This winter’s Closing Season numbers continue to add up with the demise of the retail stores in Portland and Yarmouth for Ice It Bakery, as reported by the Press Herald,
Ice It! Bakery has closed both of its retail locations in Portland and Yarmouth, but will continue selling wholesale baked goods and booking birthday parties, according to a notice posted on the bakery’s website.
Little Bigs owners, Pamela and James Plunkett, have announced that after 6 years in business they’ve closed their South Portland bakery.
Dear beloved customers – it’s been 6 years of high highs & low lows, and it’s time to finally say goodbye. We’ve done our best, all for you; thank each and every one of you for loving our food. Here’s hoping our paths cross again.
Juiced (website, instagram) is closing their Portland location on Forest Ave effective December 29th.
According to their post on instagram, “Unfortunately it has not worked out here in Portland. If you or someone you know is interested in our cafe space or equipment, please reach out!”
Federal Spice (website, facebook) has gone out of business. A sign posted at the restaurant by owner Eric Martin indicates that the restaurant closed December 24th because the owner was “unable to reach an amicable lease renewal” for the new year. The message goes on to say that,
The Federal Spice team would like to sincerely thank all our customers for their support and patronage over the years and wish you well.
Bolster, Snow & Co., the restaurant inside The Francis, is closing. Here’s the announcement from the owners,
The team at The Francis have made the difficult decision to close Bolster, Snow & Co. effective immediately. After an exciting first year, we (Nate & Tony DeLois) are looking to focus on the growing success of our modern boutique hotel. Bolster Snow will open for one night in December – for the planned “Feast of the Seven Fishes” on Christmas Eve. During the winter, the restaurant space will be available for hotel events, as well as short-term pop-ups while we scout for a new operator.
In related news chef Nick Verdisco has launched NV Hospitality Group LLC which he describes on instagram as, “A chef owned and operated restaurant group that will be starting here in Maine. Bringing Good Food to Good People. simple local fun eclectic italian .”
Owner Anne Verrill has announced plans to cease regular restaurant service at Grace as of December 31st and focus the use of the Chestnut Street building on events in the coming year.
It is with bittersweet emotions, that we announce December 31st will be our last full service as Grace Restaurant. Since the beginning we have had two operations running in tandem, the full service restaurant and our events department. Going into 2019, we have decided it is time to concentrate on events exclusively and to that end we will continue booking seemlessly and under the same management. We are excited about the future and look forward to being able to host a wider range of functions with a more flexible schedule. While we are closing this first chapter, please stay tuned for the next.
Rosemont Market has shared the news that they’ll be closing their Commercial Street store as of November 21st.
This was an incredibly difficult decision, and one that we did not come by lightly.
We want to say thank you to every single customer who ever shopped there. Our hope is that you will visit our close-by Munjoy Hill and West End stores, where our staff is standing by.
Commercial Street employees are being redeployed to other Rosemont markets in Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Portland and the upcoming store in Falmouth.
The Uncle Billy’s in Woodfords Corner has gone out of business. A message with their “final goodbyes” on their voicemail thanks customer’s for their patronage and states they had a “pretty good run, almost had it there”.
Future plans for Johnny Saint Laurent are to launch a catering business in the Spring.
Babylon, the restaurant in Morrill’s Corner, has closed and the owners are seeking a new location, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page,
Babylon has been a family-run business since 2012, and along all those years we have had an amazing support from our loyal customers. It is truly a heartache for us to announce that Babylon is officially closed. Words cannot convey the tremendous support we recieved from Mainers, and if it is one thing we learned from all those years, it is that Maine truly flourish when people come together to support local businesses. We thank each one of you for your support and patience with us. Food brings people from all cultures together, and that is evident through the many relationships we have established through the years. It has been an honor to serve all of you, and thank you all for giving us this opportunity.
We hope that you continue to support us after we establish Babylon at another location. We are continuously working on finding a new location, and will inform you as soon as we know. Know that this cannot happen without your deeply appreciated support.
Aurora Provisions, a mainstay of the West End neighborhood, is slated to close its retail store and cafe Labor Day weekend.
The owner issued a statement Wednesday afternoon,
We believe that the catering side of our business represents our future. Though to realize the catering business’ full potential and to meet our current demand, we must devote our full time, talent and resources to this line of service. Therefore, it is with fond sadness but clarity of purpose that we announce the Aurora Provisions café will permanently close on Saturday, September 1, 2018.
We did not come to this decision easily or hastily. Like many of our peers in the food industry, we’ve had our share of challenges and have had to face difficult economic realities, but we are proud to say we’ve done so head-on, with a goal to ensure Aurora’s longevity, which is ultimately what we are doing with this transition.
All café staff will have the opportunity to transition to the catering business as seasonal employees, though we respect some may pursue opportunities elsewhere and are arranging outplacement services through the Maine Department of Labor. This is a talented team and we hope to keep it together.
Happily, we will continue to operate our catering service out of the same location for as long as we can continue to earn your patronage. We know this will come as a shock to many, but with this decision, we believe we can secure a long and bright future for Aurora Provisions.
Thank you for your continued support.
As a longtime West End resident and Aurora customer I’m sad to see this taking place. The building occupies a central location at the intersection of West, Clarke and Pine. Hopefully someone else will step forward to operate a neighborhood cafe in that space, but as of today there’s no word on what the future holds for 64 Pine Street.
Aurora was sold last year by Marika Kuzma Green to the present owner Melissa Carr.
For more information see today’s article on the closure in the Portland Press Herald.