Category: Openings

West End juice bar Farm Truck Juice(facebook, website, twitter, instagram) has announced plans to open on Thursday. They’re located in the West End at 189 Brackett Street in the same building at Rosemont Market.

Restaurateur Walter Loeman, who founded Walter’s, Perfetto’s, Mazza, Cotton Street Cantina and several other restaurants, is part of the team launching the juice bar.

FTJ will serve a menu of “fresh pressed juices made from organic, locally sourced ingredients” such as the Float’n in Florida (grapefruit, orange, lyme lychee) and the Good Green Almighty (kale, chard, spinach, apples, celery, watercress).

The Drifter’s Wife (website, facebook, instagram) opens today at 4pm. The natural wine bar is located at 63 Washington Ave in the front section of Maine & Loire.

Here’s a look at the menu and wine by the glass list. There’s also a very extensive bottle list.

Coffee from the Rwanda Bean Company is starting to show up on retail shelves in Portland. Founders Mike Mwenedata and Nick Mazuroski buy beans directly from farmers in the Rwandan province of Karora. The Portland-based coffee roaster has pledged to donate 50% of net profits to fund community development projects in Rwanda.

All three coffees from RBC are available at Aurora Provisions: Ikizere medium roast, Ishema Blend, and Ikerekezo blond roast. RBC is holding their official launch party on February 27th.

A pair of new businesses have announced their opening plans:

• Mast Landing – the new brewery in Westbrook will open their tasting room on March 4th at 3pm.
• Peddleman’s – is launching their night time “falafel sandwiches and mezze to-go” operation out of Union Bagel on Cumberland Ave starting March 5th at 5:30pm.

Portland Mash Tun opened their doors last night. The bar and brewpub operates a ½ barrel brewery onsite at 29 Wharf Street. Owner Rick Binet is also a co-owner of the King’s Head Pub.

Mash Tun serves a small menu that includes: a grass fed burger, veggie burger, Parmesan salad, sauteed Brussels sprouts, and a cheese plate.

The Drifter’s Wife (website, facebook, instagram) is scheduled to open on Tuesday at 4pm.  The natural wine bar has been built into the front half of Maine & Loire at 63 Washington Ave.

Owners Orenda and Peter Hale are working with their former Wythe hotel colleague, chef Ben Jackson to launch the wine bar. The opening night menu is still in the works but you see a draft on the Drifter’s Wife website.

The Blueberry Files has published a report on the opening of Rhum.

It’s what Portland has been missing – a lounge full of escapism with an air of mystery. It’s the perfect place to sip on some rum until beach weather returns. 

Urban Eye has posted a report on Rhum.

There are pupu platters and fog cutters, scorpion bowls and miso soup, chopsticks and umbrella drinks. But similarities to all Asian-themed restaurants you know and love end at Rhum’s octopus door handles.

Rhum (website, facebook, instagram) held an friends and family preview last night and opens to the public today—the bar opens at 4pm and the kitchen at 5pm.

The tiki bar and restaurant is a partnership between Jason Loring, owner of Nosh and Slab; Mike Fraser, owner of Bramhall Pub; Nat Towl, builder and designer with the all star team of Frank Warren Anderson, Fred Eliot, Sam Babcock, and Rebecca Ambrosi.

The bar serves tiki-themed cocktails such as the King Kong Sledgehammer, Painkiller, Junglebird and mocktails. You can also get large format drinks (“Why settle for a flagon when you can have the whole cask?”) that serve up to 7 people.

Rhum features a raw bar serving Island Creek Oysters by the half dozen and seafood towers that include Peruvian scallops, Mexican shrimp, Maine mussels, king crab and lobster. There’s also a menu of small plate dishes. My favorite so far has been the Hiramasa Poke (photo) made with coconut vadouvan, pineapple and fried shallots. See below for the full list of options, and pictures of the food and space are available on Instagram.

Pizzaiolo (website, facebook) opened earlier this week. The New York-style pizzeria is located at 360 Cumberland Ave in West Bayside. You can see a full menu on their Facebook page.