The 
Portland public school district is starting up their free Summer Meals program on Monday. It provides free meals to children and teens under 18 years old at a dozen location around the City. Some of the venues are serving both breakfast and lunch. Information on hours and locations can be found on the Portland Public Schools website.
The USDA has a directory of summer meal programs from around the country that list dozens of communities in Maine that offer free meals during the summer.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has written an article about the increasing price—and underlying costs for restaurants—of dining out.
But soaring food costs are just one piece of the puzzle for restaurant and bar owners struggling to keep their menu prices in check. Since the pandemic, they’ve been at the mercy of upsurges to practically all of their costs, including labor, rent, utilities, taxes, insurance, swipe fees and packaging.
There was a fire at Makoto yesterday. Co-owner Rattanak Tray shared that everyone was able exit safely. The timeframe to re-open the restaurant is unknown at this point. Extinguising the fire required cutting open the roof of the building.
Makoto opened in South Portland earlier this year. It’s was launched by Tray and Hope MacVane-Tray who also own Yosaku in Portland.
Update: The South Portland Fire Department has issued a news release about the fire which reads in part,
The building was occupied at the time of the incident. Those present exited when alerted to the fire. Upon arrival, crews encountered heavy smoke inside the restaurant. Firefighters quickly located a fire in the ceiling area near the kitchen exhaust hood system. The fire was extinguished promptly; however, significant damage was sustained to the kitchen and portions of the roof. No injuries were reported. The business is expected to remain closed for an extended period while repairs are completed.
The Maine Sunday Telegram has published a feature about how restaurants approach sharing their political point of view with the public.
Restaurants are grappling with such issues as whether to post overtly political signs at their businesses, hold campaign fundraisers or air their opinions on social media.
News Center Maine has a report on efforts to form a union among the staff at Holy Donut’s Park Ave location,
Employees at The Holy Donut said all eight staff members at the shop on Park Avenue have signed onto an effort to form a union. The workers formally submitted their request to the owners, who now have seven days to recognize or deny it.
The Maine Sunday Telegram includes a feature article about Maine companies producing bitters and bitters adjacent products.
Maine’s half-dozen or so producers of cocktail bitters and digestifs occupy a small, niche corner of the alcohol market. Yet they’ve seen interest in their products grow steadily in the past 10 years as consumers have gravitated toward more complex cocktail flavors. And even as many consumers choose to drink less these days, some producers are expanding their bitters and digestif lines, taking advantage of the demand for lower-ABV beverage options.
Gross Confection Bar has announced that after Saturday they’ll be shutting down their evening cocktail and dessert service. Moving forward they’ll focus the company on being a fulltime day bakery.
After seven years of late nights, plated desserts, and moments we’ll always be grateful for, this Saturday, February 14th, will be our final night of dessert service.
This weekend will be normal bakery hours, and starting Thursday, February 19th, we’ll be open Thursdays through Sundays with the sweet and savory pastries you know and love plus new additions we’re excited about.
Gross initially opened on January 4, 2019, with the bakery part of the business coming online in July of the same year.