Category: Under Construction

Under Construction: Roots Cafe

| Posted in Under Construction

A new gluten-free cafe is under construction in Westbrook. Roots Cafe (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is located across from the fire station at 20 School Street.

Owners Aimee Fortier, Lorraine Fagela, and Faye Wilson plan to serve a menu of sandwiches, soups, salads and crepes. The building features a childcare area run by Green Tree Ministries where kids can play while adults meet up in the cafe. There’s a large roof top deck as well as an outdoor patio on the ground floor.

Roots Cafe is working with Farm House Coffee Roasters in Winterport on a line of house-labeled fair trade organic coffee. The cafe is scheduled to open in early September.

Black Boxes Arrived

| Posted in Under Construction

The custom shipping containers that will be the future homes of The Cheese Shop of Portland (instagram, facebook) and All Those Who Wander(website, facebook, instagram) were installed on Washington Ave earlier today.

The Cheese Shop is planning to open in early September, and ATWW hopes to open in late August/early September.

For more info see these earlier announcements on the two businesses:

Under Construction: Dizzy Bird, Time & Tide

| Posted in Under Construction

Two new businesses are under development in Biddeford:

Dizzy Birds Rotisserie (facebook, instagram) has leased 2,500 sq ft of space at 59 and 65 Main Street where owners Tom and Barb Peacock plan to open 50-seat counter service restaurant in October. Dizzy Bird will serve, ” ‘honest to goodness’ elevated scratch comfort foods [prepared] in small batches all day long. There will be a live carvery featuring rotisserie beef, lamb, pork, turkey and anything else that is delicious off the spit…and hot and cold sides complementing the daily menus. Hand-crafted rotisserie sandwiches, entrees, tossed salads, soups and freshly baked goods will be available daily.” Dizzy Bird also plans to sell prepared food to take-out or finish up at home (e.g. frozen individual and family-sized pot pies).

A new coffee shop and roastery, Time & Tide (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is under construction on lower Maine Street. Co-owners Briana and Campbell and Jon Phillips hope to open sometime in October. Phillips formerly worked as the Director of Specialty Coffee for Dallis Brothers Coffee.  Phillips and Campbell plan to focus on single origin and blended specialty coffee with a focus on making the coffee and coffee house experience more accessible.

Black Box Moving Forward

| Posted in Under Construction

The Cheese Shop of Portland (instagram, facebook) has shared an update that the shipping containers that will house their business and the coffee shop All Those Who Wander(website, facebook, instagram) on Washington Ave, are scheduled to arrive in Portland mid-August.

The Cheese Shop is planning to open in early September, and ATWW hopes to open in late August/early September.

For more info see these earlier announcements on the two businesses:

Strata

| Posted in Under Construction, Openings

A new knife sharpening service called Strata (website, instagram) launched earlier this year. Owner Evan Atwell sharpens knives using a traditional Japanese whetstone process.

Atwell is looking to expand Strata in the coming months to include retail sales of specialty Japanese and French cutlery  and eventually include knives from New England producers as well.

Atwell moved to Portland from California where he worked for the Bi-Rite Market group. He currently works as a butcher at Rosemont Market.

3 Brewery Expansion for Freeport

| Posted in Under Construction, Beer

Three new breweries on Route 1 near Maine Beer Company are in various stages of development.

Brad Nadeau who started developing Stars and Stripes Brewing Co. (website, facebook, instagram) late last year has leased space in Freeport at 8 Varney Road where he plans to open a 2,000 sq ft brewery later this Fall. For more info check out this article in The Forecaster.

Mast Landing (website, facebook, instagram, twitter) is working on a project to build a 6,000 sq ft brewery at 475-491 US Route 1. The new space will include a 2,000 sq ft deck. You may remember, Mast Landing’s owners originally planned to open in Freeport before finding their current building in Westbrook, so this is a homecoming of sorts for the brewery.

A third brewery is being considered for a 15,300 sq ft lot at 392 US Route 1. Details are scarce at this point, but plans do call for a 2-story brewery to built on the site.

Stars and Stripes, Mast Landing and the proposed 3rd brewery will all be located near Maine Beer Company, potentially creating a new beer destination in the Portland area.

Two Lights Plural

| Posted in Under Construction

Hugo’s alum and Old Orchard Beach native son Chase Lovecky will be launching a new restaurant in London called Two Lights (instagram). In addition to Hugo’s Lovecky has worked at Jean George and for David Chang before moving to England and becoming part of the team, and eventually leading the kitchen, at The Clover Club.

Coincidentally, another former member of the Portland restaurant community, Chris Gatchell, moved to Chicago late last year where he helped open a restaurant also called Two Lights (instagram) earlier this summer.