Bread and Olive

Bread & Olive (facebook, instagram) is making progress towards an opening day at their location at the corner of Valley and Congress Streets. Owner Sarah Martin, who also operates the Bar of Chocolate Cafe on Wharf Street, is renovating the space formerly occupied by The 5 Spot to bring the new establishment to her neighborhood.

Bread & Olive will seat approximately 40 customers with a 9-seat bar and a collection of 4-top tables as well. Here’s a look at the draft menu (below). In addition Martin plans to serve daily specials such as chili, cioppino fish stew, salmon tacos, pizzettes, spinach and mushroom quiche, a mixed greens salad with pecans, blue cheese and sweet onions.

1820 Brewing Company

A new non-alcoholic brewery called 1820 Brewing Company (website, facebook, instagram) is soon to launch.

The Portland-based brewery produces four beers, a raspberry sour, an American pale ale, an IPA, and a blond ale. All four are available in six-packs. The beers are being distributed by  Nappi and Pine State, and are already on the shelves at the UFO Store in Naples. 1820 hopes to see their products on bottle shop shelves and on restaurant and bar menus across New England.

1820 is an independently operated business. It’s been founded by Alan Lapoint who also owns DL Gearys Brewing which he bought from David and Karen Geary in 2017. Lapoint shared that he is, “excited about the mission of this new company and its focus on the NA market, which is growing by triple digits nationally”.

Brea Lu Cafe Moving

Brea Lu Cafe (website, facebook, instagram) has announced they’ve leased a new space at 100 Larrabee Road in Westbrook. The new location will seat 170 people—up from 45 at their current location—and will include an in-house bakery as well.

Thank you for being soooooo patient. Here is your payoff. Our new space is located at 100 Larrebee Rd Westbrook. We finally signed a lease. We’re extremely excited. We are going from 45 seats to 170. Hopefully you’ll never wait again. Also we will be having a bakery inside the restaurant. We will also be welcoming Heather Norton back to our restaurant. She will be our full time baker. So looks like the gang is getting back together. I’m so excited. Dear Westbrook We Love You. We Could Never Leave You.

Brea Lu was originally located at 428 Forest Ave. After a fire in their building they relocated in 2016 to their current spot at 9 Cumberland Street in Westbrook.

Update: the Larrabee Road move fell through, according to a report from the Press Herald the owners are now in talks to move to a different spot in Westbrook.

Karibu Kwetu on Saint John Street

A new bar and lounge called Karibu Kwetu is under development at 263 Saint John Street in the space adjacent to Burundi Star Coffee. Karibu Kwetu is a Swahili expression that means “welcome to our place”.

The owners are Antoine Bikamba, Thierry Mugabe, and Bertrand Muguberi. Bikamba is from Rwanda and is a co-founder of 207 Bar and Restaurant on Cumberland Ave. Both Mugabe and Muguberi are from Burundi.

Keg and Kraken on Congress St

A new restaurant called Keg and Kraken (instagram) is under construction in the former Kushiya Benkay spot at 653 Congress Street. Owners Jiraphon and Steve Richards along with Nisachuan Young plan to do some light renovations and hope to open in July.

Keg and Kraken will continue to serve sushi and the menu will be augmented to include Thai dishes and tiki-style cocktails.

The Richards own a laudromat in Biddeford. Nisachuan Young has experience in the hospitality business in Thailand where she was the assistant director of food and beverage at the Four Seasons Hotel in Samui as well as the manager of Luca Cafe in Maine.

Kushiya Benkay quietly shut down operations in late May.

Riverton Station on Forest Ave

A new 40-seat restaurant called Riverton Station (facebook) is in the final stage of construction at 1569 Forest Ave. As part of the cover letter for their liquor license application owners James and Peter Hoglund shared

The restaurant will bring a great open, safe and convenient atmosphere for all ages to enjoy…The menu revolves around pizza and grill type offerings. There will be a mealoption for everyone in the family to enjoy at a price point that they can enjoy often. We hope this will bring some of the history and life back into Riverton and help it evolve into the focal point or center of the community for years to come.

Here’s a look at the draft menu for Riverton Station.

Two New Breweries: Newscapes and Idiomatic

Maine beer fans will have two more breweries to choose from.

Newscapes Brewing (website, facebook, instagram) recently launched in Portland. The brewery was launched by Jeff Curran and is located at 163 Washington Ave. You can learn more about their line-up of beers on their website. They’re open Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 8 pm.

A new brewery called Idiomatic Brewing (website, instagram) is under development. The founders have a decade of combined industry experience in Maine and elsewhere. Their first three beers will be Ninety in the Shade (4.6%, lager), Missed the Boat (6.2%, American IPA), Sliced Bread (6.3%, dubbel-style ale). Launch timing and location details are still TBD.

Queenie’s Castle in Deering Oaks

A new business called Queenie’s Castle is under construction in Deeering Oaks Park. It will have indoor seating and tables outside on the front and side decks.

Owner Victoria Queenie Thayer is launching a deli and soft serve ice shop in the historic building and has applied for a wine and beer license.

The draft menu supplied with the liquor license application (see pages 146-148) include items like lobster rolls, grilled cheese sandwiches, burgers and kid’s lunch boxes. The ice cream menu includes soft serve dish and cones plus sundaes, parfaits, frappes and a banana boat supreme.

Restaurant Real Estate: June 2022

Welcome to the June 2022 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company. This monthly column gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers/retailers to locate their next business.

Even during the pandemic many people are pursuing their dreams and opening new food businesses. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this new resource will make that step just a little bit easier.

West End

156 State St – 5,250 sq ft of space on the first floor of the Portland Club is available for $14/sq ft (NNN).

235 Vaughan St – the 700 sq ft space most recently occupied by Other Side Deli and which had been the longtime home of Vaughan Street Variety is for lease. Call (207) 650-0846 for more information.

Arts District

554 Congress St – 1,621 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space with hood for $2,301/month (NNN).

642 Congress St – the former Ada’s space is available to sublet; 2,569 sq ft (MG).

643/647 Congress St – 1,107 – 5,016 sq ft of space near Longfellow Square is available for $20/sq ft (MG).

649 Congress St – this 3,000 sq ft space is available for $22/sq ft (MG).

Bayside

15 Chestnut St – the 14,000 sq ft building that was the former home of Grace is for sale for $3,730,000.

31 Diamond St – this 2,800 – 22,034 sq ft industrial space in East Bayside is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).

178 Kennebec St – a 2,644 sq ft space on the first floor of a new building in West Bayside is available for $30/sq ft (NNN).

65 Portland Street – the beautiful restaurant space that was home to Back Bay Grill for 34 years is available; 2,750 sq ft for $25/sq ft (MG).

24 Preble St – the former Arcadia space is available; 2,835 sq ft for $20/sq ft (NNN).

Old Port

1 Commercial St – the original location of Benkay at the corner of Commercial and India Streets is available. The 2,494 sq ft is for lease at $35/sq ft (NNN).

383 Commercial St – 1,639 – 3,487 of retail space on Commercial Street for $28/sq ft (NNN).

40 Free St – the new building constructed by JB Brown has four storefronts ranging in size from 1,358 to 3,067 sq ft for $30/sq ft (NNN).

38 Market St – a 1,200 subterranean space near the intersection with Milk Street for $1,175/month (MG).

55 Market St – this 3,700 sq ft space on Market Street was formerly occupied by the Big Easy. It’s available for $24/sq ft (NNN).

75 Market St – the 5,474 sq ft space on the corner of Market and Middle Streets occupied by Rambler’s Way is for lease for $37/sq ft (MG).

1 Monument Square – 1,500 sq ft of first floor space for $3,125/month (MG).

25 Pearl St – 1,689 sq ft former Subway space available for $30/sq ft (MG).

66 Pearl St – 5,796 sq ft of space—the former Bull Moose retail shop—is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).

15 Temple St – the 2,086 sq ft space formerly occupied by Bubble Maineia is available for $26/sq ft (MG).

41 Wharf St – the former Jager space is available; 1,107 sq ft for $43/sq ft (MG).

42 Wharf St – this 3,770 sq ft space in the Old Port includes a 2,000 sq ft patio, $45/sq ft (MG).

India/Washington Ave

100 Fore St – 1,914 sq ft of space that the listing says is “ideally suited for a restaurant use” is available for $30/sq ft.

5 India St – 1,250 – 2,500 sq ft for $35/sq ft (NNN) in a new building under construction near the intersection with Commercial St.

83 Middle St – 1,480 sq ft of retail space is available in the new building being constructed across the street from Eventide; $30/sq ft (NNN)

Forest Ave

500 Forest Ave – a 1,500 – 3,200 sq ft space is currently occupied by Starbird. It’s available for $16/sq ft (MG).

945 Forest Ave – the former Photo Market building is for sale for $995,000.

Other

441 Congress St – The 2,400 sq ft former home of Guitar Grave across the street from 1 Monument Square is available for $20/sq ft.

1020 Congress St – a 3,375 service station that is going to be “redeveloped as part a planned mixed use development”. The finished space will be available for $18/sq ft (NNN).

155 Riverside St – the Season’s Bar & Grille and Banquet Center is for lease. The 23,750 sq ft facility includes parking and all furniture, fixtures and equipment.

240 Saint John St – 2,400 sq ft in Union Station Plaza for $14/sq ft (NNN).

Northgate Shopping Center – 2,200 to 5,700 sq ft of space is available.

Westgate Shopping Center – four spaces are for lease at $18-40/sq ft (NNN).

Biscuits & Co, Biddeford – Biscuits & Co closed on October 16th and the business and equipment is for sale. Contact Biscuitsandcompany@gmail.com for more information.

Other Spaces – some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for the latest information.

Glossary

MG – Modified Gross which indicates that the operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the lease rate. The tenant would pay its own utilities, which sometimes includes heat.

NNN – Triple Net which indicates that operating expenses are not included in the lease rate, and the tenant will pay them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) charges and taxes, which are expressed as $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.

Gross – Gross indicates all expenses including utilities are included in the lease rate. The tenant would be responsible for phone and internet access, as well as interior janitorial.