Category: Under Construction

The Forecaster reports that Rivalries is working on opening a new 11,400 square foot sports bar in Falmouth.

The proposed restaurant would be a two-story, 11,400-square-foot building with its entrance on Hat Trick Drive. It would seat 192 patrons on the two floors, with 16 bar seats and function spaces upstairs. Seasonal outdoor seating would allow for 32 more patrons.

The lot of almost half an acre is bordered by Clearwater Drive to the east, Farm Gate Road to the south, and the proposed Hat Trick Drive to the north. It is currently undeveloped.

Home Catering Company (website, instagram, facebook) owner Matt Chamberlain has leased the former Miyake Diner space at 129 Spring Street. According to his post on Instagram he’ll be selling prepared foods to go along with beer and wine as well as running his catering operation from that location.

Chamberlain hopes to be open by mid-February.

Urban Eye has posted an update on Unwined.

Inside the soon-to-open Unwined Lounge on Congress Street, hospitality veteran Jared Rice explains. “The idea is to create a relaxed atmosphere where people feel comfortable. There won’t be any riffraff or a rowdy bar scene here,” said Portland’s newest nightlife entrepreneur.

Two more restaurant industry crowdfunding campaigns are seeking support:

• Unwined is trying to raise $20,000  on Kickstarter to complete the wine bar they have under construction at 569 Congress Street.
• Catbird Creamery is trying to raise $60,000 on Indiegogo to support the relocation and expansion of their ice cream business which is currently located on Main Street in Westbrook.

Urban Eye has an update on the restaurant Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier are developing for the Press Hotel.

This we do know, Mark and Clark’s first Portland restaurant is an open kitchen, 65-seater with a bar. The entrance is directly across from City Hall. It won’t be an upscale Italian spot like M.C. Spiedo, which opened in Boston’s Seaport last Feb., or a seafood house like M.C. Perkins Cove, but “a combination of all of our experiences,” said Frasier. They will also be in charge of room service and stocking room mini bars with “cookies and things we love.”

According to the American Journal, On the Vine Marketplace  has bought Dunstan School in Scarborough with plans to turn the restaurant building into a grocery store. On the Vine has an existing store in Exeter NH.

[Co-owner Abel] Schultze said the On the Vine in Exeter employs about 50 people, including trained chefs and bakers, and about one-third of the staff will come to Maine in the spring to help get the Scarborough store up and running.

In addition, Schultze said that either he or Edwards would be on hand locally all week long because they want to “keep in direct touch with our customers.”

Update: for additional information read this article in the BDN.

Maine Craft Distilling (website, twitter, facebook, instagram) has leased the historic Mallet Building on Mill Street in Freeport where they plan to open a tasting room and mixology shop.

Distiller Luke Davidson tells me the new two-story space will increase exposure and retail sales of their spirits and enable MCD to expand into selling cocktail accessories, glassware, shakers, mixers, bitters, books and, of course, MCD-emblazoned merchandise. Davidson also plans to use the Freeport location to host events including ” educational events,evenings of music, book authors and joint events with other area businesses (e.g. spirits and cheese pairings farm to table/flask catered events etc)”.

MCD hopes to open their Freeport store by early January.

Maine & Loire (website, instagram, facebook) owners Orenda and Peter Hale have leased a space at 63 Washington Ave for their new wine store. The couple are aiming to open in early/mid-January.

Photo Credit: Maine & Loire

Karl Deuben and Bill Leavy co-owners of the popular Small Axe food truck are in the final stages of purchasing the East Ender at 47 Middle Street.

Deuben and Leavy will be completing the purchase of the restaurant from Megan Schroeter in January and after some renovation plan to re-open by early March “continuing the commitment to local ingredients and creative, high quality food that our customers have come to expect“. (Hopefully that means the Korean Pork Belly sandwich will make the transition to the East Ender menu.)

The Small Axe food truck is up for sale so they can “give the restaurant our undivided attention“. Prior to running Small Axe, the pair have worked at Miyake, Hugo’s. Bill has also been part of the staff at Back Bay Grill and before moving to Portland Karl worked at Alinea.

Schroeter and then partner Mitch Gerow opened the East Ender nearly 4 years ago. Prior to that it had been the longtime home of Norm’s East End Grill.

See the PFM Under Construction page for a list of other restaurant projects in development.

A new wine shop called Maine & Loire (website, instagram) is now under development.

Maine & Loire will be a retail wine shop in Portland, Maine featuring well-made wines that are expressions of the people who craft them and the places they’re made.  We will be the first store in Portland that solely focuses on terrior-driven wines and spirits from smaller producers.  We’re excited, in particular, about showcasing natural, organic, and biodynamic wines in our store.  Our goal is to create a wine shop where minds are expanded and discoveries are made. Serious wine can be fun!

Owners Peter and Orenda Hale have recently moved to Maine from NYC where they worked in the restaurant industry.

The Hales plan on holding regular Farmer Flight Tastings, running a monthly wine club and providing curbside pick-up service. They are in the final stages of securing a location for the shop and hope to open sometime in early 2015.