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

• Chef Jordan Benissan has leased space in Rockport where he plans to reopen his West African restaurant Me Lon Togo (website,  instagram) on Friday August 28th. It will be located at 330 Commercial Street in the building (above) formerly occupied by Street Food 330. The restaurant’s menu “pulls from West Africa’s indigenous and colonial influences to establish [a] unique representation of West African cuisine” with dishes like Garu Fotu (manioc grits, smoked ground shrimp, and fried egg), a vegetarian Gusi Dessi stew, and a Moroccan Tagine Chicken. Benissan had previously operated Me Lon Togo in Rockland and for a time had been working to relocate the restaurant to Freeport. The dining room in Rockport can seat ~15 people and Benissan is building an outdoor seating area with room for an additional 20 customers. Me Lon Togo will be open Thursday through Sunday, 5 –11 pm.
• The Penobscot Bay Press has published a report on a new bakery in Stonington called School Street Market (facebook, instagram). “Even if you’ve never met Margie Litman, the chef/owner of School Street Market, chances are you’ve probably tasted one of her creations. Her new bakery opened its doors this month, but Litman’s pastries have lined the case at 44 North Coffee for years now.” The bakery is located at 40 School Street and is open Friday and Saturday, 9 am – 2 pm.
• Dutchman’s has been invited to compete in the 7th Annual New York BagelFest. They’re one of 25 bagel producers from around the globe participating in the event, and the only one from Maine. BagelFest is taking place on November 15th. Jeremy and Marina Kratzer launched Dutchman’s in Brunswick in 2022.
• Joe and Sue Salisbury have sold The Daily Grind (facebook) drive-thru coffee shop in Westbrook to Brianna Palmer and Carlos Ferrao.
• Chophouse Grille (website, facebook, instagram) opened for business on Friday. The new restaurant is located in the space formerly occupied by Five-O at 50 Shore Road in Ogunquit.
• The Lincoln County News interviewed Sarah and John McNeil, the owner of Odd Alewives, about their Waldoboro business and its upcoming closure. “The couple is unsure of what their next steps are but they are willing to hand the business down to a buyer willing to keep it going, Sarah McNeil said. After 10 years of renovations and building an audience, she said the property would be ready to go. She said she is also happy to stay on the farm, as she loves Waldoboro. Both she and her husband want to stay in the Midcoast, she said.”
• The Village Tavern has announced the closure of their Kennebunk restaurant. Their last day in business was August 19th.  See this article in the Portsmoth Herald for additional reporting.
• Bayley’s Seafood in Scarborough has closed. August 20th was their last day in business. “After careful consideration, we have made the very difficult decision to permanently close BSR. This has been an incredibly meaningful chapter, and we are so grateful to everyone who supported us, shared a meal with us, celebrated with us, and made memories inside these walls. We are especially thankful for the friends and customers who continued to come through our doors and support us along the way.”

The Maine Food Map is our statewide dining guide with a list of 120 coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, and other food and dining businesses from across Maine’s 16 counties.

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

• The Boston Globe has published an article about chef Krista Kern Desjarlais and her restaurant The Purple House (website, instagram) in North Yarmouth. “The tasting menu, which will return this fall and is entirely gluten-free, draws on French, Italian, and Spanish influences. Pastry and baked goods still play a starring role – you even get one last goodie as you’re heading out the door after your meal – but the menu represents Desjarlais’s nearly four decades in the business. For the intimate lunches, a small group of strangers sit together at a single table, and have a front-row seat as Desjarlais cooks in a wood-fired brick oven. She makes moving between pastry-making, baking, and cooking savory dishes look effortless.”
• The Bangor Daily News has a feature article on Earth Dharma Winegrowers (website), a new winery run by David McDaniel and Heather Selin in Jackson. “[Oyster River Winegrowers Brian] Smith offered to show McDaniel and Selin how to make Carbonic Nation, a slightly effervescent deep-red wine, which they now do under the name Irina. They also make an amber wine called Vita that gets its apricot color from leaving the skins on white grapes for four days and has been described as having butterscotch flavors balanced by acidity and a suede mouthfeel, McDaniel said.”
• Palace Diner in Biddeford was featured in the ABC show Good Morning America.
• The Pen Bay Pilot and Midcoast Villager have reported on a new restaurant called Sakura Harbour (website, facebook, instagram) that opened late last month in Searsport. The restaurant is located in the building that was the former home of Rio’s Spiked Cafe and has been launched by chef Supannee Saengwong.
• The Bollard has published a review of Bred in the Bone in Damariscotta. “Other main dishes that evening included halibut ($42) with creamy white beans, sautéed kale and fried leeks, and a glisteningly rare duck breast ($38) with celeriac purée and fennel. Both were perfectly hearty in portion and flavor for a May evening in Maine.” The Bollard has also published the latest edition of their annual Smokin’ Sausage Showdown with entries from producers as far away as Ellsworth.
• Himalayas on the Bay (instagram) is holding the grand opening for their Nepali/Tibetan restaurant on August 15th.
• Virginia Shaffer appeared on Friday’s episode of Maine Calling. Shaffer (aka Lady Oyster) operates an oyster tasting room in Bath and is the author of a new book from Islandport Press entitled Oyster Society.
• The owners of Odd Alewives in Waldoboro have announed they’re closing this fall. September 20th will be their last day. “We can’t thank you enough for the years of support you have given us! Many of you we now call good friends. Many summer nights have been spent in the beer garden catching up with friends and family, celebrating your birthdays, upcoming weddings, even honoring the passing of your loved ones, and that has really meant a lot to us.”
• The Holy Donut has announced they’ll be closing their Brunswick donut shop. August 23rd will be the last day in business for the Brunswick location which opened for business in the summer of 2024.
• The Lincoln County News has published an article about the Riverside Butcher Company in Damariscotta which is celebrating their 10th anniversary. “Now, the storefront showcases a variety of meats, wines, and provisions such as pasta and different sauces. Avantaggio said he tries to source the meat as locally as possible, their poultry sourced from Tide Mill Organic Farm in South Trescott.”
• Tickets are now on sale for Oxbow Brewing’s annual Goods from the Woods event in Newcastle. It’s taking place Saturday October 3rd, noon – 5 pm.
• The 3rd Annual Tomato Tasting will be taking place on September 12th at the Merryspring Nature Center in Camden. It will provide an opportunity to try 30 varieties of tomatoes.
• The Sun Journal reports that El Tequila Mexican Restaurant will be moving into the space formerly occupied by the Farmington Diner.
• The Press Herald reports that the Hakuna Matata Sports Bar is under construction in the space formerly occupied by the Adams Street Pub in Biddeford.
• There are 15 new entries on the Maine Food Map: Dreamer Food (above center) and Barliman’s in Bangor, La Laiterie (above right) in Jonesboro, Bold Coast Coffee in East Machias, The Rumery in Eastport (above left), Claire’s Bakery in Lubec, The Biergarten in Skowhegan, Morse’s in Waldoboro, Belle Boulangerie in Hallowell, both First Fig and Paper Plane in Camden, Borderlands Coffee Company in Waterville, Fifth Pillar Tea House in Lewiston, Catbird in South Berwick, and Paolo’s in Brunswick. The statewide dining guide now includes 120 restaurants, bars, bakeries, cafes and and other food and dining establishments from across all of Maine’s 16 counties.