Category: Closings

Banded Brewing has announced plans to shut down operations at their Biddeford brewery and kitchen. Their last day in business is expected to be August 31st. Their statement reads in part,

Unfortunately, the past several years have brought significant and sustained challenges to many independent brewers like us. Despite the continued support of our customers and community, we have reached a point where continuing operations is no longer sustainable.⁠
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There is so much we could say—but for now, we just want to say thank you.⁠

Launched in 2013 as Banded Horn Brewing, the brewery went on to open a Portland outpost in 2020 (now occupied by Argenta) in Bayside, and add a pub to their headquarters in 2022.

Ryan Carey has announced plans to close Noble Pizzeria & Barbecue (website, instagram). Their last day in business will be July 12th.

After nine remarkable years of Noble, it is with a full heart that we share some bittersweet news. We have made the incredibly difficult decision to close our doors at 476 Stevens Avenue, a place that has meant so much to us and to so many in our community.
 
Running a restaurant of this size and pace requires complete dedication, and Noble has received my whole heart for many years. As my family grows, I have come to realize that I can no longer give the restaurant the focus it deserves while also being fully present for the people who need me most. At this stage in life, I am choosing to turn more of my time and energy toward my family and other businesses.

The Stevens Ave restaurant opened in November 2024, and it preceded by Noble Barbecue on Forest Avenue which opened in 2017.

Photo: This image was taken in October 2024 before Noble opened.

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.

Fresh Approach (website, facebook, instagram) has announced that they’re closing. Owners Peggy and Chet Knight plan to remain open while selling the remainder of the stock at their Brackett Street market.

It is with deep regret and broken hearts [w]e must announce that after 34 years in business on Bracket Street we will be closing Fresh Approach.

As many of you are aware our ability to take food stamps at our store was taken away from us about 1 year ago. Unfortunately an employee sold dish soap and tissues to an undercover USDA agent. Although we know this was wrong and it never should have happened our license was suspended for 6 months and we received a hefty fine. It took us 11 months to get our license back – which was a very big part of our business. We established a good wholesale business to local restaurants and caterers but because of so many restaurants closing our sales have gone down. With the current economy and cost of doing business is more than we can overcome we will be liquidating our inventory effective immediately. We will remain open until everything is sold.

With that being said we want to sincerely thank all of you for supporting us for the last 34 years. We have made so many friends and have watched children grow up to adults. Each and every one of you are special to us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts

Thank you also to our employees for hanging in there with us – You are the best!

The Press Herald reports that Tally’s Kitchen will be closing their location on Marginal Way and consolidating the business to the spot at Stevens Square.

Owner Julie Walsh said she opted not to sign a new five-year lease on the Bayside Tally’s. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to start cut my workload and focus on one business,” Walsh said, adding that she recently became a grandmother and wanted more free time for her family. “Stevens Square needs me, and I can’t wait to be there every day and build that location up.”

Leisure Time Cocktail Company has announced plans to shut down their bar on Thompson’s Point. Sunday will be their last day in business as a retail bar. However, Leisure Time

Their statement reads in part,

Hey there y’all! The day has come: things are shaking up for us and we have an opportunity to exit from Thompsons Point to focus on our canned cocktails. Our catering and keg services will still be in full operation also, so if you’ve got something on the books with us fear not! This is always a hard choice in the industry to shutter our doors and it does not come lightly. After almost two years we’ve built a very special space for everyone, built on inclusivity and warmth and we thank all of you who have helped build that. We thank Thompson’s Point itself for housing us for all too short a time on this journey too. But our plan has always been for the bar to be our first stage and that canning would be our true focus, now faced with the opportunity to do just that and jettison the bar (which has been our raft to carry us to this end) we must put aside our sentiments and do so…

Leisure Time opened for business in July of 2024.

Chef/owner Cole Curcio has announced the closure of Abbiocco. It reads in part,

Over the past six months, you filled my dining room with laughter, celebration, and support in ways I’ll never forget. What started as a vision became something real because of all of you, my guests, my community, and everyone who walked through the doors.

To my incredible staff, thank you for your passion, your resilience, and the care you brought to every service. You are the heart of Abbiocco, and none of this would have been possible without you.

Abbiocco opened last October. It was located at 634 Forest Ave in Woodfords Corner.