Category: Under Construction

The Bangor Daily News has published an update on Farm Truck Juice.

Focused on farm-direct purchases, founder Walter Loeman says the stand will source from 30 Maine farms in season. Organic apples, blueberries, kale and carrots grown from Palermo to Dresden to Camden will be blended with more exotic fruit such as kiwi and roots like ginger. The oranges in his sunny bunny concoction will hail from down south. “We will have six or seven proprietary drinks,” said Loeman, who is no stranger to the Portland food scene.

Restaurateur Walter Loeman who founded Walter’s, Perfetto’s, Mazza, Cotton Street Cantina and several other restaurants is part of the cooperative team launching Farm Truck Juice(facebook, website, twitter, instagram).

Erik Desjarlais has leased 4 School Street in Freeport where he’ll be opening the Intervale Mercantile Co. later this year. This will be the first brick and mortar retail shop for the business since he launched in 2011.

The 900 square foot space will house the Weft & Warp/Intervale workshop and a retail shop for Erik’s knife rolls, aprons, leather products and his line of men’s grooming products. The shop will also feature knives from bladesmiths around the country, vintage chefs knives and tools as well as other products that fit with the overall concept.

For more information on Weft & Warp/Intervale check out their website and instagram page.

El Rayo will be reopening at 26 Free Street in the space currently occupied by Papier Gourmet, according to a report from the Press Herald.

“It’s a beautiful space,” [co-owner Tod] Dana said. “We will be applying to the city to build a deck off the back of it. That was something I was really excited about, to continue to have a an outdoor experience as part of the business. This space has a bright, sunny southern exposure off the back.”

Need to get caught-up on all the new places in development? Check out the our Under Construction list for the latest details.

Update: For more information on El Rayo’s move to Free Street see this report from the Bangor Daily News.

A number of food and drink busineses have already announced plans to locate at Thompson’s Point. Cellardoor is opening a 5,000 sq ft tasting room, Stroudwater Spirits is building a distillery, Jason Loring has plan to launch a seafood shack called The Point, and artist Sam Van Aken plans to install a grove of his grafted Trees of 40 Fruits.

Sharp-eyed watchers have noticed that the overall site plan on the Planning Board website also reserve space for 10,000 sq ft brewery and a 125 room hotel and restaurant.

A new wine bar called Vinbar is now under development at 3 Deering Ave in the space vacated by Tawakal Store in Bramhall Square.

co-owners Colleen Callahan, David Levi and Robert Swain intend to serve a line-up of natural wines accompanied by “food items that are thoughtfully made, and do so at an accessible price point.” They plan to serve breakfast and lunch and anticipate their customers will come from the surrounding neighborhood as well as Maine Med and staff from other nearby businesses.

The draft menu (page 63) supplied with Vinbar’s liquor license application includes items like buckwheat galettes, smoked fish pate as well as grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers and fish chowder. They plan to be open 7 days a week.

David Levi is the chef/owner of Vinland.

Vinbar is the second natural wine bar project that’s been announced. Last month, Maine & Loire made public there plans to launch Drifter’s Wife on Wahington Ave.

Lee Farrington is planning to renovate 249 Congress Street, the home of her former restaurant Figa, where she and her wife plan to open a new restaurant called LB Kitchen(instagram). They hope to open LB Kitchen sometime early next year.

The restaurant is billed as “a modern cafe”, but specific details on concept, menu, etc are at present still tbd. It’s great to hear that Farrington will be running another restaurant and that the former Figa location is going back into productive use.

 

The Forecaster has published an article about Foulmouthed Brewing(twitter, instagram) which is under development in South Portland.

A Portland couple unveiled plans this week for the first brewery in Knightville, and only the second in the city. 

Pending approval from the Planning Board, which is scheduled to hold its first hearing on the proposal Tuesday, Oct. 13, Craig and Julia Dilger’s Foulmouthed Brewing will open in a building that was once an auto garage at the corner of Ocean and A streets. 

Julia and Craig Dilger are holding a casual meet and greet this evening at CIA Cafe to talk about the new brewpub they have under development in the Knightsville neighborhood of South Portland.

The business is called Foulmouthed Brewery(twitter, instagram). It’s located at 15 Ocean Street and they hope to open in June.

Empire Chinese Kitchen co-owner Todd Bernard and Otto Pizza co-owner Mike Keon have formed a company. Bernard tells me that they have ideas for a “couple bar and restaurant concepts” and are at the very early stages on their first project.

More details will become available in the next couple months.