2026 Midcoast Pocket Guide

| Posted in PFM

The 2026 Midcoast Pocket Guide is now available—see below for where to pick one up. The guide highlights a cross section of the restaurants, bakeries, breweries, coffee shops, cocktail bars, and cafes that make eating and drinking in the Midcoast so compelling.

28 cities and towns are represented from smaller communities like Union, Palermo and Owls Head along with the bigger cities and towns along the coast and some inland locations like Swanville and Whitefield. The list features both longtime mainstays of the Midcoast food scene and newer spots that have launched in recent years. We hope that no matter where you live or are traveling to in the Midcoast that this guide has something to offer.

Are you holding a wedding, running a business event, operating a hotel, or simply want a bunch of the guides on hand for out of town visitors? The pocket guides are now for sale online in packs of 25 at our online store.

Many thanks to the Pocket Guide sponsors! Their support is essential in making this resource available: Evergreen Credit Union, The Boulos Company, Allagash Brewing Company, and Great Pine Financial Services.

While supplies last you can pick-up a free copy of the guide at these locations: Vessel & Vine in Brunswick, Treats in Wiscasset, The Alna Store, Salt and Pepper Social in Newcastle, Ida’s at The Waldoboro Inn, Honey’s in Thomaston, the Villager Cafe in Camden, and Dot’s Market in Lincolnville. In Portland, you can find a copy at Allagash Brewing, the Portland Trading Company, and Total Loss Books. They’re also available at Bresca and the Honey Bee in New Gloucester, and soon at at @table_bar in Gardiner.

One final note: This dining guide wouldn’t be as good as it, in fact it wouldn’t exist at all, without the skills and contributions of graphic designer Sofija Razgaitis and of Dawn Hagin. Congratulate them on their work the next time you see them.

Maine Food & Dining News: Kittery, Lewiston, Biddeford, Gardiner, Brunswick, Rockland, Skowhegan, Newcastle, Camden, Blue Hill, Stonnington

| 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:

  • Kittery Wine Bar (website, instagram)  is under construction at 10 Walker St. The bar and bottle shop is being launched by owners Katie Howard-Smith and Jody Smith along with help from Howard-Smith’s sister Sadie Bell. They hope to launch the business this summer. Bell has several years of experience working in the NYC restaurant industry and Howard-Smith had worked at the Islington Bottle Shoppe and is studying to complete the WSET 3 certification. Their vision is to create “a cozy, approachable space focused on great wine” that has vibes of “European wine bar energy meets coastal New England.” The menu will include wine by the glass, bottle, and flights along with shareable snacks.
  • In Lewiston Davinci’s owner Craig Tribuno is taking over the former Sonder & Dram space at 12 Ash Street where he plans to relaunch the cocktail bar. Sonder & Dram closed last June. In an interview with the Sun Journal, Tribuno shared he hopes to re-open the bar by the end of July and expects to be serving a similar menu of drinks. When it relaunches Sonder and Dram will be open Friday and Saturday, 4 – 11 pm.
  • A new takeout bakery called Me, Myself and Pie (website, instagram) recently opened in Biddeford. They sell a selection (menu above) of sweet and savory hand pies as well as scones, quiche, cookies, soft serve ice cream and other treats. They’re located at 200 Pool Street and are open Thursday through Sunday, 8 am – 4 pm.
  • As previously reported, Kristen Lamontagne has leased 347 Water Street in Gardiner where she plans to locate her new business Plum Bakery (instagram).
  • Six food producers from Maine were honored in this year’s Good Food Awards.
  • In June and July the Georgia Peach Truck will be visiting several locations in Maine selling pecans and cases of peaches driven up from Dickey Farms in Musella, Georgia. See their website for details on where and when they’ll be stopping in Falmouth, Manchester, South Paris and South Portland.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that Deer Isle Oyster Company (website, facebook, instagram) owner Abby Barrows plans to open The Stoop (instagram) oyster bar in Blue Hill and The Dooryard (instagram) shop in Stonington.
  • The Portsmouth Herald reports that Deb and Michael McCluskey plan to launch a new business Dudley Street Pizza (instagram) which will be located at 68 Wallingford Square in Kittery. The McC operate several other restaurants including Lil’s Cafe, Salty Spirits, and Henry’s Bagel and Deli in Kittery.
  • The Brunswick Time Record reports that Tess’ Market in Brunswick will be closing at the end of June after 71 years in business.

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

2026 Portland Pocket Guide

| Posted in PFM

The 2026 Portland Pocket Guide is now available—see below for where to pick one up. As in past years the guide highlights a cross section of the restaurants, bakeries, breweries, coffee shops, cocktail bars, and cafes that make eating and drinking in Portland so compelling.

Use the guide as a starting point for your ongoing exploration of the Portland and Maine food scenes. See the Portland Food Map directory for full list of independent eateries in the city to put together your own selection. We’d enjoy seeing your list and hearing about your eating adventures.

Are you holding a wedding, running a business event, operating a hotel, or simply want a bunch of the guides on hand for out of town visitors? The pocket guides are now for sale online in packs of 25 at our online store.

Many thanks to our sponsors! Their support is essential to making this resource available: Evergreen Credit Union, The Boulos Company, the Canopy by Hilton Waterfront, Wine Wise, Allagash Brewing Company, The Longfellow Hotel, and Portland Downtown.

While supplies last you can pick-up a free copy of the guide at these local businesses:  Tandem Coffee Roasters, Portland Trading Company, Allagash Brewing, Rose Foods, Oxbow Brewing, Onggi, Ugly Duckling, the Portland Yoga Collective, Total Loss Books, the offices of Portland Downtown, and starting this weekend at Bresca and the Honey Bee in New Gloucester.

One final note: This dining guide wouldn’t be as good as it, in fact it wouldn’t exist at all, without the skills and contributions of graphic designer Sofija Razgaitis and of Dawn Hagin. Congratulate them on their work the next time you see them.

2026 Good Food Awards

| Posted in Reviews

The Good Food Foundation has released the list of winners for their 2026 awards program. Six food producers from Maine were honored:

Seven Maine food producers were named as finalists earlier this year.

Plum Bakery in Gardiner

| Posted in Maine

Kristen Lamontagne has leased 347 Water Street in Gardiner where she plans to locate her new business Plum Bakery (instagram). It will be located in the space currently occupied by Stone Broke Bread and Books, and Lamontagne hopes to launch the bakery by mid-August.

At Plum Bakery, she will offer sourdough breads, cookies, cakes by the slice and pastries including malted chocolate chip cookies, honey cake, ricotta pie, zucchini bread, and seasonal loaf cakes. Drink options will include hot and iced coffee, tea and soft drinks.

There will be indoor seating and a small market selling a selection of pantry items, kitchen utensils, and goods made by local artists. Lamontagne shared “When you walk through the door, my hope is for it feel whimsical and sweet, like a little respite from busy everyday life. I think that’s also the goal of a good pastry.” 

Lamontagne had previously been the baker and pastry chef at The Alna Store from when it launched in late 2022. Plum Bakery will initially be open Wednesday through Saturday, 9 am – 2 pm, with plans to eventually add sourdough pizza dinner service on Saturday evenings.

Munjoy Hill Belleville to Close

| Posted in Closings

Belleville has announced plans to close their location on Munjoy Hill. They’ll continue to operate out of their Forest Avenue bakery. The last day of operations on Congress Street will be June 8th. Their statement reads in part,

We understand this seems like strange timing with high season ready to begin in Portland, but we simply don’t have enough trained bakers to maintain our quality standards and produce enough pastries to continue operations as normal.

Additional factors that played into this tough decision include the financial strains of the overhead costs of maintaining two locations. We have also struggled with the logistics of supporting teams at two separate locations. We’re nearing the end of our 10 year lease at 1 North St and we were feeling ready to make changes. Lastly, Amy and I have hustled hard for many years and surprise, surprise, we have less energy. We’re older now too!

The Forest Ave location opened in 2023 and is currently open on Saturdays and Sundays, 8 – 11 am. Owners Chris Deutsch and Amy Fuller expect to expand hours of operations there in the near future.

Deutsch and Fuller launched Belleville at the corner of North and Congress Streets in 2017.

New Owners at Other Side Diner

| Posted in Under Construction

Peter and Jessica Sueltenfuss announced that they’ve sold the Other Side Diner. Their last day as owners of the business was Sunday.

The Diner has been such a huge part of our lives, and we are beyond grateful for every guest who walked through our doors, every staff member who worked alongside us, and every friendship and memory made over the years. Your support, loyalty, and kindness helped shape this restaurant into something truly special.

The diner is being taken over by Danielle Dubois and Dan Washington. Dubois has been a member of the Other Side kitchen staff for the last year, and Washington has several years experience cooking at the Miss Portland Diner. They plan on maintaining continuity with the food and atmosphere at the Other Side Diner while bringing some of their own ideas to the menu. They hope to relaunch the Other Side Diner in July.

Other Side Diner opened 7 years ago in April 2019. The Sueltenfusses previously operated two locations of the Other Side Deli on Veranda and Vaughan Streets.