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

• The owners of Tacos La Poblanita have launched their new restaurant called Azteca (facebook, instagram). It’s located in Cash Corner in South Portland (above) in the building formerly occupied by Caribbean Taste. The menu (see below) includes dishes like camarones a la diabla (shrimp and sauteed vegetables in a spicy sauce), fajita mixtas, molcajete, tacos burritos, quesadillas, and desserts like tres leches cake and churros. They will be open Wednesday through Monday 11 am – 8:30 pm, and until 8 pm on Sunday.
• Tongue N Cheek (website, facebook, instagram) has opened for business in Kittery. It is co-located with the Maine Meat butcher shop 2 Rogers Road. Owners Shannon Hill and Jarrod Spangler and their team are serving a menu that includes apps like beef tartare and pork belly pancakes, sandwiches like burgers and a croque madame, and entrees like roast pork and fried chicken. The drinks menu includes cocktails, wine by the glass and bottle, beer, and after dinner drinks. Tongue N Cheek will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 3 – 9 pm, and on Sunday, 3 – 8 pm.
• Elyse Dana, the owner of Iris Eats, has taken over the former Harpswell Schoolhouse building at 506 Harpswell Neck Road where she plans to open The Wayward Daughter (instagram). Dana plans to launch the upscale tavern restaurant in the spring.
• A new business called Salt & Stem (instagram) is under development in Rangeley in the former Corner Bar space. Elora and Ian Ryder shared, “Born out of our love for good food, farming, and bringing people together, Salt & Stem is a neighborhood deli, specialty market & floral shop coming soon to Main Street in Rangeley. It’s the next chapter for The Farm at Blueberry Hill, and we couldn’t be more excited!” It will be located at 2845 Main Street. Coincidentally, that address is where Elora Ryder’s parents launched a restaurant in 2010 called Corner Side Sips & Apps. Salt & Stem will serve breakfast and lunch. They hope to have Salt & Stem open by Thanksgiving.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that a new restaurant called Burgers & Bad Decisions (facebook) is under construction at 68 Main Street in the space formerly occupied by Taste of India. “Besides staples like burgers and chicken tenders, Levesque’s menu will have breakfast foods like waffles and breakfast sandwiches all day, and everything on the menu will have a vegetarian option, she said. The restaurant will also offer signature drinks, and a non-alcoholic version of each.”
• A new restaurant and bar called Posta (website, facebook, instagram) and Grotto are under construction in Wells. They’ll be located at 60 Mile Road in the building formerly occupied by Battery Steel Brewing and before that by Varano’s. The Posta dining room is located on the top floor serving “house-made pastas, chicken and veal parmigiana, meatballs, and classic Sunday-gravy favorites.” The more casual Grotto is located on the lower floor will serve pizzas, sandwiches, and “comforting favorites” as well as food to go. The owners hope to launch the restaurants in November. For additional reporting see this article from the Portsmouth Herald.
• A new restaurant called Vireo (facebook, instagram) is under development in Wells. It will be located at 557 Coles Hill Road in the space that was formerly occupied by the Merriland Farm Cafe. Chef Daniel Bowden and general manager Travis Kay are planning a menu of New American cuisine which they explained will blend international inspired dishes and flavors with traditional American cooking techniques. The bar program headed up by Kay will have a strong cocktail focus with a selection of wines and packaged beers. Bowden previously operated Pilots Cove Cafe in Sanford, and Kay has been a manager at Timber in Bangor, Batson River in Wells and Kennebunk and Bar ‘Cino in Brookline and Watertown. Bowden and Kay hope to launch Vireo in November and when they do it will be open Tuesday through Saturday, 4:30 – 9:30 pm.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that the former Bucksport restaurant Stowaways Town Tavern has reopened in Blue Hill. “DeGennaro said Thursday that the building needed more work than expected, which would drive up costs, and detailed complications around addressing it. He decided to focus on the Blue Hill location instead — where he was already planning to open a second Stowaways location. He is buying the new building, he said.”
• Food & Beverage Magazine reports that Cornelia Sühr has been hired as the new executive chef at the White Barn Inn. “German-born, Sühr has worked in some of the world’s most acclaimed kitchens, including Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester and The Savoy in London, and later at The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel in New York, where she became the hotel’s first female Chef de Cuisine. She went on to lead kitchens at Jean-Georges Philadelphia at Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia, before joining The Surf Club Restaurant by Thomas Keller in Florida.”
• The owners of Orchard Ridge Farm in Gorham have announced they’re putting the property and business up for sale.
• The founders of Dolce Amici in Norway have announced the upcoming sale of the restaurant to its chef Clinton Jones. “Over the next few months, ownership of the restaurant will transition to Chef Clinton, making Doice Amici a chef-owned and operated neighborhood restaurant. With the chef you already know at the helm, the focus will remain on exceptional cooking, locally sourced ingredients, and the warm hospitality that makes Dolce Amici special.”
• The Midcoast Villager has a report on the new Owls Head General Store owner Catie Sheehan.
• Vanessa Baltazar is the new owner of the Libations bottle shop in Kennebunk.
• Central Mainer has published a field report from the new Sonder & Dram in Lewiston.
• Frannie Eats Maine has published a field report from Himalays on the Bay in South Portland.
• We’ve begun building the 2026 Maine Thanksgiving List . It already includes 65+ options for Thanksgiving dinners, free community meals and food baskets, special takeout and take home options from restaurants, bakeries butcher shops and markets from all over the state. More are being added each day as businesses post details about their plans.
• As previously reported, Andy Rogers won the US Oyster Shucking Competition on Sunday.
• As previously reported, Plum Bakery in Gardiner has now opened for business.

The Maine Food Map is our statewide dining guide with a list of 122 coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses from across Maine’s 16 counties.