Category: Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Daniel Vannah and Jennifer Powers have taken over the former Movie Pizza Shoppe building (above) at 258 Jefferson Street in Waldoboro where they plan to open the Waldoughboro Pizza Shoppe (facebook). Powers and Vannah hope to be open by early winter.
• Oak Table & Bar in Augusta has leased space at 146 Mt Vernon Ave where they plan to open a restaurant for their side business Taco Rico (website, facebook).
• The owners of the Sand Dollar Bar & Grille (instagram) in York Beach are launching a pair of new eateries in the same building as their restaurant. Shorties Beach Cafe (instagram) will be a coffee and bagel shop with full line of brewed and espresso coffee drinks plus breakfast sandwiches and burritos. The Flounder (instagram) will be a counter service cafe serving sushi, poke, lobster rolls, chowder, and offering a raw bar. They hope to launch both prior to Memorial Day Weekend.
• The owners of the All Grill food truck, opened their Scarborough restaurant in January. All Grill (website, facebook, instagram) serves a menu of Venezuelan dishes like asados boards and hervido soup. It’s located at 238 Gorham Road near Nonesuch River Brewing and is open Wednesday through Sunday, noon – 9 pm (until 8 pm on Sundays).
• The Bollard has published a review of Rattle Shake Grill in South Portland.
• A Longer Table and The Commons are organizing a potluck dinner in Bethel in honor of Jacque Pepin on May 1st.
• The Columbia Falls General Store (instagram) is closing on April 26th. They are seeking a new spot where they can relocate the business.
• A North Berwick mushroom farm, The Mushroom Hut, has suffered a fire. Owner Nicholas Doucette has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds to help them rebuild.
• The Midcoast Villager has published an article about Day Boat Cafe in Waldoboro, and a report on a pair of new business, Camden Charcuterie and Vacationland Coffee Roasters, slated for the Lyman Morse Wharf in Camden, and a new board game bistro called Munching Meeple under development in Camden.
• The Portsmouth Herald reports that Forbes Seafood in Wells hopes to reopen their second floor as an 80-seat bar. The second floor of the building has been out of commission for several decades.
• The Waterville Sentinel reports that Park Lee Chinese Restaurant in Skowhegan has gone out of business.
• As previously reported, the owners of OhNo Cafe are working on to launch a new business called The Dooryard Pub in South Portland.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of 100+ coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

You can scroll through the past weeks’ Maine Food & Dining reports and get caught up on food news from around the state via this link.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• The Chametz (website, facebook, instagram) is scheduled to open on May 19th and has begun taking reservations. Founders Lina Mamut and chef Jared Rudnick plan to serve a locally sourced chef’s tasting menu with the option of alcoholic or nonalcoholic pairings. The sample menu on their website includes dishes like duck rillettes with poached peach, green strawberry and duck gribenes. For additional background information see our earlier report on the restaurant from December 2023..
• Knead & Nosh (website, facebook, instagram) has leased space at 4 Bowdoin Mill Island in Topsham where they plan to open a retail shop and cafe. They hope to launch this June serving bagel sandwiches and coffee, and retailing NY-style bagels. The new space will also provide space to hold baking and cooking classes.
• Makoto (see photos above) is now open for business and taking reservations on Resy. The Japanese restaurant has been launched by the owners of Yosaku at 448 Cottage Road in South Portland in the building formerly occupied by Elsmere BBQ. In addition to similar range of sushi options as Yosaku, the restaurant also serves a selection of wood-fired dishes like the mackerel shown above. You can see the full menu on their website.
• Camp DeForest in Lincolnville plans to launch a cocktail bar this summer. Tiki Scout (instagram) is envisioned as a “spirited cocktail bar opening in July that brings a touch of tropical fun to the Maine woods. With playful tiki-inspired drinks and laid-back camp energy, the bar offers a lively new social hub for guests looking to toast the end of a day outdoors.” When it launches the 20-seat bar is will be open Thursday through Saturday evenings serving a menu of  “Maine-influenced tiki style pupu platters and nostalgic camp favorites.”
• Swell House (website, instagram) has leased space adjacent to their coffee shop in Cape Neddick where they will open Swell Kitchen (instagram) this spring. They plan to offer grab-and-go foods as well a build-a-bowl option and house signature bowls. “Executive Chef, Mathew Barksdale and Operations Manager, Randy De Vega will be lining up Goldilocks’ favorite beds of eggs/breakfast potatoes, healthy starches, and mixed greens ready to be topped with fresh produce and proteins, unique toppings like house-made kimchis and dreamy dressings to pair so that it is JUST RIGHT.”
• Ross Florance and McKenna Koledo have published some renovation photos of La Laiterie. The grand opening weekend for the Jonesboro cafe is scheduled for April 23-26. As reported back in January, the restaurant’s menu will be draw its inspiration from the culinary traditions of Brittany. Florance and Koledo plan to offer a wide range of options from convenient grab-and-go items to dishes like moules-frites, oysters on the half shell, and classic French sandwiches like jambon-beurre for a sit-down meal. French baked goods and pastries, buckwheat crepes, and quiches will be available for breakfast. Additionally, La Laiterie will host Florance’s tasting dinner series Flora.
• The Kennebec Journal has published a Q&A with Pear Nalaphas and Trever Cherette, the owners of Bao and Beyond, which launched in Augusta this past October. “For Nalaphas and Cherette the focus goes beyond serving food, it’s about sharing flavors and cultures that have helped shape their cooking, while also creating an experience that feels both approachable and exciting for the local community.”
• The Midcoast Villager reports that a group of three residents have formed a nonprofit community development corporation to buy the Thomaston Grocery.
• The Portsmouth Herald has published an article about Bob’s Ugly Bagels in Shapleigh.
• Eating Though the Seacoast has published a selection of 15 Hotel Bars Worth Exploring in Maine.
• Moderation Brewing has published an update on the new location they have under development in Brunswick

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Several of Maine’s seasonal destination restaurants are now taking reservations for 2026: Aragosta on Deer Isle has begun taking reservations and opens for the season on May 7th, Circumstance in Swanville is now taking reservations and launches their season on April 24th, The Lost Kitchen in Freedom has begun gathering postcards for their reservation lottery, and The Well at Jordan’s Farm in Cape Elizabeth is taking reservations and opens for the season on June 10th.
• Chef Jordan DiDonato is launching a food cart called Beef Haus (instagram) in Oxford. He plans to serve a menu of meatball sub variations and a set of hot dog sandwiches like the House Dog topped with mustard, grilled onions, sauerkraut and celery salt. DiDonato hopes to launch by the beginning of June.
• The Cork & Cow (website, instagram) has launched their new wine bar. Located on the second floor of their shop at 47 Main Street in Belgrade, it is open Friday through Sunday, 3 – 9 pm. The menu includes a selection of white, rose and red wines by the glass, draft beer and some bar snacks.
• Taste Me (website, instagram) has opened for business in Scarborough. The Asian fusion sandwich shop serves a menu that includes baked goods, rice bowls, ramen, banh mi, breakfast sandwiches, standards like BLTs and a set of house specials like an orange chicken sandwich served on a brioche bun. They’re located at 680 US Route One and are open Wednesday through Monday, 7 am – 3 pm.
• Siren & Sailor (website, facebook, instagram), a new Bar Harbor cocktail bar and restaurant from the owners of The Travelin Lobster, is scheduled to open on April 9th, 3:30 – 8:30 pm. You can see their full food menu and drink list on their website.
• Me Lon Togo is holding a pop-up Gather in Yarmouth on April 12th serving a 4-course dinner.
• The Midcoast Villager reports that the Megunticook Market in Camden is under new ownership “Megunticook Market and Catering on Gould Street will be undergoing a “facelift” and offering a new expanded selection including Asian cuisine items, the new owner has announced.”
• The Pen Bay Pilot has published an article about Nomad, the new cafe operating at the Knox County Airport in Owls Head.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that Northern Maine Kolache in Van Buren will be opening their new shop early next month. “Ayotte plans a grand opening at the new spot, located on 46 Main St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 4. The new store will maintain the business’s regular hours of 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on all weekdays except Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday.”
• The Press Herald reports that Doughty’s Island Market on Chebeague Island is closing after 65 years in business.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• Day Boat Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) in Waldoboro (above left) had their grand opening on Wednesday. Located at 17 Friendship Road in the town center, Day Boat is the creation of Anna Hymanson and Kelsey Woodworth. Their menu includes options like a pork with broccolini sandwich, panzanella salad and clam chowder. They also have prepared foods to go. The space features a 13-seat lunch counter, two window booths, and a large community table in an open kitchen concept. Outdoor seating will also be available as the weather warms. Day Boat will be open Wednesday through Friday, 10 am – 6 pm, and Saturday/Sunday 10 am – 4 pm.
• Chef Nate Fenn is joining with Logan and Ashleigh Feeney in their relaunch of the Bowdoinham Country Store (above right). The Feeney bought the store last year and have been renovating the building. They’re hoping to launch BCS in May addressing the needs of the community with a neighborhood market and serving as a gathering space with a menu of snacks, pizza, sandwiches and prepared food to go.  Later in the summer they hope to expand the seating area and launch a restaurant that will be open for dinner Thursday through Saturday. Fenn is currently the chef at Table Bar in Gardiner. He began his career at Flatlanders Pub in Greenville and has worked at Spring Creek BBQ in Monson and elsewhere in the state. The store is located at 54 River Road near the town center.
• The Waldoboro Inn (instagram) has announced their summer plans and kicked of a novel crowdfunding campaign to help in the build out of their kitchen and expansion of their bar program. Starting on May 30th, Finocchi (instagram) will be operating Trattoria Finocchi at the inn on Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays throughout the summer. The Finocchi project “focuses on the story & magic of food as they queer Italian and Italian-American traditions.”  They plan to grow some produce at the Inn as well as source ingredients from Landsmith Farm & Commons. You can buy tickets for the crowdfunding campaign/raffle on the TWI website. Ticket prices are aligned with prize packages, and in a unique twist even losing ticket win some type of prize. For example the winner at the $50 level gets a dinner for two, and the remaining ticket holders get a free drink at the inn’s wine bar.
• The Bangor Daily News has published an article about Rasa, an Indian restaurant being launched in Bangor by Sai Guntaka from Taj and his uncle Obul Reddy. The restaurant is scheduled to open March 29th.
• Cellardoor Winery took home an award from the International Wine Competition for their 2024 Late Harvest Frontenac Blanc.
• Salt + Pepper Social in Newcastle is holding 3-course plant-based dinner on May 2nd.
• A new pizza food truck called Colonel’s Canteen (facebook) is under development. They plan to operate at the Korean Dad space in Veazie and at events in the Bangor/Brewer area.
• The Pilgrim’s Inn on Deer Isle has rebranded as The Ark. The restaurant at the inn was on the New York Times “50 best places in America right now” restaurant list in 2025.
• The Crooked Spoon is holding a pop-up dinner at The Norumbega in Camden on March 28th.
• Meet York County has published a field report from Bob’s Ugly Bagels in Shapleigh., and Biddo Foodies has published a field report from Fern Leaf Bakery in Saco.
• The Sanford Springvale News has published a profile of Bob Rizk, the chef and owner of The Rialto in Sanford.
• The Bethel Citizen reports that the Upton Village Store is under new ownership. “They will sell groceries, prepared food and Maine souvenirs year-round. The store will also offer live bait, small camping supplies and check stations for wild game and furs.”
• The Press Herald reports that Maine Beer Company in Freeport is planning an 11,000 sq ft expansion that will enable them to double their production capacity to 100,000 barrels a year.
• As reported last Sunday, Vince Maniaci and Jill Dutton have announced they’ll be closing their Scarborough market and cheese shop, The Cheese Iron

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• A new cafe called Nomad (instagram) has launched at the Knox County Airport in the space formerly occupied by The Apron. It’s run by artist and chef Evan Stevens and is open Saturday 9 am – 1 pm and on Sunday 8 am – 2 pm. Stevens shared on instagram, “We’ve opened for the year with weekend hours to serve our brunch, breakfast/lunch, and bakery menus and we’ve had such a great response! From handmade blueberry maple sausage to latke hash browns, Caesar schnitzel chicken, and a hoard of delicious baked goods (brown butter maple cinnamon rolls, dark chocolate torte, lemon cake, chocolate orange cookies, etc) we’ve served hundreds now and I’m so excited! I’ve been making as much from scratch as possible including hand pies and sourdough focaccia and we’ve really enjoyed meeting returning and new customers!”
• The new owners of Treats are launching a ~40-seat wine bar this spring. They hope to open the bar in early May. It will be situated in the side room (above) of the Wiscasset bakery and shop. Joseph Swifka and Emily Hughes bought the popular Midcoast business earlier this year. They are planning a 10-seat bar along the northside wall and a mix of table and other seating options in the front window and elsewhere in the room. Hughes and Swifka plan to serve a rotating menu of low intervention wines. They’ll initially launch with light bar snacks but plan to expand the food options over time with a focus on Old World Italian cooking methods making use of locally sourced seasonal ingredients. The cafe itself has some new window counter seating with a selection of salads and sandwiches, baked goods and coffee.
• Fifth Pillar Teahouse (instagram) is under development in downtown Lewiston. Owner Meg Giossi is in the final stages of renovating a 2,000 sq ft space at 191 Lisbon Street and hopes to open the 49-seat teahouse by the end of April. The Fifth Pillar menu will have an extensive menu of herbal and traditional teas as well as a selection of light snacks. Giossi’s goal is to create a place for people who want to get into tea that “feels accessible and natural”.  She also sees a community service mission for her business and plans to offer “Communi-tea” blends that raise money for local organizations. Giossi was first introduced to the world of tea when she worked at Dobra Tea back in 2014/15. She’s had a long interest in tea and herbal medicine and has taken classes at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine and Herbal Academy. She has two decades of restaurant industry experience and most recently was the general manager at Kon Asian Bistro.
• Lenny’s at Hawkes Plaza in Westbrook has reopened under new ownership. They held a soft opening last Sunday and their first full day back in business was this past Wednesday.
• The Lincoln County News has published an article about Brill’s Bakery (instagram), which is under development at 27 Summer Street in Wiscasset.
• WMTW reports that the Way Way Store in Saco is closing after nearly a century of being in business. For additional reporting on the closure see this article from the Saco Bay News.
• The Midcoast Villager reports that sisters Elizabeth and Emilia Parker have taken over ownership of the Bayside Store in Northport. “…Emilia comes with experience, having worked at the store for over three years. They plan to continue with many of the same items and offerings with a number of delicious new additions. Already, word on the street is their cinnamon rolls and sourdough bread are to die for. We encourage the community to stop in and help these young entrepreneurs get off to a great start.”
• The Morning Sentinel reports that the owner of the The Cork & Cow in Belgrade is expanding to open a wine bar on the second floor of her building at 47 Main Street.
• The Bangor Daily News reports that a new brewery called North Star Brewing (website, facebook) i under development in Madawaska. It will be located in the former border crossing station at 63 Bridge Street. The business is being launched by Eli Cayer and Jason Dionne. They hope to launch North Star by sometime in August. “All the beer will be made on site, and Cayer plans to expand into spirits, wine, cider and non-alcoholic drinks. They also plan to build a kitchen and offer good quality pub food.”

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of 100+ coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

• A new ice cream shop called Half Pint Giant (instagram) is under construction in Brunswick. It will be located at 147.5 Maine Street (above right) in the space formerly occupied by The Frappe Shop. They plan to offer hard serve and soft serve ice cream with “unique and nostalgic” toppings, parfaits, sundaes, milkshakes and custom mixed sodas. The owners of Half Pint hope to launch in early April.
• Spun Bakery (website, facebook, instagram) has taken over the 175-year old building at 11 Mechanics Street (above left) in Freeport where owner Don Gaile plans to open a retail bakery this June. Gaile initially launched Spun out of his home kitchen in 2016 and this is the next step in scaling up his business. The new space will have seating for 15 and Gaile is planning to expand the menu to also include savory dishes like frittata, toasts made on house made Japanese milk bread, and croissant sandwiches.
• Bintliff’s Corner Brew in Gardiner has been building out a new seating area. The “Conservatory” will provide an addition 15 seats in a sunny room constructed with reclaimed beams, a roof sourced from an mill building in Lewiston, and a circular window that is a design echo of the one in the nearby Gardiner library.
• Aragosta chef Devin Finigan is serving a 9-course tasting menu at the Norumbega on Saturday March 14th.
• Fish & Whistle is holding a 4-course lunch and learn called Eating Invasives. The meal will feature locally harvested invasive species, and it will be complemented with a presentation by marine biologist Aubrey Jane. The event is taking place May 31st and tickets are available online.
• Biddeford Saco Restaurant Week is taking place March 15 – 22.
• The Biddo Foodies have published a field report from the Blushing Hen farm and bakery stand in Lyman.
• The Bangor Daily News has a report on The Rolling Pin Cafe and Bakery (facebook) which recently opened in Winterport. They serve breakfast and lunch and are located at 145 Main Street. “The Norrises have plans to make the spot even more of a community hub in the coming months. They’re scoping out dates for evening painting workshops, and will open their outdoor patio with seating in the spring. They are also planning to host a farmers’ market in their parking lot.”
• The Press Herald has published an article about Lotso Tacos which opened on Main Street in Yarmouth in last fall., and an article about the Ogunquit food scene.
• As reported on Thursday, the owners of Yosaku and in the final stretch to launch their new Japanese grill and sushi restaurant called Makoto (instagram). Makoto is located on Cottage Road in South Portland and will be opening in April.
• As reported this past Sunday, the owner of Taj will be launching a cafe in South Portland called Cobblestone Coffee & Company.

For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of 100+ coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.