According to a report from the Press Herald, Ricetta’s will be closing their pizzeria in South Portland.
The Western Avenue location’s last day of operation is Sunday. The company cited the rising cost of fuel and operating costs and shrinking revenues in the restaurant industry as factors. The company’s Falmouth location remains open.
After 7 years in Monument Square, Henry VIII’s will be going out of business at “the end of the month”.
Owner Alice Olcott told the Press Herald that,
while they had a loyal customer base, it just wasn’t big enough. She said business is off 20 percent from last year and food prices have gone up.
“We are just not covering our expenses,” said Olcott.
Mainebiz reports that Siano’s Old Port location has closed and is making way for Zapoteca, a new Mexican restaurant that, according to the article, “will be competing with upper-level Portland restaurants such as Havana South, Fore Street and Street and Co.”
Shannon Bard trained at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, Texas, which specializes in Latin American cooking, and will be the restaurant’s head chef. Possible entrees include Red Snapper Veracruz with a tomato, green olive, cilantro and lemon sauce; carne asada with an anchovy-chili sauce; and stuffed, baked jalapenos. The restaurant’s salsa and mole sauce will be homemade, and the bar will serve 70 to 80 tequilas and fresh-squeezed juices, Tom [Bard] says.
The Urban General Store on Congress Street has gone out of business. The store was owned by Norm Jabar who also operates Norm’s Bar & Grill and the Downtown Lounge. Norm’s East End Grill on Middle Street closed last Fall.
Today’s Press Herald includes a pair of front page stories on “food-service transitions”. The first article is on the closing of Terroni’s Market on Park Ave—today is its last day. Terroni’s was opened by Florence Terroni in 1949.
And as regulars dropped in for lunch and said their goodbyes, it was an emotional time.
“Don’t get me crying again,” [44-year employee Sheila] Cunningham said while reminiscing about her years at Terroni’s.
The second article is on the increased interest of chain restaurants in Portland and the plans two burger chains that have plans to open in the Old Port.
“They are looking for niche markets that they wouldn’t have touched a few years ago, (when) they had bigger fish to fry,” said Dick Grotton, president and CEO of the Maine Restaurant Association.
This spring, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a nationwide chain based in Lorton, Va., will open in the Old Port, in a 2,900-square-foot space at 425 Fore St.
Another Virginia-based burger chain, Arlington’s Elevation Burger, plans to open three Maine locations, including one in the Portland area this year, said spokesman James Stewart.
Here are few food news updates:
I’ve heard from a couple readers that Norm’s East End Grill is closing down. A call to the restaurant confirmed that this is their last night.
I’ve heard from a couple readers that Norm’s East End Grill is closing down. A call to the restaurant confirmed that this is their last night.
North Star Music Cafe owner Kim Anderson announced today that the cafe will be closing their doors for the last time this Sunday at 5 pm. It’s certainly sad news for the East End and the community of people from all over the city that made North Star a regular part of their lives.
It is with a heavy heart that I write to you today. I have come to the difficult decision to close the doors of North Star. I have so much love for this community and this city. I am sad to say goodbye, but I am grateful for the three years you have embraced me and the North Star as family…
For additional reporting see articles in the Munjoy Hill News, Portland Daily Sun and Press Herald.
Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the closing of The French Press Eatery (see earlier news here)
James Tranchemontagne, a co-owner, said he ran out of money to keep the business going. The expansion cost an estimated $130,000.
“We have known for the last two months that it was touch and go,” he said. “It’s a wicked bummer. Food is my life. It’s everything you put your heart and soul into. For it to fail it’s hard.”
and a What Ales You article on Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale,
The spices immediately bring pumpkin pie to mind, although I don’t taste any actual pumpkin. There is a slightly sour aftertaste. It is a golden color, without much of a head. Although I like pumpkin pie, I don’t like the Pumpkinhead — mostly because, to me, that malt and hops flavors don’t survive the spices.
For additional reporting on the closure of The French Press Eatery see this article in the American Journal.