It’s been one of the most frequent questions we’ve received since March, “when will Empire re-open??!”
That day is now here. Empire Chinese Kitchen has announced they’re re-opening for takeout starting today.
You can order online and pick-up at the restaurant on Congress Street starting at 11:30 am.
Portland’s newest food truck, Liu Bian Tan (instagram) launched on Tuesday at the Western Promenade.
Owner Chung Heng Liu is dishing up a menu of “old school” Taiwanese street food which on Tuesday included Yo Mein, Lo Ba Bung, Gua Bao, and Scallion “Bomb” Bing.
LBT will be back on the Western Prom on Thursday, and is scheduled to hold a pop-up takeout dinner in conjunction with Cong Tu Bot on September 29th.
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Speckled Ax (website, facebook, instagram) opened their new coffee shop at 20 Thames Street this morning, Their hours are 7:30 am – 3 pm.
In addition to their stellar coffee brewed from wood-roasted beans, the new Speckled Ax will have a food menu that will include two egg sandwich options, a banh mi, a lobster roll and baked goods from Ilma Lopez at Chaval. Speckled Ax has secured a liquor license. In the future they plan to expand the food menu as well as serve beer and wine.
One of the new innovations of the new shop is a Cyclops brewing machine. Also look for flash brewed ice coffee, cascara, and a new infused milk flavor profile as well as pour overs, espresso-based drinks and one of my favorites—tower shots.
Matt Bolinder founded Matt’s Wood Roasted Coffee in 2007 and opened the original Speckled Ax shop on Congress Street opened in May 2012.
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A new restaurant called Broken Arrow (instagram) is getting ready to open in October. Broken Arrow is located at 545 Congress Street in the storefront formerly occupied by the West End Deli. To address public health guidelines Broken Arrow will launch using just part of its 47-seat capacity.
Chef Matt Jatczak will draw inspiration from classic New England recipes for the 5-course meals. Broken Arrow plans to take a ticket-based model and will begin taking reservations for their October opening in early September. The menu is expected to change every 5-6 weeks to align with the seasonality of local ingredients.
Owners Lyle and Holly Aker moved to Portland from Chicago where Lyle operated two restaurants, Charlatan and the Three Aces. They had been looking to make a move back to Maine when the opportunity to lease 545 Congress Street came up 3 years ago. Chef Jatczak also has a Chicago connection. His resume includes time in the kitchen at both The Purple Pig and working for Paul Kahn’s One Off Hospitality Group.
Holly Aker is a Certified Cheese Professional and passionate about Maine creamery products so expect a diverse array of Maine cheeses to grace the menu.
A pair of updates from Maine’s brewing industry:
A new initiative called the ReUp ME Restaurant Relief Fund is raising money to help restaurants when they reopen. Organizers are hoping to raise $1 million dollars, and will “provide direct and in-kind financial support on a sliding scale from $500 to $15,000 to each restaurant award recipient.”
The ReUp ME Restaurant Relief Fund was created to directly support restaurants who are in the midst of reopening, rehiring, and restocking. It is anticipated that rebuilding of the Maine hospitality economy is going to take several years. The next 6 months will be critical to saving and helping to sustain Maine’s passionate restaurant owners.
Mainers have always taken great pride in supporting their communities across all sixteen counties. If we mobilize quickly, this approach will create a profound and unified message of hope and inspire consumers inside and outside the state to donate.
Restaurants can apply to be a grant recipient online.
You can donate to the fund online.
As part of the kick-off for the ReUp Fund, Taste of Maine is launching the Sunday Supper online chef cook-along show. The first episode is scheduled to go live on August 23rd and will feature chefs Ilma Lopez, David Turin, Paolo Laboa, Charlie Zorich, Kirk Linder and Dorene Mills.
Sal de la Tierra (instagram) opened for business today. Their hours are 9 am to 9 pm. They have both indoor and outdoor seating as well as takeout.
Owners Carlos Sanchez and Isai Galvez renovated the former Wild Burritos space at 581 Congress Street where they’re serving a menu of Puerto Rican, Mexican and Salvadoran food. I enjoyed the grilled tilapia with rice, salad and a glass of horchata for lunch.
The George’s North Shore (instagram, facebook) food truck is set to launch today at noon at Battery Steele Brewing. Owners Logan and Alison Abbey relocated from Massachusetts several years ago and the North Shore roast beef sandwich is a taste of home they’d like to introduce in Portland.
The feature item on the menu will be a Super Beef Threeway: a grilled buttered bun, thin-sliced rare roast beef, topped with white American cheese, mayo and James River BBQ sauce. George’s is named for their dog, George Costanza.
