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New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:
- Lady Oyster (website, instagram) owner Virginia Shaffer has renovated a space (above left) at 1 Shaw Street in Bath where she plans to open a 4-seat raw bar called The Parlor (instagram). Shaffer envisions it as an oyster tasting room and market where customers can try oyster flights along with a glass of wine and homemade bread, and can also pick-up some oysters to enjoy at home. Each week The Parlor will feature oysters from three of Maine’s 150 oyster farms and a set of three new wines. Shaffer expects to launch The Parlor on May 1st. You can read more about the development of the business on the Lady Oyster website.
- A new restaurant called Shamee in Maine (instagram) in under development in downtown Bangor. Shamee will serve Levantine cuisine. Owner Abdullah Al-Fdeilat has been operating on a pop-up basis out of the Korean Dad space in Veazie but their new restaurant will be located at 23 Hammond Street in a space formerly occupied by Bahar Restaurant.
- Morning Moose (website, facebook, instagram) held the grand opening for their new coffee shop in Topsham today. It’s located at 11 Main Street and is open today 6 am to 6 pm. Their menu includes a full line-up of brewed and espresso coffee drinks, specialty lattes, donuts, breakfast sandwiches and some other baked goods.
- A new wood-fired pizzeria called Bambino’s Kitchen (website, facebook, instagram) opened earlier this month in Scarborough serving a wide ranging menu of pizza, sandwiches, burgers, pasta and appetizers. They’re located in the space formerly occupied by Burano’s. Bambino’s is open daily, 11 am – 8 pm (until 9 pm on Friday/Saturday).
- WJBQ reports that a new restaurant called Fletcher’s Tavern (facebook, instagram) has opened in the former Wessie’s Den spot in Westbrook. Wessie’s Den closed in late October.
- Ted’s Fried Clams is under new ownership and will be relaunching in Shapleigh. Ted’s originally launched in 1950 and closed in 2023 after operating under three generations of the Mavrakos family. New owners Joe Christopher, Rob Orr, Matt Orr, and Roger Zeghibe plan to relaunch Ted’s on May 1st. According to a facebook post announcing the news, “The reopened Ted’s will feature classic menu items, vintage recipes, take-out, and lunch counter service. It will also offer new healthy options, including fresh salads and vegan dishes from Veggie Life Foods of Wells, Maine. Ted’s plans to add a full bar and improved ordering technology. The revival will also bring dozens of jobs back to the Shapleigh area.”
- Blue Ox Malthouse in Lisbon Falls won medals at the 2026 Malt Cup awards run by the Craft Maltsters Guild. Up against other malt houses from North America and around the globe, Blue Ox took home the silver medal in the Light Munich category, the bronze medal in the Pilsen category, and the silver medal in the Unique Malt category for their Golden Triticale malt. Blue Ox was founded in 2014 and produces products using a traditional floor malting process.
- Two Maine cheese makers are featured in the March issue of Food & Wine. Lakin’s Gorges Cheese Rockweed cheese which has “a ribbon of powdered seaweed running through it” and the Applewood Cold Smoked Ricotta from Crooked Face Creamery in Skowhegan.
- An interactive staged dinner called tender (tickets) will be taking place over six nights in Rockland this April. As described by the organizers “tender is a night of exploration – presenting themes of comfort, discomfort, belonging, safety, autonomy, and selfhood through the lenses of space, place, food, and collective creation. The evening will emerge through constructed spaces that actively change and shift, evoking various public and private places, each with their own implications of belonging and acceptance. The food itself will serve as a bridge to childhood memories, ideas of ascribed value, and culturally informed moments of uncertainty.” Tender is the creation of Aaron T. Stephan, Gabriela Acero along with chef Brent Foster, designer Alexa Stark, ceramicist Bea Willemsen, and music by Amy Stacey Curtis and Henry Redman.
- Natalie’s in Camden is holding a series of Indonesian dinners and related classes starting this weekend and through the middle of March. They include a Martini Masterclass taught by acclaimed bartender Trevin Hutchins, a cooking class by Alfie Jerome Mossadeg and dinners February 28 and March 5, 7, 12 and 14. For more information see the Natalie’s website.
- Seaweed in the News: Maine Startup Insider has published an article about the frozen cookie dough company Buba OG which is run by marine scientist Jessie Muhlin. One of the Buba OG products incorporates dulse, nori and sea lettuce into the dough. The Bangor Daily News has published an article about the kelp kimchi produced by Red Kettle Foods in Belfast.
- The Harpswell Anchor has published an article about Baked on Maine, the new restaurant that opened in Brunswick in early January.
- Seven new entries have been added to the Maine Food Map: the Crooked Spoon Company in Thomaston, Panacea in Wiscasset, J&J Jamaican in Warren, Yu Takeout in Hancock, Enzo Benzo in Eliot, Lemon Bar in Rockland, and The Purple House in North Yarmouth. Our guide on Where to Eat in Maine now has 102 entries representing 50+ communities from all of Maine’s sixteen counties. A recent post of ours on instagram included photos from Sassafrass Cafe, Marmee Dearest Espresso, Cafe Grazie, Panacea, Enzo Benzo, Yu Takeout and Bon Vent Cider. Keep sending in your recommendations for places we should visit, share on social media and add to the list.
For a statewide guide to eating and drinking see the Maine Food Map—a growing list of coffee shops, bars, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, plus other food and dining businesses in all of Maine’s 16 counties.