The Velvet Dog on Preble Street

| Posted in Under Construction

A new bar and restaurant called The Velvet Dog (instagram) is under construction at 24 Preble Street next to Dutch’s and across the street from Za Pizza. Chef Matt Burns and his family plan to serve a menu of small plates like fried sardines, chicken and smoked sausage empanadas, and corn ribs as well as salads and some main dishes like fried chicken and waffles and risotto terrine.

Burns shared some thoughts on his vision for the restaurant,

We are here for the people of Portland. Tourists are nice but I care about the people in the apartments next door, the industry workers and the people that commute in and out of this town a lot more. I want those people to always feel welcome and to get to know us as we know them. I hope I’m here long enough to see our regulars and their kids achieve, grow up.. grow old and provide a place where we want to hear about it… We want to be a tentpole in the community.

The 75-seat restaurant will have a mix of table and bar seating. Burns is making some light renovations to the space and hopes launch The Velvet Dog in June.

Burns has has worked at a number of Portland area restaurants including Nonesuch River Brewing in Scarborough, and most recently Paper City Barbecue and Legends Rest in Westbrook.

Follow The Velvet Dog instagram account where they’ll be posting updates as they get the restaurant ready and approach they’re opening day.

 

The End of Portland to Expand

| Posted in Under Construction

The End of Portland (instagram) has leased the former Cocktail Mary space on Congress Street. They’re planning unite the two adjacent storefronts for an expansion that will create a wrap around bar in the center of the room, booths and more window seating options, and outdoor seating along Congress Street as well as space for a pool table. Owner Benbazi shared,

I’m Stoked at the opportunity to continue rocking’ the block with a bigger foot print and more seats. We have missed our former neighbors Cocktail Mary’s and the cool vibes they brought . Looking forward to keeping that party torch lit on the 200 block corner. 

The renovations are starting soon with the hope of launching the new bar area to the public sometime in June. The End continues to be open daily 4 pm to 1 am, and open at noon on Saturdays.

The bar is located at 229 Congress Street and initially launched in April of 2023. The name of the business is a nod to being  across the street from the Eastern Cemetery. Follow their instagram account for progress updates on the expansion and all the cool design ideas they have in the works.

Photo: The photograph was taken in April 2025.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Monday – The K-Pop Kimbap food truck is holding a pop-up at Cantina Calafia.

Thursday – Chef Matt Ginn will be serving a 4-course wine dinner at Dry Dock. Twelve is holding a 4-course Rhone wine dinner.

Friday – It’s the opening day of Y%F Coffee (instagram) in Congress Square.

Friday-Saturday – Salt Yard is continuing the chef takeover series with a BBQ menu created by Jason Putnam.

Saturday-Sunday – Maine Maple Sunday Weekend is taking place. Visit the Maine Maple Producers Association website to find a sugar shack or two to visit.

Sunday – Chaval is holding a Maine Maple Sunday Harvest Dinner at Thompson’s Point. The local chapter of the American Culinary Federation is holding their Annual Chefs’ Touch Dinner. Barista Milo Ryan-Humphrey will be holding two Brewers Cup program demonstrations at Another Round. A cupcake decorating class with Meadowsweet Bakery is taking place at Angoor Wine Bar.

March 24 – Jordan Brocklesby from Plates of Portland will be the guest speaker at a Maine Voices Live event at One Longfellow Square.

March 25 – Ironside Whiskey Bar is hosting a conversation and whiskey tasting with Aaron Wood.

March 27 – Bread & Friends is holding a 5-course beer dinner in celebration of the 5th anniversary of Belleflower Brewing.

April 8 – The Maine Menu is teaching a class for hospitality industry professionals on how to work with social media influencers and creators.

April 17-18 – The 2nd Annual Organic Grain & Seed Summit is taking place.

April 24 – May 3 – Maine Seaweed Week is taking place.

May 2 – SeaFest is taking place.

May 3 – CiderFeast is taking place.

May 9-10 – The 2026 A Taste of Nations Food Festival is taking place at Mayo Street Arts.

May 16 – The Maine Wine Wine Fest (tickets) is taking place in Freeport.

September 25-27 – The Common Ground Fair is taking place in Unity.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.

The Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store.

Sawyer’s Butcher & Delicatessen

| Posted in Under Construction

Chris Wilcox has leased the 4,606 sq ft former Thistle & Grouse space at 10 Cotton Street where he plans to open Sawyer’s Butcher & Delicatessen (website, instagram). Sawyer’s will be a whole animal butcher shop and counter service sandwich cafe. Wilcox shared,

I’m excited to bring a whole animal butcher shop to Portland. Butchering and charcuterie making have always been really enjoyable kitchen tasks for me and I’m looking forward to making it my sole focus. At Judy Gibson we developed a big pantry of items that made that food what it was. I can’t wait to start building up Sawyer’s pantry and continue where we left off at Judy’s, but with sandwiches.

Wilcox will be exclusively sourcing from Maine farms tapping into the relationships he’s built over the past decade of working as a chef in the state. In addition to daily retail sales, Wilcox hopes to wholesale meats to restaurants, and offer a butcher shop CSA for home cooks.

Wilcox will also be launching an in-house charcuterie program producing prepared meats like mortadella, pates, and terrines. Sides like coleslaw, sauerkraut, pickles will be available at the market as well pantry ingredients like rendered tallow. Additionally, a Sawyer’s line of dog food will enable Portlanders to feed their fury family members the same traceable locally sourced meats that they enjoy themselves.

The cafe menu will have half a dozen regular sandwiches like a traditional New Orleans muffaletta created with house made cold cuts, as well as a rotating list of specials driven by what’s available from the shop. Sawyers will have a beer and wine license for guests who want to enjoy a drink with their meal. There will be ~15 seats inside Sawyer’s, and during the warmer month tables in the enclosed patio along Cotton Street will be an option. Sawyer’s will also offer sandwich platters for business meals and family gatherings.

Renovations on the first floor of the building will soon be under way, and Wilcox hopes to be open by the start of July. The large second floor dining room will be available to rent for special events. When it launches Sawyer’s will be open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am – 6 pm, and Sundays, 10 am – 4 pm.

Wilcox formerly owned and operated Judy Gibson in South Portland, and previously had been the chef de cuisine at Eventide.

The Cheese Iron Closing

| Posted in Closings

Vince Maniaci and Jill Dutton have announced they’ll be closing their Scarborough market and cheese shop, The Cheese Iron. Their last day in business will be May 16th.

Their announcement reads in part,

After 20 years of opening, owning and running The Cheese Iron our lease is up at the end of May. After long consideration, we have decided it is time to close the store, and our last day will be Saturday, May 16th.

We want to thank our customers, many of whom have been coming here since the start. Owning a business is a lot of hard work and sacrifice, but what makes it all worth while is our customers, our beloved cheese makers and our vendors. We truly love our community and have loved connecting with you all, and talking about food all these years.

Most importantly we want to thank all of our employees who have worked with us the last 20 years. This store would not have run without their hard work, great customer service and their ability to spread happiness to all that walked into our store. We learned as much from them as they did from us.

Dutton and Maniaci launched The Cheese Iron in August 2006.

Maine Food & Dining News: Owls Head, Wiscasset, Lewiston, Westbrook, Saco, Northport, Belgrade, Madawaska

| 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:

  • A new cafe called Nomad (instagram) has launched at the Knox County Airport in the space formerly occupied by The Apron. It’s run by artist and chef Evan Stevens and is open Saturday 9 am – 1 pm and on Sunday 8 am – 2 pm. Stevens shared on instagram, “We’ve opened for the year with weekend hours to serve our brunch, breakfast/lunch, and bakery menus and we’ve had such a great response! From handmade blueberry maple sausage to latke hash browns, Caesar schnitzel chicken, and a hoard of delicious baked goods (brown butter maple cinnamon rolls, dark chocolate torte, lemon cake, chocolate orange cookies, etc) we’ve served hundreds now and I’m so excited! I’ve been making as much from scratch as possible including hand pies and sourdough focaccia and we’ve really enjoyed meeting returning and new customers!”
  • The new owners of Treats are launching a ~40-seat wine bar this spring. They hope to open the bar in early May. It will be situated in the side room (above) of the Wiscasset bakery and shop. Joseph Swifka and Emily Hughes bought the popular Midcoast business earlier this year. They are planning a 10-seat bar along the northside wall and a mix of table and other seating options in the front window and elsewhere in the room. Hughes and Swifka plan to serve a rotating menu of low intervention wines. They’ll initially launch with light bar snacks but plan to expand the food options over time with a focus on Old World Italian cooking methods making use of locally sourced seasonal ingredients. The cafe itself has some new window counter seating with a selection of salads and sandwiches, baked goods and coffee.
  • Fifth Pillar Teahouse (instagram) is under development in downtown Lewiston. Owner Meg Giossi is in the final stages of renovating a 2,000 sq ft space at 191 Lisbon Street and hopes to open the 49-seat teahouse by the end of April. The Fifth Pillar menu will have an extensive menu of herbal and traditional teas as well as a selection of light snacks. Giossi’s goal is to create a place for people who want to get into tea that “feels accessible and natural”.  She also sees a community service mission for her business and plans to offer “Communi-tea” blends that raise money for local organizations. Giossi was first introduced to the world of tea when she worked at Dobra Tea back in 2014/15. She’s had a long interest in tea and herbal medicine and has taken classes at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine and Herbal Academy. She has two decades of restaurant industry experience and most recently was the general manager at Kon Asian Bistro.
  • Lenny’s at Hawkes Plaza in Westbrook has reopened under new ownership. They held a soft opening last Sunday and their first full day back in business was this past Wednesday.
  • The Lincoln County News has published an article about Brill’s Bakery (instagram), which is under development at 27 Summer Street in Wiscasset.
  • WMTW reports that the Way Way Store in Saco is closing after nearly a century of being in business. For additional reporting on the closure see this article from the Saco Bay News.
  • The Midcoast Villager reports that sisters Elizabeth and Emilia Parker have taken over ownership of the Bayside Store in Northport. “…Emilia comes with experience, having worked at the store for over three years. They plan to continue with many of the same items and offerings with a number of delicious new additions. Already, word on the street is their cinnamon rolls and sourdough bread are to die for. We encourage the community to stop in and help these young entrepreneurs get off to a great start.”
  • The Morning Sentinel reports that the owner of the The Cork & Cow in Belgrade is expanding to open a wine bar on the second floor of her building at 47 Main Street.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that a new brewery called North Star Brewing (website, facebook) i under development in Madawaska. It will be located in the former border crossing station at 63 Bridge Street. The business is being launched by Eli Cayer and Jason Dionne. They hope to launch North Star by sometime in August. “All the beer will be made on site, and Cayer plans to expand into spirits, wine, cider and non-alcoholic drinks. They also plan to build a kitchen and offer good quality pub food.”

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of 100+ coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

An Adventurist Portland Dining Guide

| Posted in Reviews

The Adventurist has published a dining guide to Portland.

There are cities that appear on my work calendar and inspire all the excitement of a dental appointment. Portland, Maine, is not one of them. Even in February, when the harbor air seems designed to punish me for wearing an ankle-length dress, I’m happy to go back, because this city keeps adding some new restaurant, new chef, or new dish worth folding into the list.

The article features: Aomori, Central Provisions, Cong Tu Bot, Crispy Gai, Fore Street, Izakaya Minato, Magissa, Miyake, Mr. Tuna, Papi, Regards, Scales and Twelve.

The Adventurist has also written articles highlighting Winona’s in Camden, Aragosta on Deer Isle, and The Lost Kitchen in Freedom.