30 eateries across Maine are taking part today in Food Industry Action. As part of the program participating businesses are raising money for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund by donating “5% of sales…on behalf of a united food community”.
You can see a full list of participating establishments in Maine and across the country on the Food Industry Action website and adjust your plans accordingly to support the initiative.
Update: A combined outdoor/indoor dining list has been published. This page is no longer being kept up to date.
The Governor’s office has announced that restaurants can resume indoor dining in Cumberland, York and Androscoggin counties as of Wednesday.
The Mills Administration announced today that indoor dining in Androscoggin, Cumberland, and York counties can voluntarily resume on Wednesday, June 17, 2020 with added health and safety protocols outlined in the COVID-19 Prevention Checklist. The decision to allow inside dining in these three counties follows a plateauing of new cases in recent weeks, based on the 14-day moving average, as well as the stabilization of hospital rates in the same counties. Previously, only outside dining, takeaway, and delivery services were permitted at restaurants in these three counties. With this change, restaurants statewide will now be open to both inside and outside dining with added health and safety precautions.
Restaurants have started announcing plans to restart indoor dining:
In addition to the (now sold out) multi-baker cookie box Bakers Against Racism initiative, several other Portland area bakers have announced their own Bakers Against Racism efforts:
Bakers Against Racism is taking place in Mid-June in cities all around the world with thousands of bakers from hundreds of cities taking part.
A new initiative called Food Industry Action launched on Thursday. As part of the program participating restaurants are raising money on June 27th for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund by donating “5% of sales…on behalf of a united food community”.
Portland area restaurants that so far have announced plans to take part include: A&C Grocery, Bresca and the Honey Bee, LB Kitchen, Market Street Eats, Palace Diner, Parlor Ice Cream, Ramona’s, Rose Foods, Tandem Coffee.
A growing number of bakers are teaming up to sell cookie boxes with all proceeds being donated to Black Lives Matter Portland. The response has been so strong that the cookie boxes sold out in about 24 hours, even after more than doubling the production.
Participating bakers and restaurants include Chaval, Tandem, Gross Confection Bar, Parlor Ice Cream, Primo, The Purple House, Central Provisions, Other Side Diner, Kim Rodgers, Rosemont, Big Tree Hospitality, Twist, A Little Suga, Leeward, Bixby Chocolates, Dutch’s, Mill Cove Baking, Sur Lie, Juliette Riscia, and Donuts & Hibiscus.
Place an order and make a donation on the Chaval e-commerce site. Pick-up is schedule for June 20th.
Bakers Against Racism is taking place in Mid-June in cities all around the world. As of Wednesday there are 2,400 participating chefs from 42 states, over 170 US cities & 15 countries taking part.
Update: The cookie boxes raised over $8,000 dollars for Black Lives Matter.
Thompson’s Point has launched a series of outdoor events called Pic-nic-ette. Each one features a different set of mobile food business. The upcoming Pic-nic-ette taking place this Saturday June 13th and features food from Bog’s Bakery, Mainely Hot Dogs, and the Brulee Bike.
A $5 ticket on Eventbrite “gets you a soft drink at the bar, your own picnic space on the water” and a chance to try some of Maine’s mobile food vendors.
The Portland Phoenix, Bangor Daily News, and Press Herald have all recently reported on the re-opening of restaurants in Portland for outdoor dining.
The Mash Tun experience was barebones. Colby worked the outdoor tables while owner Curtis Campbell was behind the bar indoors, serving drinks and cooking the restaurant’s menu of elevated pub fare — burgers, tacos, fries and grilled cheese. Campbell and Colby aside, the only time anyone entered Mash Tun would be when a patron darted in to use its single bathroom.
Two Portland restaurants are taking a novel approach to outdoor dining. Both the Other Side Diner and Isa are taking their inspiration from drive-in restaurants of the 20th Century.
Isa Bistro – is offering a modified version of their regular menu with a few carhop classics. Just park in one of the spots in the parking lot off Brattle Street and they’ll bring your order to your car for in-vehicle dining. Friday and Saturday, opening at 5:30 pm. Reservations required, (207) 808-8533.
Other Side Diner – is serving a line-up of classic diner food (burgers, milkshakes, etc). Pick-up your meal from their drive-thru window and then park and dine or take it to go. Friday and Saturday, 4:30 – 7 pm.
As part of their online film series, the Portland Museum of Art is screening Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy.
Diana Kennedy: Nothing Fancy is an intimate, candid perspective into the curious world of cookbook author and British ex-pat Diana Kennedy – widely regarded as the world’s expert on Mexican cuisine. At five feet tall and 97 years old, Diana is larger than life: a foul-mouthed fireball far more feisty and energetic than her age and petite frame let on. Author of nine Mexican cookbooks, she has spent over 60 years researching and documenting the regional cuisines of Mexico. Kennedy has lived ‘off the grid’ on an eight acre ranch outside Zitácuaro, Michoacán since the 1970’s: composting, growing her own crops, and using solar power to run her home. Aware of her own mortality, she is working tirelessly to solidify the legacy of her life’s efforts, with the hope of turning her home into a foundation for culinary education in Mexico.
Monday – this week’s edition of Maine Calling on Maine Public Radio will take a look at how restaurants are reacting to the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
Wednesday – Krista Cole from Sure Lie, Andrew Volk from Hunt & Alpine, and Vanessa Santarelli from Your Maine Concierge will be part of a panel discussion on Restaurants in Flux, the India Street Coffee by Design will re-open for takeout, the Maine Juice Company is opening for takeout, and the weekday Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
Thursday – Leeward, the last restaurant to open right before the crisis shut down restaurants, will launch their pre-order takeout service.
Friday – CBG is launching their takeout service, It’s the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, the unofficial start of summer.
Saturday – The weekend Deering Oaks Farmers’ Market is taking place.
For more information on these and other upcoming food happenings in the area, visit the event calendar.
If you are holding a food event this week that’s not listed above, publicize it by adding it as a comment to this post.