Category: Under Construction

Urban Eye reports that Tiqa Cafe will open next week.

Though located 0.7 miles from the flagship, Tiqa Cafe and Bakery is its own entity. A new granite bar anchors the space. Here up to nine people can soon quaff wine and sip beer while noshing on his savory, fresh fare. In the corner, an alcove ensconced in stained glass screams romantic, mid-day repast.

Mainebiz reports that Fork Food Lab will be launching a $30k Kickstarter campaign Thusrday to fund their tasting room.

“This is part of the Food Lab that will be open to everyone,” Holstein, who is chief operating officer, told Mainebiz. Contributors will get different goods depending on the amount they give. For example, $100 gets them a holiday gift basket, while $25 gets access to a tasting session.

The company also plans to hold an event at Portland’s Bayside Bowl on June 15 to promote the crowdfunding campaign.

New England Distilling has filed paperwork with the city to operate a tasting room at their warehouse on 1 Industrial Way to “take advantage of the larger tourist volume” on that street. The distillery itself will still remain down the street at 26 Evergreen Drive.

Ricker Hill Farms has leased the former Evolution Fitness space in 1 Monument Way where they plan to open the Tasting Cellar. The 52-seat venue will serve Ricker Hill ciders and wines, as well as sell a variety of seasonal produce, baked goods from Foley’s, and other locally-sourced products (see draft list on page 288). They also have submitted plans to set-up an outdoor seating adjacent to the  building in Monument Square.

Ricker Hill is following in the footsteps of Sweetgrass, Oxbow and Cellardoor in setting up tasting rooms in town to reach a larger market more directly. Another good example is Black Dinah which moved their entire production facility from Isle au Haut to Westbrook.

BRGR Bar has submitted a floor plan of the restaurant as part of their liquor license application.

BRGR Bar owner Phelps Craig has leased the former Margaritas on Brown Street. She already operates a BRGR Bar in Portsmouth, NH.

Brea Lu Cafe has signed a lease for 9 Westbrook Street in Westbrook, the former location of Thanksgivings.

According to a report from the Press Herald, owner Christian DeLuca hopes to open in August.

DeLuca said Brea Lu’s menu will be “exactly the same” as it was on Forest Avenue, featuring breakfast and lunch dishes. The restaurant will have its own parking lot, which the Forest Avenue location did not, and about the same amount of seating, at least at first.

You can see a video of the current interior of the space on Brea Lu’s facebook page.

Urban Eye has posted an update on the BRGR Bar which is slated to open on Brown Street in the former Margarita’s space later this summer.

A Portsmouth restaurateur closed on the first floor of the shuttered Margaritas in downtown Portland Wednesday. The grassfed-adult-milkshake-themed BRGR Bar is expected to open on Brown Street in late August. “We are excited by the location and getting to know Portland better,” said Carolyn Gregory, director of operations.

For more information on BRGR Bar see their instagram account, website, and facebook page.

Elaine Alden and Thomas Takashi Cooke have leased 54 Washington Ave, the space next to Terlingua, where they plan to open Izakaya Minato (instagram). Minato is the Japanese word for “port”.

The couple moved to Portland late last year from San Francisco where Cooke had been the head chef at Tsunami, a sushi restaurant. They recently completed a 3-month stay in Japan where he staged at an Izakaya restaurant in Tokyo called Tsumamina.

Alden and Cooke are aiming to create “a fun, casual place to go gather with friends for drinks and food” for dinner, and may also serve lunch.

Izakaya Minato will be joining to a number of new restaurants and other food businesses on Washington Ave including that have opened in the last couple of year: Oxbow Brewing, Terlingua, Hardshore Distilling (under construction), Drifter’s Wife, Maine & Loire, Flying Fox Juice Bar (under construction), and Roustabout.

Chef David Mallari, owner of The Sinful Kitchen and The Pig Kahuna, has announced plans to take over 953 Congress Street where he will open Salty Sally’s Bar and Grille (facebook) in June.

What will the menu be like?
This will be a bar and grille type place. Very casual with some new dishes and old stand-bys. Most importantly there will be a FULL bar with 4 taps! There is a sample menu on our Facebook page.

What will the hours be like?
To start we will most likely be open 7 days a week. 4-Close weekdays and 12-Close weekends. We will be adding lunch hours as we get settled.

Mallari has posted a draft menu on facebook.

For additional reporting on Salty Sally’s read this article from the Press Herald.