Category: History

A number of Portland establishments are celebrating major anniversaries this year:

105-year Anniversary – Oakhurst Dairy was founded in 1921.

90-year Anniversary – Forest Gardens was founded in 1936 by Lucy Aliberti.

80-year Anniversary – PJ Merrill Seafood was founded in 1946 by Paul J. Merrill.

70-year Anniversary – Moran’s Market was founded in 1956.

45-year Anniversary – City Deli was founded in 1981, and Bruno’s opened at their first location at 43 India Street.

40-year Anniversary – DL Geary Brewing began selling beer in 1986.

35-year Anniversary – Becky Rand opened Becky’s Diner on March 13, 1991, and Rod Browne Mitchell founded Browne Trading Company that same year.

30-year Anniversary – Kevin Quiet founded Ribolita in 1996, and Sam Hayward and Dana Street launched Fore Street in 1996.

20-year Anniversary – Hot Suppa was founded in 2006 by brothers Moses and Alec Sabina.

15-year Anniversary – Bam Bam Bakery, East Ender, Gorgeous Gelato, Schulte & Herr, and Taco Escobarr, The Holy Donut, and The Honey Exchange were all founded in 2011.

10-year Anniversary – Big Fin Poke, Blake Orchard, El Rayo, Fork Food Lab, Hardshore Distilling, Mast Landing, Munjoy Hill Tavern, Portland Mash Tun, Scales, The Purple House, and Woodford F&B were all founded in 2016.

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from April 2010, 2015 and 2020:

• 2010 – Mr. Sandwich & Mrs. Muffin opened for business in Bramhall Square, Kamasouptra opened in the Public Market House, and Cranberry Island Kitchen opened on Danforth Street.
• Portland Food Map published a chronology/list of food businesses that at the time had been in business 20 years or more. The article has occasionally been updated since then.
• 2015 – The Honey Paw opened for business on Middle Street, and MK Kitchen opened in Gorham.
• The May issue (which came out in late April) of Bon Appétit features Tandem Bakery in their article Will Fly for Food which highlights 29 locations worldwide “to get lost and fed”.
• 2020 – There was a fire at Walker’s Maine in Cape Neddick.
• A new organization called Cooking for Community got underway. It worked with restaurants to buy local food from farms and fisheries to provide meals to those in need. Initially Cooking for Community worked with Chaval and Little Giant to prepare 450 meals for Catholic Charities of Maine, Wayside Food Programs, Amistad and Preble Street.
• Ramona’s launched on April 17th.
• ‪A growing number of restaurants started selling groceries.
• State regulations were revised to allow restaurants to sell takeout cocktails. 20+ establishments immediately set-up to go cocktail options.
• Governor Mills set June 1st as the date when restaurants could re-open.

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from March 2010, 2015 and 2020:

• 2010 – Skinny Cart BBQ launched on Washington Ave. The Blueberry Files and Edible Obsessions published reviews of it.
• Tom Yordprom opened his West End coffee shop Yordprom Coffee Company on March 5th.
• Justin McEdward from Bard Coffee competed in the North East Regional Barista Competition.
• Peanut Butter & Jelly Time received a 4 star review from the Press Herald.
• Provisions of a 2009 state law that required wine store tastings to be run “in a manner that precludes the possibility of observation by children” were revoked.
• 2015 – A Cape Elizabeth high school sophomore named Nat Jordan raised $2,518 on Kickstarter to fund lemonade food cart called LemonCycle (facebook).
• A new iteration of East Ender opened on March 9th, Isa Bistro opened for business on March 19th, The Sinful Kitchen opened for business on March 29th, and Home Catering Company opened on March 31st.
• Several Maine chefs and restaurants were announced as 2015 Beard Awards nominees.
• An underground restaurant known as Caatboxxx was serving excellent food and cocktails from a secret location in East Bayside.
• 2020 – The month of March started off with great momentum for the restaurant industry. Four businesses in Portland, two in South Portland, two in Biddeford and one in Yarmouth were all pushing forward to opening date.
• Five Portland bartenders competed in the Northeast regional Speed Rack competition. Sarah Jackson won the competition and LyAnna Sanabria came in 2nd place.
• Steve and Michelle Corry announced their plans to close Five Fifty-Five in mid-April.
• The Food Network named Biddeford-based Night Moves Bread to their list of the Best Bread Bakeries in America.
• A & C Grocery opened a second location on Clark Street on March 12th.
• Leeward opened their restaurant on March 12th.
• The Covid Pandemic  became a hard reality on Friday March 13th. Restaurants jumped into action with a variety of procedures to address the situation based on what was known about the disease at the time. Within a few days restaurants began the difficult transition to being take-out only businesses.
• Portland Food Map launched The Big Take-out/Delivery List.
• Restaurants engaged in efforts to feed school children and to feed frontline workers, and Maine distilleries began producing hand sanitizer.
• On March 18th the Governor issued an emergency order mandating that all restaurants and bars statewide close to dine-in customers.
• Solo Cucina Market opened for business on March 25th.

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from February 2010, 2015 and 2020:

• 2010 – Boda opened for business on February 4th, and Katahdin reopened at their then new space on Forest Ave.
• Portland Food Map published a list of restaurant groups that had more than one location or where the owners ran more than one restaurant.
• A group of food bloggers and journalists began eating their way through (and reviewing) all fourteen Thai restaurants that were then operating in Portland. First up was Sala Thai on Washington Ave. Portland Food Heads, Appetite Portland, the Portland Daily Sun, Edible Obsessions, The Blueberry Files and Where is Jenner’s Mind all participated in this first round.
• Silly’s and Bayou Kitchen tied for first place at the Cajun Cookin’ Challenge.
• The list of the 2010 Beard Awards semifinalists were released with six from Maine.
• The Winter Farmers’ Market debuted. It was located at 85 Free Street in the space now occupied by Leeward.
• 2015 – The Food Network published an eating guide to the Portland area which highlighted Bite into Maine, Blue Rooster, Duckfat, Emilitsa, Eventide, Five Fifty-Five, Lolita, Pai Men Miyake, Small Axe, and The Well in Cape Elizabeth.
• Pete Sueltenfuss opened the Other side Delicatessen on February 5th at 164 Veranda Street.
• Conde Nast Traveller published a Restaurant Guide to Portland which includes: Caiola’s, Empire, Eventide, Holy Donut, Miyake, OhNo Cafe, Petite Jacqueline, Piccolo, Slab, and Zapotecca.
• Sangillo’s closed permanently after 62 years in business after the State of Maine did not renew of their liquor license. The building is now home to Tomaso’s Canteen.
• The Beard Foundation released the 2015 list of awards semifinalists which included seven from Maine.
• 2020 – The Brew Bus has announced a merger with Dave’s Travel and Events from Sydney, Australia.
• The 9-seat Ishi Ishi Ramen opened for business on Friday 7th.
• The Mexican/Salvadoran restaurant called Dos Naciones opened February 15th. It was located at 649 Congress Street in the space that had been occupied by Local Sprouts.
• Chef Bowman Brown announced plans to relocate Elda to Building 19A in the Pepperell Mill Campus in Biddeford. The news also included first mention of what would become the Jackrabbit cafe.
• Azure in Freeport closed after almost 18 years in business.
• The Beard Foundation released their 2020 list of awards semifinalists. That year their were 11 overall including seven in the Best Chef Northeast category.
• Bob’s Clam Hut announced plans to close their Portland location.

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from January 2010, 2015 and 2020:

• 2010 – Dual Site, a “psychogeographic dinner theater” took place at Whitney Art Works.
•  Anthony Bourdain was in town filming a Maine episode for No Reservations. He visited J’s Oyster Bar and Street & Co before heading up the coast to Primo and Conte’s and then inland for a meal at Spring Creek Bar-B-Q in Monson.
• Sonny’s opened for business on January 8th.
• The January/February issue of Imbibe magazine include Portland along with Reno, Austin, Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul as key cities in America’s emerging beer scene. Additionally, The Atlantic magazine published an article calling Portland a Craft Beer Heaven.
• Pie in the Sky, a new pizzeria opened on the second floor of the Public Market House by Big Sky Breads, opened for business.
• Several Portland restaurants raised funds for relief efforts in Haiti. The country had been hit by a magnitude 7 earthquake on January 12th.
• 2015 – Peter and Orenda Hale opened a new wine shop on Washington Ave called Maine & Loire.
• Draft magazine included Novare Res in their list of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars.
• Food writer Kate McCarty and Maine Beer Mavens founder Lora Burns started a women’s whiskey club called the Portland Spirit Society.
• Vinland chef/owner David Levi prepared a dinner at the James Beard House in NYC.
• New England Distilling began barrel-aging their first batch of bourbon. The spirit would be bottled in 2017 under the name Tidewalker.
• Eric and Julie Michaud made the decision to rename their business In’finiti to the Liquid Riot Bottling Company.
• Word broke that Steve and Michelle Corry were working on a bakery/cafe called Portland Patisserie at 46 Market Street.
• Full Belly Deli closed after 28 years in business.
• Tiqa opened for business on January 21st.
• MECA launched a Culinary Arts program with classes on topics like food blogging and whole pig butchering.
• Treehouse opened on January 23rd in the space formally occupied by the Cafe at Pat’s.
• 2020 – Noodle Love (now Mainely Noods) opened for business on January 3rd.
• Mission Chinese chef Danny Bowien was at Solo Italiano where he and Solo Italiano’s chef Paolo Laboa prepared an “Italian-Asian fusion menu never-before-seen inside Solo’s walls”.
• Ned Swain, the owner of Devenish Wines, addressed a hearing at the International Trade Commission to speak against the proposal to apply 100% tariffs to European wines imported into the United States.
• 207 Bar & Restaurant opened on January 10th at 337 Cumberland Ave in the building formerly occupied by Maria’s.
• Magnus on Water opened for business in Biddeford on Saturday January 18th.
• Six Maine food producers won Good Food Awards in the categories of beer, coffee, confections, grains, honey and pickles.
• The 5th Annual Chef Summit took place with sessions on publishing cookbooks, open fire cooking and whole animal butchering.
• The Knotted Apron opened January 30th.
• Woodford Food & Beverage’s Courtney Loreg was the first chef featured in our My Kitchen, Their Table interview series.

The Portland Food Map archive  provides a chronicle of the past 17 years of the Portland restaurant scene. While a lot of the reporting here is about what’s happening now and coming next, we thought it would be interesting to take a look back each month at the news from 5, 10 and 15 years ago.

Here’s some notable news from December 2009, 2014 and 2019:

• 2009 – Saigon opened for business on Forest Ave on December 7th.
• JP’s Bistro opened for business on December 8th. They’ve since moved to Falmouth and their storefront on Woodford Street is now home to Knotted Apron.
• Market House Coffee and Peanut Butter and Jelly Time both launched on the 2nd floor of the Public Market House. PB & J Time served peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as well as breakfast cereal.
• Andrew Knowlton from Bon Appetit included Tu Casa’s enchilada salvadoreña with tongue on his list of best restaurant budget dishes of 2009.
• Coastal Maine Popcorn opened on Exchange Street in December, as did Po’ Boys and Pickles.
• The then new Walter’s opened on Union Street on December 29th. Walter’s was originally located on Exchange Street in the space that’s now home to Off Track Pizza.
• The author of the Type A Diversions announced plans to retire from writing her blog.
• 2014 –Word broke that Two Fat Cats was buying Maine Pie Line. The then owner of Maine Pie Line, Briana Warner, is now the CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms.
• Bon Appétit included the Tuna Sandwich at Palace Diner in their list of the Best Meals of 2014.
• Maine Craft Distilling launched a tasting room/mixology shop in Freeport.
• Business Insider included Bard Coffee in their list of the 50 Coolest New Businesses In America.
• 2019 – The Maine Sunday Telegram examined whether the Portland restaurant industry is a bubble about to burst.
• Maria’s reopened at their new location on outer Congress Street in December 2019.
• Josh Miranda shared details on Via Vecchia which was then under construction on Dana Street.
• John and Tanya Lowell began the process of buying Andy’s Old Port Pub.
• Bon Appetit included Izakaya Minato on their list of the 24 Restaurants We Couldn’t Stop Talking About in 2019.
• Word was out that Randy and Ally Forrester were planning to locate Radici at 52 Washington Ave.
• Margaret Hathaway and Karl Schatz, and Don Lindgren shared the news that they were working on the Maine Bicentennial Community Cookbook. They’ve since gone on to publish a 2nd volume of the local foods cookbook.