Category: General News

The Bangor Daily News and Press Herald have both taken a look at how restaurants are responding to the challenge of operating during the pandemic.

The emerging omicron variant is the latest stumbling block for restaurants, with cases expected to skyrocket soon in Maine. The spreading virus, occasional restaurant closures and ongoing staffing shortages are adding more financial stress on top of already reduced business hours, supply chain issues and rising costs.

The Portland City Council recently reinstituted a mask mandate for indoor spaces including restaurants, and a small but growing number of restaurants and bars are opting to put in place proof of vaccination policies (see list).

The Press Herald and Bangor Daily News have published reports on a recent walkout by Portland Pie staff “to protest the company’s handling of COVID-19 cases in the restaurant and working conditions overall.”

Frustrated workers walked off their jobs at the Portland Pie Co. in Portland to protest the company’s handling of COVID-19 cases in the restaurant and working conditions overall.

Sunday started poorly at the pizza restaurant and bar on York Street. The kitchen was understaffed, the computer system couldn’t accept gift cards and some other payments, and people were stressed about recent COVID-19 infections among their colleagues, said Ashley McAndrew, a former bartender.

A new set of owners have taken over The Porthole. The Upward Management Group is led by Joe Christopher, Kevin Casey and John Jabar. According to the press release,

They’ve gained notoriety in recent years by revitalizing other well known eateries in the Casco Bay region. Most notably they re-opened “Portland’s Original Ale House” @threedollardeweys and South Portland’s Saltwater Grille.

Joe, Kevin, and John could not be more excited for the opportunity to run what has been an anchor of the Old Port since 1929. The Porthole is known far and wide because of the incredible reputation that Ken McGowan built here.

Upward Management relaunched Three Dollar Deweys in 2019 and also owns the Saltwater Grille in South Portland.

 

The Press Herald reports that a petition is circulating among Portland restaurants asking the City Council to implement a proof of vaccination requirement.

[Kate] Klibansky’s request worked. The restaurant group Eventide, owned by Big Tree Hospitality, has now launched a petition drive with other restaurants asking the Portland City Council to consider a vaccine mandate for certain indoor spaces including, but not limited to, restaurants.

The City Council will be considering that policy at Monday’s meeting.

Currently, a limited number of Portland establishments have independently implemented a proof of vaccination policy.

Updated

• The Press Herald published a follow-up that interviewed local restaurants about their perspectives on a proof of vaccination mandate.
• The Press Herald has published an editorial in favor of a restaurant vaccination mandate.
• NewsCenter has aired a report on this initiative
• Representatives from 37 bars, restaurants, bakeries and coffee shops have signed the petition as of Saturday morning including some of the leading food businesses in the city.

The Maine Sunday Telegram has published its annual Maine Food A to Z, a look back at the past year in Maine food which in 2021 starts with Adaptability and goes through the alphabet to Zen Out.

The 2022 Eat Drink Lucky tea towel subscription got a shout out from no less than Ruth Reichel.

The subscription series (with various length and frequency options) features the work of a different Maine artist each month including this one by Pretty Flours. Visit the EDL site for more information and to subscribe.

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article about the baking traditions of the Shaker community in New Gloucester, and

During the first weekend of December, Brother Arnold baked 800 biscuits and 200 cinnamon rolls, rolling dough out on the same marble slab that Shakers have used since the dwelling house was built in 1883. He has baked more than 80 fruitcakes so far this year, plus coffee-can and beer-batter breads.

“Food really is important to the Shakers. It always has been,” Brother Arnold says as he moves around the kitchen with the ease that comes from cooking here for more than four decades.

an article about the profusion of cheese and meat board options now available in Portland.

If the now-trendy boards appearing with increasing frequency on menus across southern Maine are any indication, what customers are getting is full. No matter what you call them, charcuterie boards are all about abundance. And in a phase of the pandemic where you might have to wait months for lumber, a new car or a snowblower, there is something reassuring in being presented with an edible, over-the-top display of bounty.

Today’s Press Herald includes a report on the new Preble Street Food Security Hub in South Portland.

In the past three weeks, the agency has shifted kitchen work to its new Food Security Hub, the first facility of its kind in Maine focused on food insecurity. Preble Street leaders say that moving into the 30,000-square-foot building on Darling Avenue in South Portland will allow them to increase the number of meals prepared, improve nutrition and reduce waste by preserving more donated produce, and connect with anti-hunger and social justice organizations to address hunger in a more holistic and collaborative way.

You can learn more about Preble Street on their website www.preblestreet.org.

Thrillist has recognized the Hunt & Alpine Club in their list 25 Food & Drink Innovators That Inspire Us. Hunt & Alpine is specifically highlighted for its personnel policies, initiatives and Covid rules to support their staff.

They wanted the Scandinavian-style bar to be a place where talented professionals feel taken care of while building a career, so they became the first bar in Maine to require proof of vaccination. Amid the pandemic, the Volks also raised the minimum wage, hosted trainings on combatting sexual harassment and assault, and offered benefits like health insurance and discounted CSA memberships, all in an effort to support staff as much as possible.

A small but growing number of eateries and bars in the Portland area that have put in place vaccination requirements for indoor dining and drinking.

You can see the full list here.

We’ll be adding to this list as restaurants, bars and other eateries announce policies—send us a message if you see some place missing from the list.