Category: Under Construction

Eli Shapiro along with business partners Jay Town from New York and James Duhamel from Falmouth have leased the former Binga’s Stadium location where they plan to open a restaurant and cocktail bar called Free Street (instagram). Free Street looks forward to being a go to location for diners looking to grab a meal before or after events at the Cross Insurance Arena, and to also be a destination for Portlanders and visitors regardless of their evening plans. Shapiro is a former Boston-based bartender who will be Free Street’s co-owner and general manager.

The 17,000 square foot space is currently under renovation. The interior will be a blend of the former Binga’s Stadium layout plus wall murals by Max Erwin and Alexis Wells, some new furnishings, taxidermy, rainbow colored epoxy floor designs, and sculpture to create a truly  unique space.  For a quick take on the vibe they’re aiming for read this recent instagram post.

The first floor will feature a bar and lounge with seating for 175+ people. Additionally Free Street will have a large basement performance space where Free Street plans to showcase local and national talent that focuses on original music.

Chef Josh Carraha will be serving a menu of casual pub-style food, Shapiro has plans for a draft cocktail program along with novel house-made ice cube. Both the cocktail and food menus are currently under development so stay tuned for more details. One drink sure to be on the menu is the Recess which is garnished with an ice cream sandwich.

Bard Coffee is opening second Portland coffee shop. It will be located in the first floor of the new Sun Life Insurance building currently under construction in the Portland Foreside development in the East End.

The new Bard will have similar range of coffee and food offerings to their original café on Middle Street plus an expanded focus on tea. The space will feature a long bar, a takeout window, window-facing counter seating, tables and possibly a partitionable space for meetings or events. The construction plans for Bard 2.0 are still a little bit in flux but owner Bob Garver hopes to open have it open by mid-year in 2022.

A growing number of restaurants and other food businesses have been opening east of India Street as new buildings have sprouted up in the area. Other new food businesses in the area are Helm, Navis Cafe, Speckled Ax, Evo X, the Bard Coffee food truck and Grippy Tannins. The list will expand quite a bit once the Portland Foreside food hall launches.

The Press Herald reports that Soul Food Paradise will be moving into the food court at the Maine Mall.

The owner of Soul Food Paradise, a Portland takeout restaurant now operating out of Fork Food Lab in Portland, has signed a three-year lease with the Maine Mall food court and will be moving his business into the spot formerly occupied by national chain Arby’s.

A new market cafe and catering business called Sarah’s Farmstand Kitchen (facebook) is under development and owner Rachel Chiasson hopes to launch the business later this month.

For the initial menu Chiasson will be serving a takeout menu of rice bowls. Options will include Autumn Harvest (marinated kale crisp apple, charred root vegetables, nuts, maple dijon) and Three Bean (garlic black beans, fried chickpeas, edamame, roast corn, charred peppers, spicy cilantro sauce). All bowls come with a choice of shredded chicken, sliced beef, chopped shrimp or sticky tofu.

In addition to meals to go Chiasson plans to sell produce from the farms she buys from and in doing so expand the market for locally grown foods. The launch of Sarah’s Farmstand Kitchen is the culmination of Chiasson’s long term ambition to run her own business after working for many years in the hospitality industry.

Sarah’s will be located at the Urban Farm Fermentory in East Bayside. It will be open Thursday through Saturday, 3 to 8 pm.

 

Atsuko Fujimoto has leased 469 Stevens Ave where she plans to relocate Norimoto Bakery (website, instagram) from South Portland. The new location is in the building formerly occupied by Simply Scandinavian Foods in Deering Center which is also home to Quality Shop, Rwanda Bean Coffee, Pat’s Meat Market, The Honey Exchange, Elsmere, and other businesses.

Fujimoto is looking forward to having more space for her growing business and to creating a work space uniquely tuned to her way of working and that provides room for her and a growing team to work.

Fujimoto hopes to be fully moved in and open for business in time for the holidays. She’ll be closing down her current location later this month (September 18-19 are the last takeout days) and then opening the new bakery as soon as the build out is complete. The new Norimoto will have a takeout window inspired by old tabako-ya corner tobacco kiosks in Japan.

Ian and Kate Malin have announced the sale of Little Giant to the Gin & Luck hospitality group. Gin & Luck is best know for their Death & Co cocktail bars in New York City, Los Angeles and Denver.

“This is the latest example of how Portland has developed a national reputation in the food and beverage world,” said Ian Malin, who started Little Giant with his wife Kate and partners in 2017 .

“COVID was a blow to the entire restaurant industry,” Kate Malin said. “But we changed and adapted—first with paper plates and takeout out cocktails and then with an all-season outdoor space and a vaccine requirement. Our customers responded enthusiastically and 2021 has been our best year ever. We couldn’t be prouder of the team at Little Giant, and we’re very sad to say goodbye.”

Gin & Luck are still working out the details of the unique name and concept (not a Death & Co branded location) for their location in the West End so stay tuned for updates in the next few weeks. Gin & Luck COO and partner Alex P. Day moved to Portland 2 years ago.

The team’s attraction to Portland is a deeply personal one. Gin & Luck partner and COO, Alex Day, has been a resident of Portland for over two years. “Moving to Portland was transformative for me, both personally and professionally,” says Day. “I’ve found myself not only inspired by the beauty of Maine and all it has to offer, but also by a F&B community that has been incredibly welcoming every step of the way. They’ve blown me away by their deep love of hospitality, culinary creativity and enlightened business practices, and I’m thrilled by the chance to contribute in a small way – to create an establishment unique to Portland and a new F&B expression for our company, and above all, to play a meaningful part in what makes this city such an amazing place to live and visit.” The Gin & Luck team plans to release more information about their vision and timeline in the coming weeks.

“The fact that Gin & Luck chose Little Giant and Portland for their next project says a lot about the food scene in our city,” Ian Malin said. “We are excited to see this commitment from such a well-known and well-respected brand.”

A new food truck called The Portland Board (website, facebook, instagram) is set to launch in September by owner Graham Young. The Portland Board will be operating out of a vintage baby blue 1979 Volkswagon bus.

Young plans to offer both medium and larger sized boards for groups as well as smaller “bites” of pairs of chacuterie options. He also hopes to collaborate with local business with one-off menus that expand beyond The Portland Board’s focus on chacuterie.

Young started working in restaurants when he was 11-years-old and “quickly developed a love for the fast pace and hard work which always stayed with me”. He’s worked in the cannabis industry for the last decade in Maine and California. Since he’s moved back to Maine has been inspired by the food community here and the food truck is a way of connecting with it.

Phil Rosenthal and crew are in Maine this week filming an episode of his Netflix show Somebody Feed Phil.

Over the next 6 days they are planning on visiting a number of establishments in Portland, Biddeford and the Midcoast. The episode will be part of the 5th season of Somebody Feed Phil. A release date hasn’t been set yet.