Category: Openings

Evo X (instagram) the new waterfront food truck from Evo Kitchen + Bar is launching today at noon. The mobile kitchen is located adjacent the Eastern Prom walking trail near the former Portland Company Complex.

The concept for Evo X is of a waterfront seafood shack serving a menu of on-concept dishes and a few options (e.g. chickpea fries) carried over from the regular Evo menu.  There will be outdoor picnic table seating, counter service and drinks will be available from the Fore Points Marina bar which is also currently under development. The menu is a collaboration between chefs Matt Ginn and John Glover.

A new  coffee shop called Burundi Star Coffee (facebook) opened earlier this week at 261 Saint John Street. In addition to drip coffee and espresso-based drinks, Burundi Star also sells baked goods from Norimoto Bakery.

As the name suggests, Burundi Star will feature coffee from Burundi. Their first coffee, Burundi Mutambu is a medium roast with tasting notes of “green apple, honey, and toffee”.

Update: A combined outdoor/indoor dining list has been published. This page is no longer being kept up to date.

Restaurants can start re-opening in Cumberland County for outdoor dining only as of June 1st. Here’s a small but growing list of the restaurants have announced their outdoor dining opening day plans. Please let me know if you know of any that are missing and I’ll add them.

Even with restaurants starting to re-open, restaurants that have established take-out programs will likely continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

• June 1st
  • A&C Grocery – counter service with outdoor seating
  • Becky’s Diner – outdoor dining
  • Boone’s Fish House and Oyster Room – outdoor dining
  • Bruno’s – outdoor dining
  • El Rayo – outdoor patio dining
  • Gilbert’ Chowder House – outdoor dining
  • Independent Ice Company – outdoor dining
  • Petite Jacqueline – outdoor dining, reservations (online or 207-553-7044) required
  • Portland Lobster Company – outdoor dining
  • Rivalries – outdoor dining, Falmouth location
  • Salt Water Grille – waterfront outdoor seating in South Portland
  • The Porthole – outdoor dining
  • Three Dollar Deweys – outdoor dining
  • Timber – outdoor dining on Exchange Street (now closed to vehicle traffic) and on their back patio. Call (207) 805-1469 for reservations.
  • Tiqa – outdoor dining
  • Union Kitchen – outdoor seating
  • Yosaku – outdoor patio, call for reservation (207-780-0880)
• June 2nd
  • Bramhall Pub – patio dining, reservation required
  • CBG – outdoor dining
  • DiMillo’s – tables in their parking lot for takeout customers to use
  • Lazzari – outdoor dining, reservations required
  • Luke’s Lobster – outdoor dining only, reservation required
  • Miss Portland Diner – outdoor dining
  • Monte’s Fine Foods – outdoor dining
  • Pizzarino – outdoor dining
  • Roma Cafe – patio dining, reservations required
  • Tomaso’s Canteen – outdoor dining
  • The Well – picnic tables and gazebos for outdoor dining, reservations required
• June 3rd
  • Coals – outdoor dining in Bayside
  • Evo – outdoor dining, reservations recommended
  • Ishi Ishi – outdoor dining
  • Knotted Apron – outdoor dining
  • Maine Craft Distilling – outdoor dining with $5 “boozy slushees and shots” during happy hour (1-4 pm)
• June 4th
  • Blue Fin – garden seating, reservations required
  • Gritty’s – outdoor dining
  • Maria’s – outdoor dining
  • North 43 Bistro – outdoor dining on upper and lower decks
  • Old Port Sea Grill – outdoor dining
  • Shay’s Grill Pub – outdoor dining
  • Slab – outdoor dining on the Slab patio
• June 5th
  • King’s Head Pub – outdoor dining
  • N To Tail – outdoor dining
  • Rising Tide – outdoor patio seating in collaboration with Fire & Co.
  • The Sinful Kitchen – outdoor dining
• June 6th
  • Pizza Villa – outdoor dining
  • Po’ Boys & Pickles – outdoor picnic tables at their location on Forest Ave
• June 7th
  • J’s Oyster Bar – expanded outdoor dining
• June 9th
  • DiMillo’s – on ship deck seating
• June 10th
  •  Sagamore Hill/Ada’s – a collaboration between these two Arts District establishments. They’ll work together to serve Sagamore cocktails and Ada’s food on the corner of Congress and Park Streets.
• Other Restaurants Now Offering Outdoor Dining
  • Binga’s Stadium
  • Black Cow
  • Bonobo
  • Brea Lu Cafe in Westbrook
  • Burke’s Perks
  • Central Provisions
  • Cocktail Mary
  • David’s starting June 23rd
  • Duckfat
  • East Ender
  • El Corazon
  • Eventide
  • Gather in Yarmouth
  • Hardshore Distilling
  • HiFi Donuts
  • Isa
  • Island Creek Oyster
  • Knitting Nook
  • Lio
  • Little Giant
  • Local 188
  • Mami
  • Other Side Diner
  • Portland Beer Hub
  • Rosie’s
  • Scales
  • Solo Italaiano – will launch outdoor dining on Thursday, June 18th
  • The Bird & Co
  • The Honey Paw
  • The North Point
  • The Thirsty Pig
  • Woodford F&B

FOOD TRUCKS/CARTS

• Bite Into Maine
• Falafel Mafia
• Kuno
• Mainely Hotdogs
• Milly’s Skillet
• Mr. Tuna
• Salt Box Cafe
• Tacos de Seoul
• Tacos La Poblanita
• The Muthah Truckah
• Twist

June 1st, the day restaurants in Portland can re-open for indoor dining, is fast approaching. Restaurants are individually making decisions about when they’ll feel ready to open their doors to customers, and customers are starting to think about when they’ll be ready to dine out.

Today Fore Street, Street & Co and Scales made the call to re-open starting on June 8th. All three restaurants will be starting service at 4 pm. Reservations are required and you can book a table by calling their reservation line (207-775-2717) or online via OpenTable:

• Fore Street
• Street & Co.
• Scales

Taytene Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) is scheduled to open on June 1st. The new business has been under construction at 863 Broadway in South Portland since early 2019.

According to the awning signage, their offerings will include coffee, boba tea, smoothies, house-made bread, banh mi and pho.

Restaurants in  12 of 16 Maine counties could re-open yesterday. Both the Press Herald and Kennebec Journal caught up with restaurant owners to hear what their thoughts and plans were. Some definitely are re-opening and others are sticking with takeout for now.

Chef/proprietor Sara Jenkins didn’t have to think long and hard about whether or not to open Nina June’s dining room to customers on Monday. Her upscale Italian restaurant, which overlooks Rockport’s picturesque harbor, has been serving takeout all spring. Located in one of the 12 counties cleared by Gov. Janet Mills for dine-in service this week, it was eligible to open its doors.

“I am not reopening,” Jenkins said on Friday, having weighed the regulations and the risks and done the financial math. “No friggin way.”[PPH]

The Bangor Daily News checked in with some restaurant workers on their perspective.

In contrast, Landyn Severino is ready to return to work. The bar manager at Sportsman’s Kitchen and Keg, a bistro her family owns in Sebago, has been helping out with the restaurant’s limited takeout capacity, but is ready to return to full operations come June.

Maine Calling on Maine Public Radio dedicated yesterday’s 1-hour show to taking calls from industry staff and the general public about re-opening. There’s also additional report on WGME, and on WMTW.

Mainebiz has published the results of a restaurant customer survey conducted by Eat Drink Lucky which asked about their perspectives on eating at home and dining out post-reopening.

In terms of going back to dining in restaurants when restrictions are lifted, 23.2% said they would do so immediately, while 17% said they would wait two months or longer.

Eat Drink Lucky publisher Gillian Britt told Mainebiz that she was surprised by those findings, saying: “Considering how frightening COVID-19 is, we expected that number to be higher. We were encouraged to see that 23% said they would return immediately, and another 42% said they’ll be back within a month.”

Mainebiz reports that new owners have bought the Long Island Store on Long Island and have renamed it Byers & Sons Long Island Bakehouse.

The operation will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. from May to October. It will offer breakfast and lunch, daily baked goods, such as hand-cut cinnamon donuts, muffins, scones, whoopee pies and cookies. Take-home meals such as lasagna, chicken pot pie, lobster pot pie and lobster quiche are also in the plan.

The plan is to use as many local suppliers as possible, to install a lobster tank and buy from island lobstermen, and to offer local beer, wine and produce, she said.

The Bangor Daily News has taken a look at what’s in store as restaurants begin re-opening their doors for in-house dining over the next few weeks.

In a public health crisis, many restaurant owners are not seeking a path back to normalcy, but they are forging ways to evolve that may bring lasting change. They are wary of a spike of disease. They also fear that missing a vital summer season will destroy their livelihoods.