The When Pigs Fly (website, facebook, instagram) retail shop at 65 Hanover Street in West Bayside has closed. A sign in the door reads,
Good Morning!
Thank you for stopping by When Pigs Fly!
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the Portland When Pigs Fly store has permanently closed.
We thank the Portland Community for supporting us, and encourage all to visit us online at www.sendbread.com
The York-based bakery opened their Portland location last October.
Gross Confection Bar has announced that they’ll be closing their daytime bakery on September 1st. The announcement reads in part,
The decision to close wasn’t easy, but staffing shortages have made it increasingly difficult to keep things running smoothly. We’ve been battling this challenge since COVID, and unfortunately, it hasn’t improved over the past year.
While it saddens us to say goodbye, we’re not disappearing entirely! We’re excited to continue offering a few baked goods during the evening and plan to host bakery pop-ups on weekends from time to time. We’ll keep you posted on those sweet details as soon as we have them.
Gross Confection Bar’s evening dessert and cocktail bar will be unimpacted by this change. The Gross Bakery opened on July 4, 2019 (when the photo above was taken).
Coffee by Design has announced the immediate closure of their India Street cafe.
To our loyal customers, friends, and neighbors: We are sorry to announce the immediate closure of our India Street coffeehouse. This decision was not made lightly. We deeply appreciate your support and hope to welcome you soon at our 1 Diamond Street location.
Their Diamond Street location—also the location of the coffee roastery—remains open.
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Graeme Miller announced this morning that he’ll be closing down BenReuben’s Knishery in September.
When we opened the Knishery in 2021, our goal was to nourish and build a community and to share our family recipes and inspiration with those who were willing to enjoy. We are so proud of what BenReuben’s Knishery has been able to accomplish with your help; what an epic community we’ve built together and what beautiful memories we’ve created and shared with each other and our families.
This journey has also confirmed for us that what our community (and we!) really want and need is a full Jewish delicatessen. So we will come back even stronger once again, when it’s the right time and place.
Miller shared that the business has been a great success. He’s now taking the lessons of running the knishery and redirecting his time and energy to launching a full Jewish delicatessen and market. The BenReuben’s catering business will remain in operation during this gap time.
Anyone interested in updates on the delicatessen or on opportunities to provide perspective on what the community needs are of the new enterprise should stay tuned to the BenReuben’s instagram account, or email hello@benreubensknishery.com.
Miller and his wife Caitlin leased the knishery’s current South Portland location at 145 Ocean Street in March 2021 and launched BenReuben’s in May of that year.
The Garrison in Yarmouth is closing. Their last day in business will be this Saturday, July 27th. The restaurant first opened almost exactly 5 years ago on July 25, 2019.
Chef/owner Christian Hayes shared a statement, which in part reads,
To say we have been submerged in an education about life for the last five years is a drastic understatement, and to say we are the same humans we were when we started couldn’t be further from the truth. This journey has been both the absolute definition of the best and worst of times, and an education in not just business but mental health, physical health, expectations, pressure, failure, and success.
The last year has been brutal for so, so many reasons, and for the first time the actual struggles which usually hide within our spreadsheets and behind our facade has spilled over to our dedicated staff and it is not okay to continue on when we struggle to meet payroll and pay bills.
Hayes concludes with,
In the end, we are so proud of what we built, along with our incredible team beside us, and we know that our home on the river has made a nest of core memories and experiences that will carry on after the last plate is cleared. Thank you all for making this so much more than just a place to eat. It’s literally been a dream come true.
Hayes shared that he will be consolidating his efforts into his other businesses Dandy’s Handy (website, instagram) corner store and Thoroughfare (website, facebook, instagram) “and the endless potential to focus solely on creating food and restoration for our community around us through such a special spot.”
Here are a few photos from The Garrison back in 2019.
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Maxwell’s Farm shared the sad new that this was the final year in business for their Cape Elizabeth strawberry farm.
…Believe when we say, we feel the weight of nine generations in this decision. The lives of Ken, Elsie, Bill, Lois, Joel, and Joy have revolved around their faith, their family, and this farm. Due to growing challenges for small family farms and increasing barriers at most every turn, we’ve found it impossible to balance these three pillars. We have poured love, stress, sweat, sleepless nights, and so much more into this land, this lifestyle, and this community. After years of painstaking consideration and attempts to adapt to the challenges of farming in the current landscape, we have come to the very hard decision to close Maxwell’s Farm…
Broken Arrow (website, facebook, instagram) has gone out of business. The brief post on instagram and facebook reads,
It’s been fun and very hard. Grateful for the memories made and the friends. This journey is at the end.
With gratitude, goodnight Portland one last time.
Lyle and Holly Aker opened Broken Arrow on October 29, 2020. The restaurant received a 4 star review from the Maine Sunday Telegram in 2022. A sale of the restaurant is pending.
Update: See the article from the Press Herald for additional reporting on the closure of Broken Arrow.
Even when factoring in for the normal rapid base of developments in the Portland restaurant scene, there’s been a lot going on this spring. If you’re feeling like nearly every day there’s a new opening or news of another new business development, well that’s because that’s not far off from being the case.
To get caught-up and to see the scale of what’s been happening, here’s a summary of recent/upcoming opening:
And here’s a quick list of other business changes in Portland that have emerged in April and May:
Owner Qutaiba Hassoon announced on Wednesday that Falafel Time on Forest Ave has permanently closed.
It has been a pleasure serving the community, but we regret to inform you that Falafel Time has permanently closed. We have thoroughly enjoyed working with the Portland Community, but unfortunately due to my parent’s health and the shortage of staff we made the tough decision to close. We’re truly thankful for all the good times we’ve had together at Falafel Time.
Falafel Time opened on October 18, 2021. Hassoon is a second generation restauranteur. His parents owned Haggarty’s restaurant 2012-2014.
Cara and Cecile Stadler have announced a set of changes at Eighty Ate Hospitality, the parent company of Bao Bao, Tao Yuan, Canopy Farms and ZaoZe Cafe.
The Stadlers will not be reopening Bao Bao Dumpling House in Portland but instead plan to move the restaurant to Brunswick where it will co-located with Tao Yuan. The new restaurant will temporarily named BaoBao @TAO and will serve a similar menu to the Portland location. The Tao Yuan tasting menu will still be available for customers who make reservations and request it in advance. BaoBao @TAO will offer takeout and will have seating available for walk-in customers as well as by reservation.
As part of these changes, the Stadlers are also “starting the process of winding down” Canopy Farms, their aquaponics greenhouse in Brunswick. The email announcement shared that they “would very much like to see the space used and would are willing to effectively rent out the space fully setup at cost for the right institutional partner or NPO. Please contact cecile@canolyfarms.org if interested.”
The menu at ZaoZe will be unaffected but the cafe and market will be open earlier, 8 am – 4:30 pm. Emily Topaz will continue to be the chef at ZaoZe and Leon Vuong will be the chef of the combined BaoBao/Tao Yuan establishment.
Bao Bao in Portland has been closed since February.