Category: Openings

Two of the food truck tracking platforms we wrote about in late June have joined forces. Food Trux which has just recently launched in Denver, Colorado has acquired Maine Food Truck Tracker, a Portland company that provided a web-based app/service for Maine food trucks.

FoodTrux CEO Matthew Noone is also excited about the possibilities presented by this deal: “Because Maine Food Truck Tracker was first in the local market with more than 50% of the state’s food trucks signed up, I couldn’t be more excited to merge with them. The fact that both companies are based here in Portland, our home market for FoodTrux.co, just makes this collaboration all the more beneficial for us and the food truck operators.

Two new food businesses have launched:

• Je’s Neighborhood Store opened last week on July 4th. The Veranda Street market and sandwich shop is located in the space formerly occupied by Union Bagel.
• Haole Ice (instagram, facebook) launched on Thursday. They’re serving Hawaiian-inspired shave ice from a food cart on the Eastern Prom.

Here are a few restaurant updates from elsewhere in Maine:

• Craft restaurant in Gray has passed their final inspections and opening for outdoor dining starting Wednesday July 15th. They’re located at  81 West Gray Road, Gray, Maine.
• Tulsi North in Wells, the 2nd location of the Kittery-based Indian restaurant Tulsi, has changed concepts and is now serving Latin American food under the name Mayan Cafe & Grill.
• Chef Ali Waks Adams is launching a weekly Saturday pop-up series call Willie & Chet’s (instagram) which will be held at Dog Bar Jim in Brunswick. The first pop-up is taking place this Saturday, July 11th with a menu that’s “an ode to Turkey & the Wolf“.
• Mu Noi Brunch (instagram) is opening for business today serving a menu of Lao-American comfort food. Mu Noi is located at 1056 Center Street, Auburn, Maine. This is the second restaurant from chef Sayvepen Sengsavang who also operates Le Mu Eats in Bethel.

The Mexican/Salvodoran restaurant Dos Naciones, and the Tacos La Poblanita food truck have joined forces to “bring you the best of authentic Mexican and Salvadorian food and drinks”.

Dos Naciones is located at 649 Congress Street in Longfellow Square. The name of the restaurant will change to Dos Naciones y La Poblanita. The partners will be collaborating on some changes to the restaurant  menu.

The new Little Woodfords (website, instagram, twitter, facebook) opened for business this morning. They’re located at 316A Congress Street at the intersection with Franklin. The same great coffee, staff, service and food in a cute new space.

Their hours will be Monday through Friday 7am – 3pm, Saturday and Sunday 8am – 3pm.

Bard Coffee launched their new coffee truck this morning. They’re located at the Four Points Marina off the Eastern Prom walking trail near the end of Thames Street. The Bard truck is open Wednesday through Sunday, 8am – 2pm.

Pizzeria Radici (website, instagram) is scheduled to open on Friday. Owners Randy and Ally Forrester have renovated the former Terlingua space. They’ve already sold out of pre-order capacity for takeout on Friday. They plan to open up ordering for Saturday in the near future.

The word “radici” means root in Italian and indicates the restaurants intent to pair ancestral food traditions with the “sustainability and versatility of Maine’s harvest from the land and sea”. The Forresters hope to open the pizzeria this coming summer.

The Forresters moved to Portland from Allentown, New Jersey where they operated Osteria Radici. Osteria Radici was a James Beard awards semifinalist for Best New Restaurant in 2018, and Randy Forrester was a semifinalist for Best Chef in the Mid-Atlantic in 2019.

Two Fat Cats (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) has announced they’ll be opening their new bakery cafe at 195 Lancaster Street on Thursday, July 2nd Saturday July 4th. The bakery will offer take-out and pre-order options as well as, a special menu for the opening of their newest location. Indoor dining will be postponed for now.

The new building will provide Two Fat Cats much needed room to continue to grow their business. The 3,000 sq ft building will has space for seating and has onsite parking for customers.

Stacy Begin, Owner, Two Fat Cats Bakery, recalls “The first time I walked into the Lancaster Street building, it was gutted – an empty shell that required imagination. But the spirit of the building grabbed me and said, ‘Make me a bakery.’ And, I said, ‘Yes, you need to be a bakery.’ From that day to this, we saw the potential and the personality of the building come alive. Now when I walk through the door, I see a bakery. Not just any bakery – Two Fat Cats Bakery. It feels like home. It feels like Two Fat Cats. Sometimes you just have to listen to the building. It knows best.”

Two Fat Cats was founded in 2005 by Dana Street, Alison Pray, Matt James, and Kristen DuShane. Begin and Matthew Holbrook bought Two Fat Cats in 2012, and in 2018 TFC added a South Portland location.

A new mobile app Food Truck Movement (facebook, instagram, twitter) that tracks a growing number of food trucks from across Maine launched earlier this month. The app is the creation of Julian and Rachel Gallo, and is available via the Apple App Store and Google Play.

Food Truck Movement currently tracks the location of 9 food trucks including Bogs Bakery, Mac Daddy’s Seafood and Tots, Mainely Meatballs, Muthah Truckah, Nom Bai, Rose’s Spring Rolls, Taco Cat, The Moody Dog, Vantage Point Provisions.

A second food truck tracking app for both Apple and Android called Food Trux (website, instagram, twitter) is in the final stages of development and is launching today in Denver with plans to launch soon in Portland as well.

And a web-based food truck app called Maine Food Truck Tracker (website, instagram, facebook) launched earlier this year. Maine Food Truck Tracker is used by 23 Maine-based food trucks.