Taste. Thai Tree is being launched by Nonsee Oumkasem along with his parents Poj and Tunya Oumkasem—both were chefs at Pom’s since it opened back in 2007.

The menu (see a few pages of it below) includes a wide range of appetizers, skewers, soups, noodle and rice dishes, and curries and stir fries. It features dishes from the Nakhon Ratchasima ‘Korat’ province where the Oumkasem family hails from.

A Madonna-themed cocktail program has options like Express Yourself (rye whiskey, Malibu, Thai coffee, mango, coconut) and Like a Prayer (whiskey, tamarind, coca cola).

Thai Tree is open Monday through Thursday, 11 am – 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm; Friday 11:00 am – 2:30 pm and 4:00 pm – 10:00 pm;  Saturday 11:00 am – 10:00 pm; and Sunday noon – 9:00 pm.

Paella Seafood (facebook, instagram) opened for business Thursday at their new location, 865 Forest Ave.

Owners Casey and Dahlia Jabrawi are serving a seafood-forward menu (a few pages shown below) that includes both their seafood and chicken paellas, appetizers like a Mediterranean octopus salad or a bruschetta of smoked salmon and avocado. There are a variety of seafood skewers which can be paired with sides like bulgar wheat, onion rings or Spanish rice. There are also four options for pizza (shrimp, octopus, smoked salmon, chicken, vegetable), lobster rolls, and seafood and chicken sandwiches or cones. A children’s menu is also available. The new Paella Seafood also has a dedicated space for a Turkish coffee bar.

Starting today Paella Seafood will be open daily 10 am – 9 pm.