Under Construction: Old Port Spirits and Cigars

Old Port Wine Merchants has bought Down East Beverage and is in the process of converting to a new business to be named Old Port Spirits and Cigars.

We are planning on closing down Old Port Spirits for about a month to clean and renovate, but when we open we hope to/will have the best liquor and beer selection in town! So if there is anything special you want to see, please let us know, we want to carry what you guys want!

Under Construction: Lolita

Maine Today has posted an interview with the owners of Lolita, Guy and Stella Hernandez and Neil Reiter, about their new restaurant.

SA: So you’re going to be doing Italian-inspired food?
GUY: I would say Mediterranean more than Italian. Certainly we all have flavor profiles and dishes that we are attracted to and it is only in retrospect that we say, Oh, those are Italian, Oh, you’re really into those oily fish of North Africa and Spain or the Greek cultures of these slow-cooked foods or whatever it is. All of those things are what we like to eat and we secondarily say those are influences. It’s driven by ‘What do you want to eat? Oh, this is what I like .. Great.’ And that makes it easy for us to say ‘Should this be on the menu? Well would you buy it?

The partners hope to open Lolita (facebook, website) in mid-May.

Under Construction: The Jewel Box

Urban Eye has posted an update on The Jewel Box, a new cocktail bar being launched by Nathaniel Meiklejohn.

For the jaded drinker, who has been there, sipped that, there will be themes.

Take monk night for instance. Meiklejohn will coordinate music (Thelonious) with monk-made liquor like Bénédictine and chartreuse.

These herbal elixirs developed in 17th and 19th century France make prohibition cocktails sound quaint.

Visit thebeardedladysjewelbox.com for news and to sign-up for the bar’s mailing list.

Under Construction: Maps Cafe, Bonfire, Arcadia National Bar

Three new ventures are up in front of the City Council Monday for their liquor license applications. Here are all the details:

  • Maps Cafe is going into the subterranean spot formerly occupied by Carman’s Cafe.  Owner Kyle Tzrinske is aiming for a “European feel whilst focusing local Maine produce in a relaxed environment.” A draft menu (page 132) is available online. Maps Cafe hopes to open in June.
  • Bonfire (facebook) is a “country themed establishment” under development by Tanner Herget, owner of 51 Wharf. Bonfire will be located at 37 Wharf in the former home of Seawall. Bonfire will open in May.
  • Arcadia National Bar (twitter, facebook) will be located at 24 Preble Street in space that’s been the longtime home of Slainte. Owners Ben Culver and David Aceto are looking to create an “old-school style arcade with classic gaming titles and pinball machines” that will create a “viable alternative to the traditional night out in Portland”. As for the food and drink, Arcadia will serve local craft beer, a basic cocktail list and pub food. They hope to open in June. For more info on Arcadia see this article on Maine Today.

Pepper Club Moving

Pepperclub has lost there lease and is searching for a new space to relocate to, according to a report from Maine a la Carte.

The Pepperclub/Good Egg Cafe on Middle Street has lost its lease and will be moving to a new location by September.

Mary Ledue Paine, a fixture at the Pepperclub for the last 25 years, and at the original Good Egg before that, says increased competition, rising food costs and high overhead – the restaurant can seat 100 people – have all led to this sad but inevitable conclusion.

For more information see this article from the Bangor Daily News.