Category: Closings

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.

Cellardoor Winery has announced that they’re closing their Portland tasting room. Their last day in business will be this Sunday.

Their main location in Lincolnville will remain in operation is scheduled to open on Mother’s Day weekend.

Broadway Bowl (website, facebook, instagram) is closing. Their last day in business will be May 17th.

Owner Charlie Mitchell published a statement that reads in part,

After a great deal of thought, we’ve made the difficult decision to close Broadway Bowl at the end of this year’s bowling season. Our final day of operation will be May 17th.

Running a business is a lot like bowling—there are fist-pumping strikes, stubborn splits, and yes, the occasional gutterball. The past few years have brought a little bit of everything. Like many small businesses we’ve been navigating a challenging and unpredictable economic moment, and not every roll has landed where we hoped.

Photos: from November 2023 when Broadway Bowl opened for business.

Il Leone chef/owner Ben Wexler-Waite has announced that his Peaks Island open air pizzeria will not be in operation this season.

We are saddened to share that we will no longer be operating our seasonal summer pop-up at our original Peaks Island location in Maine due to unforeseen circumstances with the site beyond the control of both us and our Landlord the Lions Club.

The Lion’s Club, who have been Il Leone’s landlords on the island, shared,

Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond either parties’ control, we are sorry to see il Leone leave the Club and Peaks Island but are heartened that the business will live on in other forms and forever remain associated to us through its name. We wish il Leone the best in their next chapter. As always, we will continue to support our community and the public through our community burger nights, grants, and scholarships. We warmly invite everyone to join us for these wonderful community events.

Wexler-Waite indicated he’s searching for a spot in Maine to relocate Il Leone to, “[We] are considering a new potential seasonal pop-up location, and encourage those with ideas for potential partnership or collaboration to reach out.”

Il Leone launched on Peaks in the summer of 2021, and last year the businesses expanded with a second location in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.