Author: PFM

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

• Bene’s Beef (instagram) opened for business yesterday in Lewiston. Chef TJ Castiello and his family are serving a menu (middle left) of roast beef sandwiches and tallow fries. Shown above is The Old Timer (middle right) which made with American cheese, shaved onions, pickles and whole grain mustard. Bene’s is located at 990 Lisbon Street and will be open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 7 pm.
• Lewiston cocktail bar Sonder & Dram (top 2 photos) has announced they’ll be closing down in mid-July. S&D launched in 2018 and the owners had also operated a restaurant called Bon Vivant which closed in 2024. Their statement reads in part, “Since opening in June of 2018, we’ve had the absolute privilege of serving this community we love so much. What started as a small cocktail bar with a big heart grew into a space where strangers became regulars, regulars became friends, and friends became family. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to every staff member who poured their energy and talent into making Sonder & Dram what it was. And to every guest who pulled up a bar stool, shared a laugh, or supported us through the highs and lows — we couldn’t have done it without you. This isn’t a goodbye with sadness, but one with deep gratitude. It’s been a great run, and we’re proud of everything we created together.”
• Blue Feather Kitchen + Bar (website, facebook) has opened for business in Lewiston. They’re located at 49 Lisbon Street serving a menu of that includes appetizers, salads, sandwiches, tacos, entrees and desserts like bananas foster. They’re open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am – 9 pm and for Sunday brunch, 8 am – 2 pm.
• As reported in May, Bao & Beyond will be opening a restaurant in Augusta. They’ve now launched a NuMarket campaign to raise to help with the buildout. They’ve raised $5k towards a $25k goal so far. As with all NuMarket campaigns, every dollar committed to the effort will earn you $1,20 in credits at the restaurant to use in the future.
• Emma Martin and Sami Smart, the owners of the catering and event business Revel Board and Beverage (website, facebook, instagram), have leased space in Falmouth where they plan to open a wine bar. They’ll be located in in the same building as Sapporo and Cafe Luna. In addition to the wine bar the new location will be a market with grab and go cheese and mezze boards, snack boxes and salads as well as sell wine and beer and provisions like crackers, cheese, charcuterie, jams, and pickles.
  
• Coffee industry insider publication Sprudge has published an article on the new Tern Coffee bar (bottom left) in Brunswick.
• Travel and Leisure has published a travel guide to Ogunquit that includes some recommendations on where to eat in the seaside summer destination.
• A new food truck called QP Burger (instagram) launched this past week at the Ocean View Grange in Port Clyde. Owner Mike Mastronardi is serving a menu of smash burgers, red snappers and fries. They’ll be open Wednesday through Saturday, 10:30 am – 3 pm.
• Islandport Press will be publishing a book by Lady Oyster owner Virginia Shaffer. Oyster Society: Stories from Inside the Shell is due out in the summer of 2026. “This book follows Virginia’s journey across North America to uncover the powerful voices behind the quirky, promising world of oysters. After visiting her first oyster farm on a whim, she becomes enthralled by the underbelly world of seafood parties, oyster flotillas, and clamorous shucking competitions, where brazen characters like Holy City Oyster Maven, The Real Oyster Cult, and Oyster Ninja reside.”
• The North Haven Inn has restarted their Monday night dinner series. The meals are prepared by Ben Jackson, who received a James Beard nomination for his work at Drifters Wife in 2020.
• The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Salt Butter Farm, a restaurant (bottom right) that opened last summer in Sherman. The BDN also reports that a new Mexican restaurant called Roca Azul has opened for business in Bangor.

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.

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 Wakie Wakie’s (facebook, instagram) has opened for business in Westbrook. They’re located at 652 Main Street (above left) in the space formerly occupied by Ritche Ribeye’s. The menu (see facebook for the full menu) includes coffee, fruit tea (top right), smoothies, acai bowls and breakfast items like breakfast sandwiches, bagels and avocado toast. Notably, the Wakie Wakie’s menu includes a variety of Thai-style breakfast and lunch dishes like Kai Kra Ta (2 fried eggs, Thai sweet chicken sausage, ground chicken, shredded dry pork, fried shallot, scallion, cilantro and toast)  and the delicious Ocean Toast (avocado, grilled shrimp, scrambled aggs, sprouts, fried shallots on sourdough) shown above (top left). Wakie Wakie’s is open Tuesday through Sunday, 7 am – 3 pm and is located at 652 Main Street.
• Chef/owner TJ Castiello is planning to open Bene’s Beef (instagram) on Friday June 27th. He’ll be serving North Shore roast beef sandwiches, tallow fries and “other tasty provisions”. The Lewiston restaurant is located in the former El Pochos location at 990 Lisbon Street and will be open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 7 pm.
• Marcy Taubes and Marjory Sweet have launched their new Rockland cafe, bakery and market Cafe Grazie (website, instagram). They’re serving a range of Italian-inspired baked goods, tea, Tandem Coffee, wine, breakfast items like a focaccia breakfast sandwiches, lunch options like a the green goddess salad (bottom right) and rigatoni with kale walnut pesto, and desserts. Cafe Grazie is located at 148 Main Street and is initially open Wednesday through Saturday, 8 am – 2 pm.
• Elevenes (website, instagram), a hobbit-themed all-day cafe (middle left) and bakery, in Brunswick opened for business last week. Elevenses is located at 50 Maine Street and is initially open Thursday through Sunday, 9 am – 3 pm. The menu includes options like breakfast sandwiches, Lembas Bread (rosemary shortbread), avocado toast, loaded baked potatoes, salads, specialty coffee drinks like a Two Towers tiramisu latte, matcha, mocktails and cocktails.
• Dizzy Bird owners Tom and Barb Peacock have permanently closed their Biddeford restaurant. The restaurant had initially closed late last year to consider how they might restructure the business and then reopened in February. The last day of business for Dizzy Bird was this past Saturday June 21st.
• Tern Coffee Roasters (website, instagram) has opened for business in Brunswick. Owners Chris and Heidi Townsend are serving a wide range of coffee drinks including Kyoto ice coffee and espresso-based drinks as well as teas and house made baked goods. The storefront is a to-go coffee counter, a retail shop for coffee making equipment, and a production space for their coffees and teas. Tern is located at 141A Maine Street and open Tuesday through Saturday, 7:30 am – 2 pm (until 3:30 on Saturdays).
• Chez Rosa (website, facebook, instagram) has reopened at their new location in Kennebunk (bottom right). You can make reservations on OpenTable. Chez Rosa is now located at 173 Port Street in the former Old Vines space. To read more about the challenges of moving a restaurant, read this article from the Maine Sunday Telegram.
• Gelato Fiasco has launched a food truck. They’ll be stationed all summer at Lighthouse Bikes in the Knightville neighborhood of South Portland, and initially will be open from 12:30 p.m. to sunset daily. The food truck will be serving 16+ flavors of gelato and sorbetto.
• Chef Ross Florance has announced dates for his Flora pop-up series in Washington County. They’re taking place in Harrington, Beals, Pembroke and Jonesport this summer. Last year Florance had operated a cafe and restaurant in Machias and is currently searching for a new home for the business.
• Solo Pane reopened their coffee bar with an expanded seating area (middle right). The Bath bakery has expanded into the adjacent storefront providing for additional kitchen space and a larger seating area.
• The Bollard has published an article about Mabel “Tyce” Reid who operates the Jamaican restaurant Go See Tyce in Saco.
• The Portsmouth Herald has published an article about The Front Porch in Ogunquit which this year is celebrating its 45th anniversary.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that a new ice cream shop called The Downtown Spot is under construction at 73 Main Street with plans to open in July.
• The Mainebiz reports that a new food truck called Sojourn Ice Company is serving Philly-style water ice in Waterville
• The Lewiston Sun Journal reports on Luigi’s in Lewiston and the changes new owners are making at the 60+ year old business. “embracing tradition is good, but it doesn’t pay the bills in today’s economy”.

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.