Eater Maine spotted this Facebook post by Little Jamaica on a new food truck they have in development.
Little Jamaica is also adding a second food cart to their fleet which will be located in Old Orchard Beach. In addition to presumably serving food, the owner plans to use the truck as the “mother ship on the move keeping carts supplied”.
A new Chinese restaurant named Pia Shang Sichuan Kitchen is now under construction in the former Anna’s Used Furniture & Collectibles at 612 Congress Street opposite the State Theater. Owners Qi Shen and Qiong Fang Tan have applied for a full liquor license. Pia Shang will occupy 2 floors of the building with the kitchen and a second dining room on the 2nd floor.
The draft menu (page 51) supplied with the liquor license application includes items such as Pork in Lychee Sauce with Crispy Rice, and Boiled Fish Slices in Fiery Sauce.
The owners hope to open the restaurant this Fall.
See the PFM Under Construction page for list of other restaurants currently under development.
A new African restaurant called Chez Okapi is under construction at 249 Saint John Street in the space formerly occupied by Taqueria Tequila. Owner Raphael Kabata has applied for a full liquor license.
You can see a copy of the draft menu on pages 65-66 of the City Council meeting materials.
Kabata hopes to open Chez Okapi later this Fall.
The Veranda Group has applied for a liquor license for the new restaurant they have under construction on Commercial Street. The Veranda Noodle House will be located in the former Salt Exchange space. Owner Hai Pham plans to serve a mixed menu off Thai and Vietnamese dishes. You can see a draft menu on pages 29-33 of the City Council materials for Wednesday’s meeting.
The longtime Dogfish Cafe space at the corner of Congress and Saint John Streets is now under development as a new restaurant called 953 Congress Street.
Dogfish Cafe had been sold to a couple of employees sometime in 2014 and in early 2015 they renamed the restaurant “Union Station Publyk House”. It’s not clear whether this is a new venture entirely or just a redesign and rebranding.
Today’s Press Herald has a report on plans for a five-story building planned for the corner of High and York Streets—the current location of El Rayo.
The one-level structure that currently houses El Rayo, a traditional Mexican cantina, and the adjacent building that once housed the El Rayo Cantina will be torn down to make way for the new development, according to Veroneau.
“We don’t know at this point but certainly if El Rayo wants to be part of the project we’d love to have them,” Veroneau said.
El Rayo’s owners did not respond to several attempts to reach them Monday.
According to Facebook post on Sunday by Eat Maine, El Rayo is “closing for good at the end of September“.
Update: El Rayo has put out a press release confirming that they’ll be closing their York Street location at the end of September and will be holding a “Farewell Fiesta” on September 26th and 27th.
2nd Update: the Bangor Daily News has published an article about the transition of this space as well.
The Press Herald reports that the owners of Veranda Thai have leased the former Salt Exchange space on Commercial Street.
It’s unclear whether the owners of Veranda Thai and Veranda Noodle Bar, located across the street from each other on Portland’s Veranda Street, are opening a third restaurant also named Veranda Thai, or just moving the Veranda Thai at 9 Veranda St. to a new location.
The former Vespucci’s space at 211 Danforth has been under construction for sometime. It was slated to become a new restaurant named Blackbird. Owner Keith Hickman has decided to shelve the Blackbird project and will instead be leasing 211 Danforth out.
There are a number of chefs and food retail entrepreneurs currently searching for space for their projects so it has the potential to find a new occupant rather quickly.
Urban Eye and the Press Herald have posted updates on Ocho, the new burrito shop that’s being built at 654 Congress Street by the owners of Otto Pizza.
OCHO (which means eight in Spanish in case your lingo is a little rusty) won’t be your college co-ed’s burrito joint. “We’re interested in expanding the idea of what a burrito can be, and what can be in a burrito,” said Shepherd. “On any given day, there will a handful of specialty burritos to choose from. A few days later, you may see a completely different set of burritos.” [UE]
Nicholas Nappi and Garry Bowcott are developing a new restaurant. The concept is a “re-imagining of the classic soda fountain”.
Nappi and Bowcott are part of the Local 188 restaurant group. They are actively looking for a space with help from Jay Villani and real estate agent Joe Malone.