Category: Under Construction

As part of a larger article on waterfront real estate, the Press Herald reports that Kings Head LLC has leased a ground floor space in the Pierce Atwood building where it plans to open a gastro-pub.

CBRE-The Boulos Co. announced this week that King’s Head LLC has a lease for a 2,250-square-foot gastro-pub serving high-quality beer and food. King’s Head currently operate pubs in Stowe, Vt., and Athens, Ga., and plans to open its Portland restaurant in September, according to CBRE.

When contacted Wednesday, Justin O’Connor, a partner in King’s Head, said that, for marketing purposes, he is not granting interviews until the pub is ready to open.

Aurora Provisions (facebook) and Broadturn Farm (website, facebook) are teaming up to launch an urban farm stand in Portland. The farm stand will sell flowers and vegetables from Broadturn. Upcoming renovations to the back corner of Aurora will build the stand right into the dining area of the West End upscale eatery and catering business.

According to a report from Maine a la Carte, a new wine bar is in the works for the former Dante’s space in One City Center.

She declined to name the tenant because the lease is not yet signed, but did say that the wine bar would not have a full kitchen; the menu will be limited to “olives, cheese nuts – food to accompany wine and beer.” Wine courses may also be offered, she said.

A separate source emailed yesterday to pass on the news that Once City Center is planning on re-purposing some of the retail space in their food court as office space and so has given notice to some of the food vendors.

Two Portland restaurants under construction were on the agenda for last night’s meeting of the Historic Preservation Board:

• Chris Gould has a proposal to renovate 414 Fore Street (where Dana Street connects Fore and Wharf Streets) for the new restaurant he has under development. According to the documentation, the restaurant will be located on the bottom two floors of the building.
• Empire is planning new signage for 575 Congress Street. The design is reminiscent of the sign that was in place during the early 20th Century when a prior Chinese restaurant called Empire had occupied the space. Edward Hopper may have  incorporated the original sign in his 1929 painting Chop Suey.

Additionally, the May issue of Dispatch contains an article entitled “The Great Restaurant Boom” which includes a brief profile of Portland Hunt and Alpine Club among others. The article isn’t yet available online.

Wannawaf (website, facebook, twitter) is under construction at 15 Monument Square in the space formerly occupied by Cobblestones.

Owner Anya Arsenault (aka Waffle Girl) opened the original Wannawaf in Boothbay in 2003 and is planning to launch Wannawaf Portland in June where, as you might have guessed from the name, waffles will be the signature dish.

The menu will include options like the Sweet Jams waffle, “peanut butter, aged cheddar, and bacon waffle with a tart fruit jam for dipping”, and the Cheeky Monkey waffle, “vanilla ice cream, fresh banana, Nutella, whipped cream and coconut”.

Wannawaf will be open late night and plans on doing takeout.

The Portland & Rochester Public House is under development at 120 Preble Street, the former location of G&R DiMillo’s. Renovations of the building, including a new deck, are underway and owner Garrett Fitzgerald is hoping to open sometime in mid-June with a menu of bistro and pub style dishes.

The Eatery is named for the Portland & Rochester Railroad which ran through Bayside on its way to the Grand Trunk Terminal.

Fitzgerald moved to Portland from Bar Harbor where he still runs the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound. He had also been a co-owner of the Dog & Pony Tavern.

A Mexican food truck called El Corazon (website, facebook, twitter) is in the final stages of development having passed their inspection on Thursday, and are planning on having an official launch this Sunday on Cinco de Mayo.

The Urtuzuastegui family moved to Portland last year from California. Chef Joseph Urtuzuastegui plans on serving a menu of “traditional Mexican dishes such as baja style fish tacos, Sonoran hot dogs and many more regional specialties.”

They hope to set-up on Commercial Street near the Ocean Gateway Terminal. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter to keep informed of where the truck is located.

The Forecaster interviewed the owners of Union Bagel as part of an article about the development taking place in East Bayside.

One of the newest is Union Bagel Co., which is now preparing to open its doors at 147 Cumberland Ave. early next month.

Bagel-makers Paul Farrell and Toby Alves are renovating the 500-square-foot space, formerly the site of Katie Made Bakery. Farrell launched Union Bagel last year at the Public Market House in Monument Square, but the demands of the shoestring business forced him to put it on hold last fall.

Wicked Good Truck (Facebook, Twitter) will be running a pair of food trucks in Portland and on Peaks Island this Spring. Owner Nate Underwood hopes to launch the Portland truck sometime in early May, and the Peaks Island truck later in the month. There will be a fixed location for the Peaks truck near the ferry; Wicked Good in Portland is expected to be more of a mobile operation.

Adam Alfter, who many of you will remember as the chef/owner of Deux Cochon, is heading up the culinary staff. The final menu is still under development but they’re aiming for broad appeal, anything from scrapple to lighter/healthier options.

Underwood is hoping that Wicked Good Truck can do its part to expand the choices for moderately priced fare on Peaks. He’s also looking to this new business to give his three kids the opportunity to learn what’s involved in launching and running a business.