Tuna & Friends Guest Chef Series

| Posted in Events

Mr. Tuna has announced that an all star guest chef series that they’ve organized for 2026. It will bring 11 chefs from 9 states and 1 Canadian province to Maine January through June to collaborate with chef/owner Jordan Rubin on a dinner.

We are thrilled to announce Tuna & Friend a guest chef pop-up dinner series celebrating sustainable seafood! Running from January to June, we’re bringing in chefs from across North America to create an a la carte menu inspired by New England’s natural bounty, with additional dishes shaped by each chef’s own influences. Along the way, visiting chefs will explore Portland’s working waterfront—from Upstream Portland and Bangs Island Mussels to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) and other community treasures—gaining firsthand insight into where Maine’s seafood is sourced and how it’s handled.

Visit the Mr. Tuna OpenTable page to make a reservation for the January 6th dinner with chef Ben Sukle from Oberlin and Gift Horse in Providence.

Upcoming Food & Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Wednesday – Regards is serving a Fest of the Seven Fishes dinner.

Thursday – It’s Christmas Day. Check with your favorite local restaurants to see who may be open. Taj in South Portland will once again be providing free meals to people in need—see this post on instagram for more information.

Saturday – Browne Trading is holding their annual free Champagne and Caviar Tasting.

New Year’s Eve – We’re be putting together a list of special New Year’s Eve food and dining events. New additions will be made as businesses announce their plans.

  • Bistro Leluco (South Portland) – will be serving a 4-course dinner.
  • Catbird (South Berwick) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $84 per person.
  • Chaval (Portland) – will be serving a multi-course dinner; $121.77 (including tip) per person.
  • Canopy Hotel (Portland) – Luna and Salt Yard will be serving NYE special menus along with live music earlier in the evening and a DJ until midnight.
  • Douro (Portland) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $95 per person.
  • Evo (Portland) – will be serving a multi course dinner; $140 per person.
  • Five of Clubs (Portland) – will be offering oysters with caviar and crème fraîche, and bubbles “because why not end the year in style?”⁠
  • Isa Bistro (Portland) – will be serving a 3-course dinner; $120 per person.
  • Knotted Apron (Portland) – will be serving a 5-course dinner with a Champagne toast, and optional wine pairings; $145 per person.
  • Lucky Cheetah (Portland) – will be serving a 7-course dinner with a glass of Champagne; $150 per person.
  • Magissa (Portland) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $80 per person.
  • Magnus on Water (Biddeford) – will be serving 4-course dinner (5 – 9 pm, followed by an after party); dinner is $95 per person
  • Maine Street Bistro (Brunswick) – will be serving a 5-course dinner with a glass of Champagne; $100 per person.
  • Miyake (Portland) – will be serving a 5-course omakase dinner; $130 per person with optional sake pairing for $55.
  • MK Kitchen (Gorham) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $99 per person.
  • Mr. Tuna (Portland) – will be serving an omakase dinner in the former Bar Futo space on Fore Street; $225 per person.
  • Nina June (Rockport) – will be serving a prix fixe dinner; $120 per person.
  • Phoenix Fine Wines (Eastport) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $70 per person with optional $30 wine pairings.
  • Portland Beer Hub (Portland) – will be holding am early evening New Year’s Eve party.
  • Provender (Ellsworth) – will be serving a prix fixe dinner.
  • Pacifico (Saco) – will be serving 3-course dinner; $80 per person.
  • Side Street Cafe (Bar Harbor) – is holding a New Year’s Eve party.
  • Sur Lie (Portland) – will be serving 4-course dinner; $100 per person.
  • The Good Table (Cape Elizabeth) – will be serving a 4-course dinner; $125 per person.
  • The Harpswell Inn (Harpswell) – will be serving a traditional Cantonese New Year dinner; $180 per person.
  • Twelve (Portland) – will be serving a 7-course dinner; $215 per person with optional wine pairings for $120.
  • Woodford F&B (Portland) – will be serving dinner with “plenty of bubbles & festive embellishments”

January 1 – Woodford F&B will be serving a New Year’s Day brunch, as will Douro. and Dolce Amici in Norway. Big Tree Hospitality is holding Baller Brunch at the Local 188 event space.

January 17 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a Coq Au Vin cooking class and Burgundian wine class at Chaval.

January 20 – Turamali (instagram) will be holding a pop-up at Luncheonette.

January 24 – Courtney Loreg from Woodford’s Food & Beverage will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner. Asher Boisvert is teaching a vermouth class at Chaval.

January 30 – Adrian Arvizu from Big Tree Hospitality will be the guest chef at a steakhouse themed Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

February 7 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a pasta & negroni class at Chaval.

February 8 – Ilma Lopez and Damian Sansonetti will be the guest chefs at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner where they’ll celebrate the menu of their former restaurant Piccolo.

February 13 – Devin Finigan from Aragosta on Deer Isle will be the guest chef at a Flanagan Farm Supper Club dinner.

March 1 – Chef Damian Sansonetti will be teaching a Whole Hog Butchery class at Chaval.

March 6 – The Maine Craft Brew Summit is taking place. Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner and President of Russian River Brewing Company, will be the keynote speaker.

Planning a wedding, holding a business event, or hosting visitors from away? Our printed guides are a great resource to help your guests explore the Maine restaurant scene.

The Portland and Midcoast pocket guides are now for sale in packs of 25 on our online store.

Rabelais Winding Down Retail Shop

| Posted in Closings

Don Lindgren has announced he’ll be winding down the Rabelais pop-up bookstore on Washington Ave. Rabelais will be open daily 10 – 5—except Christmas and New Year’s Day—through their last day of operations on January 4th.

When we opened the tiny shop on Washington Avenue in July of 2024, we expected it to be a short-lived pop-up with just a three-month life span. That first few months we had so many great conversations and saw so many friendly faces that we extended our lease an extra fifteen months through the end of this year. The conversations and friends old and new have continued but we’re looking forward to getting back to the cataloguing desk and concentrating on the rare books and our private and institutional clients.

Rabelais will continue selling rare culinary books and ephemera privately, at book fairs, and online at www.rabelaisbooks.com.

Taking over the Rabelais spot on Washington Ave will be Total Loss Books (instagram) which will be run by longtime Rabelais staff member Emma Cousins and by Sam Wells.

JoynaTable

| Posted in Under Construction

Mainebiz has published an article about JoynaTable (website, facebook, instagram). The company founded by Susan Ruhlin has created a service that helps hosts and local guests to connect and organize a shared meal. Think of it like Airbnb for dinner parties—with the added aspiration to bring people together.

Ruhlin shared on the JoynaTable website,

We started JoynaTable because we believe that dining is about more than just eating—it’s about connection, culture, and community. In a world where we’re increasingly isolated, we wanted to create spaces where strangers could become friends over a shared meal. Our founders experienced the magic of home-cooked hospitality while traveling, and realized that these authentic experiences were missing in their own neighborhoods. JoynaTable was born from a simple idea: what if we could bring the warmth of a home-cooked meal and the joy of meaningful conversation to anyone, anywhere?

The business is expected to launch in 2026. You can sign-up for their wait list to get updates when it does.

Softcut Knife Company

| Posted in Openings

Mainebiz has published an article about Softcut Knife Company (website, instagram), a new company founded by Evan Atwell of Strata and Kiran Chapman of Soma Metalwork. The new company produces and sells hand-forged knives.

“Our goal is straightforward,” said Atwell. “Make knives that perform beautifully and are informed by years of selling and servicing many exceptional blades. We expect a wide range of users, from home chefs to industry professionals, and we’ve designed knives to hit the mark for both.”

Tony’s Donut Shop Changes Hands

| Posted in Openings

Longtime staff member Emily Bachelder, has bought Tony’s Donut Shop (website, facebook, instagram, tik tok) from the Fournier family. Bachelder began working at the front counter at age 15 and has worked in a number of roles in the 18 years since.

Bachelder shared that her, “goal is to maintain Tony’s longstanding recipe and tradition of fresh and affordable products to allow customers to continue to enjoy for years to come. The menu will have some changes to meet the needs and requests of our loyal customers while the shop continues to provide YOUR favorites!”

Tony’s will be closed Christmas Day through New Year’s Day for some holiday rest and to give the shop a refresh. They’ll be reopening on January 2nd with a grand reopening scheduled for January 3rd. Starting in January, Bachelder will be adding donut munchkins to the menu, selling coffee in joe-to-go containers and will shift the hours of operation out slightly to 6 am – 2 pm. She also looking for opportunities to wholesale Tony’s donuts to local businesses.

Tony’s was founded in 1965 by Antonio “Tony” Fournier and was run by his son Rick Fournier starting in 2005. It’s been a cornerstone of the neighborhood and a well loved landmark food business in Portland. It is located at 9 Bolton Street just off Congress Street in the Libbytown neighborhood.

Maine Food & Dining News: Auburn, Biddeford, Oxford, Rockport, Camden, Waterville, Gardiner, Newry, Ogunquit

| Posted in Maine

New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know:

  • Katie’s Confections (instagram) is scheduled to open for business today. It’s located at 894 Minot Street in Auburn. The grab-and-go market will have sweet and savory items like cinnamon rolls, donuts and cookies and lunch options like chowder, mac and cheese, chicken pot pies, and baked beans on Saturdays. Owner Katie Ray formerly operated Ally Kat’s Farm Land Market in West Gardiner for seven years. The business will be open Thursday through Saturday, 9 am – 5 pm.
  • The Velvet Lounge (facebook, instagram) opened for business in Biddeford on Friday. They’re located at 61 Main Street in the space formerly occupied by Lorne Wine. The Velvet Lounge is open daily, 4 pm – 1 am with a focus on being a “nightlife lounge for the LGBTQ+ community”. Check their Facebook page for details on upcoming events.
  • Owner Syd Coty has opened Born Yesterday Bakery (website, instagram). You can find Born Yesterday at 11 Mechanic Falls Road in Oxford just down the road from Oxbow Beer Garden with plans to hold a grand opening in January. They’re is now taking preorders for breads (deadline December 20th) for pick-up on the 23rd. Born Yesterday had previously been slated to open in Lewiston.
  • Nina June in Rockport is holding a 6-course dinner on December 20th featuring this year’s olive oil vintage from chef Sara Jenkin’s family farm in Italy. The dinner is taking place during Hanukah and Jenkins shared that the dinner will feature Italian Jewish food and traditions.
  • Clementina Senatore is moving her Camden cocktail bar (upper left), Paper Plane (website, instagram), from the Lyman Morse Wharf to 47 Bay View Street in the town center. Senatore has bought the former Maine Dog building and plans to operate the 16-seat Paper Plane on the first floor and apartments upstairs. Paper Plane’s last day at their current location will be New Year’s Eve, and Senatore hopes to launch at the new location sometime in February.
  • The Morning Sentinel has published a report about Charros Theater Mexican Restaurant (facebook) in Waterville. The restaurant has announced plans to hold a soft opening on Friday, December 19th. “[Owner Juan Carlos] Sanchez, 23, said the restaurant will serve everything from tacos, burritos and fajitas to special offerings such as carnitas, or pork fried pork shoulder that is deep fried and then lightly grilled for a tasty exterior. ‘It’s served with rice and beans on the side and a flour tortilla with green sauce,’ Sanchez said Thursday.”
  • Bucks Naked BBQ (website, facebook, instagram) launched their new restaurant in Gardiner on on Tuesday. The restaurant is located 252 Water Street and they will be open Tuesday through Sunday, noon – 8 pm with extended hours until 9 pm on Thursday and until 10 pm on Friday/Saturday.
  • The Chef Summit is taking place at Sunday River on January 24th. The event brings together chefs from all over the state and along with it the Grand Tasting event that is open to the public. You can see the full list of participating restaurants and buy tickets on the Sunday River website.
  • Down East magazine has published an article about The Omelette Factory (website, facebook, instagram) in Ogunquit. “As we scraped our plates clean, the line of people waiting for a table had started to wind out the door. I expect they were happy to see us getting up to leave. And as we skirted the queue, we overheard one guy toward the back of it talking to the rest of his party. ‘We could go somewhere else,” he said, “but this place is the best.'”
  • Tootie’s Tempeh was the recipient of a 2025 Governor’s Award for Business Excellence. The Biddeford company “produces tempeh using a fermentation process that eliminates single-use plastic”.

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.