Abbiocco in Woodfords Corner

| Posted in Under Construction

A wine bar and pasta restaurant called Abbiocco (website, instagram) is under development in Woodfords Corner in the space that had previously been occupied by Sissle & Daughters.

Chef/owner Cole Curcio plans to serve a menu of fresh pasta dishes complemented by an extensive wine list with primarily Italian wines. Curcio shared that he’ll use pasta as a medium to explore the flavors of local Maine ingredients. One fall dish he’s developing is a pot roast raviolo made with braised beef, charred fingerlings and carrot oil. 

Curcio grew up in New Hampshire and his family summers in Poland, Maine. He initially moved to Texas to attend culinary school and afterwards stayed in Austin where he worked at several restaurants including as the sous chef at L’Oca d’Oro. Since moving to Maine, Curcio has worked at Twelve and is now on staff at Benny’s.

While there isn’t a direct translation of “abbiocco”, it’s generally understood to mean a pleasant and contented drowsiness that comes from a good meal. Curcio is making light renovations to the space and hopes to launch Abbiocco by the end of September.

Upcoming Food and Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Thursday – The Terlingua Outpost (instagram). is set to launch. The all-day cafe and market will have seating for 16 with plans for outdoor seating coming this fall. The Outpost will be open daily, 8 am – 8 pm.

Saturday – Vagabundo is holding a pop-up at Lambs serving Salvadoran pupusas.

August 15 – A Pie Luck (a pie potluck event) is taking place at Biddeford’s Fringe Fest. You can sign-up to participate in the Pie Luck on this form.

September 14 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield. The Tender Table Night Market is taking place.

September 19-21 – The Common Ground Country Fair is taking place in Unity.

October 12 – Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

November 1-9 – 207 Beer Week is taking place.

November 10-16 – Brunswick Wine Week is taking place.

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.

Restaurant Real Estate: August 2025

| Posted in Under Construction, Real Estate

Welcome to the August 2025 edition of the Portland Food Map restaurant real estate listings sponsored by The Boulos Company—a commercial real estate brokerage that has helped Maine’s restauranteurs buy and lease restaurant spaces since 1975.

This resource gathers in one convenient place the spaces available in Portland (and a few in the surrounding area) that could be potential sites for restaurants and food producers and retailers to locate their next business. Finding the right spot is one of the crucial early challenges in launching a new business and hopefully this resource will make that step just a little bit easier.

West End/Valley/Libby Town

919 Congress St – The 4,500-9,540 sq ft former Salvage BBQ building is available for $20/sq ft (MG).

270 Saint John St – A 2,714 sq ft space in Union Station Plaza is available for $17/sq ft (NNN).

211 Valley St – A 1,260 sq ft former garage and the .13 acres it is on are for sale on Valley Street for $1,300,000.

Arts District

486 Congress St – A 2,400 sq ft former cannabis retail space is available for $22/sq ft (NNN).

511 Congress St – The 2,875 sq ft former Golden Lotus space is available for $16.50/sq ft.

540 Congress St – The 27,800 sq ft building currently occupied by Reny’s is for lease for $9.50/sq ft (NNN). Reny’s has decided not to renew their lease when it expires at the end of March.

555 Congress St – The 1,908 sq ft former Five Fifty-Five dining room and mezzanine are available to lease for $20/sq ft (NNN).

582-584 Congress St – The 680-1,555 sq ft space formerly occupied by Harmon’s is for lease for $2,500 – $5,850/month (NNN).

649 Congress St – The 3,000 sq ft space formerly occupied by Rebel Munchies and Libations is available for $22/sq ft (MG).

650 Congress St – This 705 sq ft retail space near Longfellow Square is available for $1,800/month (MG).

Bayside/Inner Washington

105 Fox St – a 1,950 sq ft space located between Rising Tide and Austin Street is available for $5,220/month (NNN).

52 Hanover St – 1,500 – 3,000 sq ft of retail space on the first floor of the Armature building is available for $30/sq ft (NNN). One spot in the building has been earmarked for a coffee shop.

65-67 Portland St – The 2,750 sq ft former Thai Esaan/Back Bay Grill space is available for $16/sq ft (MG).

114 Preble St – The former Coals building is available to lease. The 4,424 sq ft turnkey restaurant is listed at $26/sq ft (NNN) and includes onsite parking and outdoor seating.  For more information on the building and its history see this post on instagram.

186 Washington Ave – The 7,620 sq ft Am Vets building is for sale for $1,300,000. See the listing for photos of the bar and seating area.

Old Port

1 Canal Plaza – 4,284 – 14,412 sq ft of ground floor retail space will be available as part of upcoming renovations; $30/sq ft (NNN).

15 Chestnut St – The building that was home to Grace restaurant is for sale. It includes the property, business assets and all FF&E. The restaurant seats 175 and features a large circular bar on the first floor of the former church. The building has 14,358 sq ft of space. It’s for sale for $2,175,000.

327 Commercial St – The 6,981 – 7,981 sq ft space currently occupied by Tiqa is available for lease or to buy. The lease rate is $30/sq ft (NNN). The sale price is $3,500,000.

383 Commercial St – 1,193 – 4,805 square feet of space in a newly constructed building on Commercial Street is available for $28/sq ft (NNN).

10 Cotton St – The 4,606 sq ft former Thistle and Grouse is available for $19.05/sq ft (MG). It has a fully built out kitchen and the dining room was recently renovated.

8 Exchange St – The 1,800-3,600 sq ft space formerly occupied by The Bar & Bites on lower Exchange Street is available for $60/sq ft (MG).

373 Fore St – The 7,500 sq ft former Henry’s Public House building is for lease for $26.50/sq ft (MG).

425 Fore St – A fully built out 1,548 sq ft restaurant space is listed at $70/sq ft (MG). It was built out for a restaurant called 66S Fusion but the business never launched.

433 Fore St – A 930 sq ft lounge space on the first floor of the Hyatt is for lease for $60/sq ft (MG).

477 Fore St – The 1,361 sq ft space formerly occupied by B + B Bakery is available for $30/sq ft (MG).

40 Free St – The 1,358 sq ft space formerly occupied by Auntie’s House is available for $27/sq ft.

127 Marginal Way – The 3,040 sq ft former All Speed bicycle shop space across the parking lot from Trader Joes is available for $35/sq ft (NNN).

100 Middle St – A 350 sq ft cafe space on first floor of an Old Port office building is available for $850/month (Gross).

115 Middle St – The 2,065 sq ft space formerly occupied by Beach Boys Cannabis is for lease for $39.75/sq ft (MG). Back in the 1970s it had been the home of Model Food Importers which retailed wine, cheese and other imported foods.

151 Middle St – the 2,741 former Anthony’s Italian Kitchen space is available.

157 Middle St – A 2,039 – 5,155 sq ft retail space is available for $27.95/sq ft (MG).

191 Middle St – The 1,500 sq ft retail space formerly occupied by Crystal Joys is for lease for $60/sq ft (MG).

15 Monument Square – The 700 – 1,000 sq ft former Sisters Gourmet Deli space is available to lease for $3,600/month (NNN).

28 Monument Square – The building owner is seeking someone to lease the Public Market House and develop the food hall as an incubator space for new food businesses. The 8,064 sq ft space spans the 1st and 2nd floors and has a commercial kitchen in the basement. The well-loved Jamaican restaurant Yardie Ting already occupies part of the first floor and Bub’s Home Kitchen is moving in on the second floor with the remainder of the building vacant and already built out with kitchen infrastructure needed for new businesses. 28 Monument Square is listed at $12/sq ft (NNN). For more information on the building and its history see this post on instagram.

66 Pearl St – The 5,796 sq ft space that was the former home of Bull Moose is available for $15.75/sq ft (MG).

110 Thames St – Two spaces in the Sun Life building are available: a 5,772 sq ft space for $35/sq ft (NNN) and 2,575 sq ft space for $35/sq ft (NNN).

54 York St – A 1,605 sq ft space is available for $30/sq ft (MG). It’s located in the same building as the  Weldon Hotel at the corner of York and Maple Streets.

Camp Pennant – this brewery, distillery and restaurant is for sale. Contact Karen Rich for more information at karen@malonecb.com or (207) 210-6637.

Outer Forest Ave Area

49 Dartmouth St – A 1,310 sq ft retail space adjacent to Bow Street Beverage is available for $16.50/sq ft.

332 Forest Ave – A 2,309 sq ft space in a building at the corner of Bedford Street and Forest Ave is available for $16/sq ft (NNN).

503 – 509 Forest Ave – When renovations are completed this year, this building will have 1,268 – 6,313 sq ft of space available for $15/sq ft (NNN). See this feature article for more information.

683 Forest Ave – a space in Woodford’s Corner most recently occupied by a restaurant called Merveille is for lease. Call (207) 766-8845 for more information.

1569 Forest Ave – The Riverton Station Pizza, Bar & Grill and the property it is on are for sale for $1,700,000.

1871 Forest Ave – The former Tortilla Flats is for sale. The 8,771 sq ft building is on 3.43 acres of property and is listed for $1,750,000.

631 Stevens Ave – The 1,000 sq ft cafe space inside the Stevens Square Community Center is for lease.

Elsewhere in Portland

239 Congress St – A 782 sq ft space is available for $2,500/month (Absolute Gross). It’s near The End of Portland bar, Quanto Basta and LB Kitchen.

123 Washington Ave – The 4,123 sq ft space formerly occupied by Maine Craft Distilling is available for $16/sq ft (NNN). It includes a restaurant, an outdoor seating area and onsite parking.

550 Washington Ave – 2,000 – 2,400 sq ft of the former Botto’s bakery is available to lease for $18/sq ft (NNN).

Northgate Shopping Center – 1,700 sq ft of space is available.

Westgate Shopping Center – Three spaces are for lease 1,440, 3,800 and 5,000 sq ft. The lease rates are negotiable and the property owner has a strong interest in finding a restaurant tenant for the shopping plaza.

Other Spaces – Some vacated restaurant spaces haven’t yet been formerly listed for by the owner. Check the closing announcements for insights on where those opportunities may be.

South Portland

60 Ocean St, South Portland – The restaurant space had been occupied by Taco Trio is for lease. The 6,006 sq ft space is available for $12.98/sq ft (NNN). Taco Trio has returned to their original location at 119 Ocean Street.

239 Ocean St, South Portland – The 1,621 sq ft former Pizza Joint building in South Portland is for sale for $695,000.

Elsewhere in Maine

Bandaloop, Arundel – After 20 years in business the owners of Bandaloop have shared plans to sell the restaurant property. It’s priced at $2,100,000.

9 Centre St, Bath – A 2,700 sq ft space at the corner of Centre and Front Streets is available for $3,000/month (MG). It hasn’t been used for a restaurant before but the building owner is eager to find a restaurant operator to locate there. Contact Bath Maine Rentals at bathmainerentals@gmail.com for more information.

111 Bath Rd, Brunswick – The Fat Boy Drive-In business and property is for sale for $775,000. Fat Boy has been in business since 1955.

137 Longwood Road, Cumberland – A 2,110 sq ft building that’s been partially converted for use as a restaurant is available for $20/sq ft (NNN). See photos in the listing for a look at the current state of construction.

261 Shore Rd, Ogunquit – The Northern Union restaurant property is for sale for $2,950,000.

23 Terminal Lane, Owls Head – A restaurant space at the Knox County Airport is available. FF&E is $65,000 which comes with a $200/month lease which includes utilities.

In Good Company, Rockland – In Good Company on Main Street in Rockland is for sale for $187,140.

267 Scarborough Downs Rd, Scarborough – Six retail spaces in a new building at The Downs are available. They range in size from 1,091 – 2,208 sq ft. They’ll be available to occupy in the spring of 2027.

60 Mile Rd, Wells – The former Varano’s Restaurant building and a 2 bedroom apartment are for sale for $1,895,000. See this instagram article for additional information on the building and the neighborhood.

Billy’s Chowder House – Both the building and business of Billy’s Chowder House in Wells is for sale. The ~200 seat restaurant comes with a 62-car parking lot and sits on Mile Road which connects Route 1 with Wells Beach. See this instagram article for additional information on the building and the neighborhood.

863 Main St, Westbrook – The former Frog & Turtle and adjacent retail spaces are for sale for $1,900,000.

4 & 7 Dana St, Westbrook – 2 retail spaces are available in a new building under construction in downtown Westbrook. The building is under construction with plans to open in 2027. 1,250 – 5,085 sq ft of space (NNN).

100 Larrabee Rd, Westbrook – The owners of Phoever are looking for someone to takeover their space when they move to a new location. They’ll be moving to 1227 Congress Street by this summer.

365 Main St, Yarmouth –The 900 sq ft space formerly occupied by Owl & Elm is available for $3,000/month (MG).

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.

Allagash Bungalow Opens Today

| Posted in Openings

Allagash Brewing is launching their new Scarborough tasting room today at noon. The 175-seat Allagash Bungalow is located at 10 Market Street at The Downs.

In addition to their award-wining beers on tap, Allagash is also serving house cider and wine, specialty bottled beers, some cocktail options and non-alcoholic drinks like the Saint Agrestis Phony Negroni (see menu below). Allagash has partnered with Bite Into Maine to run the kitchen at The Bungalow. They’ll be scaling up their menu in the first few days which will include (see below) the full range of their lobster rolls, whoopie pies, pretzels, and some new additions like red hots and French fries.

The name “The Bungalow” is a nod to its Scarborough location’s proximity to Maine’s beaches, as well as the team’s intention to have the new tasting room serve as a community gathering hub.

“With The Bungalow, we wanted to branch out from what you typically expect from a brewery,” said Emily Wallace, Hospitality Director at Allagash. “We’re making sure there’s something for everyone – including more options than ever for people who don’t drink beer. It has been really fun to see our pilot team flex their creativity to introduce these new offerings for the new space.”

The Bungalow will be open Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday noon – 7 pm and noon – 8 pm Thursday through Saturday.

National Press for Maine

| Posted in General News, Distilling & Cocktails, Wine

Maine is on a roll with press attention with food and dining stories running in Forbes, Architectural Digest, and Imbibe.

An article (not yet online) about fruit-based wines in the latest issue of Imbibe magazine features Eighteen Twenty Wines, RAS and Bluet. “At Maine’s Eighteen Twenty Wines, founder Amanda Denniston’s choice for vinification [rhubarb] is technically a vegetable, but it’s commonly treated as a fruit…Vinified bone dry, Fête, her summer release is akin to a French rosé. Its big, fruity mid-palate is bookended by a light, Provençal hue and the bone-dry yet savory finish of a Bandol rosé.”

Architectural Digest interviewed Megs Senk and George Korsnick about the creation of the space that is home to the Saint George Pizzeria, their new restaurant in the Midcoast town of Warren. “There’s a reason makers are drawn to this part of Maine. It attracts people who want to create things and be part of something—people with that New England pragmatism, even if they aren’t originally from here. It’s a fiercely individualistic place, but also deeply creative. Most of our friends here run small businesses or are artists or musicians. That’s rare in an area this small.”

In anticipation of National Spritz Day (August 1st) Forbes magazine wrote about some aperitifs and handcrafted bitters including Portland’s hometown favorite Handshake. “Traditionally sipped after meals, this digestif also works well for making big, bold spritzes. Rich, layered, and made with intention, Handshake is a modern bitter with old-world soul.”

Milly’s Market on Federal Street

| Posted in Openings

Milly’s Market (instagram) is scheduled to open for business on Tuesday at 8 am. It’s located on the first floor of the Casco Building at the corner of Federal and Temple Streets.

Owner Matt Manson and his team are stocking the shelves with produce, beer and wine, personal care products, home goods, and foods from Maine producers like flour from Maine Grains, Fox Family potato chips, Atwood Farm salsas, Butting Heads Farm relishes and Amolita pasta. Milly’s will also sell house-made cookies, muffins, scones, croissant and other baked goods. Additionally the market will have grab-and-go options like salads, wraps, cut fruit and pasta salads and snacks.

Manson’s store in Auburn sells produce and local foods from dozens of Maine farms and food producers. He is drawing on that network in stocking the shelves at Milly’s Market and anticipates adapting what they offer At Milly’s as he becomes more familiar with the needs of his Portland customers.

The name of the market is a blending of Manson’s two children’s names: Madison and Billy.

Milly’s will be open Tuesday through Thursday, 8 am – 7 pm, Friday/Saturday, 8 am – 9 pm, and on Sunday, 9 am – 5 pm.

Upcoming Food and Dining Events

| Posted in Events

Wednesday – Portland Cooking Club is holding a potluck dinner at Blue Lobster Urban Winery in East Bayside.

Thursday – The new Portuguese restaurant, Douro, opening later this year is holding a tasting of their menu at Evo.

Saturday – Allagash is opening it’s new tasting room in Scarborough. The Allagash Bungalow is located at 10 Market Street at The Downs. It will be serving Allagash beers, cocktails and Allagash’s cider and wine. As they have at the brewery in Portland, Allagash has partnered with Bite Into Maine on the food service.

August 7 – The Terlingua Outpost (instagram). is set to launch. The all-day cafe and market will have seating for 16 with plans for outdoor seating coming this fall. The Terlingua market is moving to the Outpost space. As reported inn May, the cafe menu will include sweet & savory kolaches, “pocket-ritos”, ice cream, espresso drinks, coffee & tea, as well as iced and hot NA drinks like an adaptogen latte made with chaga, and a mojito-cino made with mint, brown sugar and half-and-half. For customers dining at cafe there will also be a beer, wine and spirits selection. The market will continue to offer prepared food and staples like enchiladas, Terlingua’s cornbread, chili, soup and house made sauces and spice blends. The Outpost will be open daily, 8 am – 8 pm.

August 15 – A Pie Luck (a pie potluck event) is taking place at Biddeford’s Fringe Fest. You can sign-up to participate in the Pie Luck on this form.

September 14 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield. The Tender Table Night Market is taking place.

September 19-21 – The Common Ground Country Fair is taking place in Unity.

October 12 – Maine Open Creamery Day is taking place.

November 1-9 – 207 Beer Week is taking place.

November 10-16 – Brunswick Wine Week is taking place.

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.

Flatiron Coffee Opens Today

| Posted in Openings

Flatiron Coffee Bar (website, instagram) is set to open this morning, Friday July 25th at 7:30 am. The 12-seat coffee bar and gallery space is located in the Hay Building in the space formerly occupied by Starbucks.

Owner Gary Perlmutter’s vision for Flatiron is as a counter-service European-style coffee bar. In addition to espresso-based drinks, Flatiron will serve drip coffee, cold brew, chai lattes, espresso tonics, lemonade (see menu below). Flatiron is sourcing coffee from Claw Coffee Roasters in Scarborough and Lay Day Roasters in Bayside. The croissants and cardamom buns served at Flatiron are coming from Belleville and other baked goods are from Little Spruce Baking Company. Additionally, Flatiron will be serving gelato from Gorgeous Gelato.

Perlmutter and his wife Rhonda Pearle own and operate the Pearl Gallery on the 2nd floor of the Hay Building where they exhibit their own work as well as work by other artists. The first artist to have their work featured at Flatiron is Jean Leibowitz Wiecha.

Flatiron Coffee is located at 594 Congress Street and will be open 7:30 am – 3 pm.

[menu photo??]

A First Look at Dry Dock

| Posted in Openings

Here’s a first look at the Dry Dock (website, instagram) restaurant which will be opening for business this Saturday at 11 am. The newly renovated restaurant can seat 145 across the 2-story dining room, with space for another 155 people on the deck. Shown above are the second floor dining room (bottom right) and high top tables adjacent to the first floor bar (top left).

Chef Mike Carney and his team are serving a menu (see below) featuring seafood dishes like broiled haddock with potatoes and green beans (top right) as well as chowder, mussels, steamed clams, and lobster rolls. In addition to oysters, the raw bar offers lobster tails, crab, ceviche and tuna crudo along with a nightly seafood specials like a crab louie and a fluke and halibut salad with horseradish and trout roe (bottom left) shown above. The drinks menu include wines by the glass and a bottle list, local and national brand beer, cocktails, and nonalcoholic drink options.

A fixture on the Portland waterfront since it first launched in 1983, the restaurant had remained dormant since 2018. A new team comprised of Luke Holden, Ben Conniff, Bryan Holden—co-owners of Luke’s Lobster—leased the building last fall and with general manager Matt Ginn have renovated and expanded the restaurant to ready it to reopen to the public.

Dry Dock is located at 84 Commercial Street. It will be open 11 am – 10 pm daily and initially operate on a walk-in only basis.

Rise Pizza & Pub Closing

| Posted in Closings

The owners of Rise Pizza & Pub have announced the closing of their restaurant. This Friday will be their last day in business. Their statement reads in-part,

It is with a very heavy heart that we have to share the news we are closing Rise. Friday will be our last day of service. The perpetual kitchen-staffing crisis in the restaurant industry coupled with high operating costs and razor-thin profit margins have made it unsustainable for us to stay in business. We regret this decision tremendously as we had envisioned Rise being a staple in the community for years to come…Thank you for all the support over the past 2 years. Restaurants are always a risk and we don’t regret taking that leap at all. We’re just devastated that our passion wasn’t enough to keep it going. We’ve made some great friends and will miss seeing all of you every week.

Rise opened in August 2023. It’s located at 319 Main Street in Cumberland Center. They’ll be open this week 4 – 9 pm on Wednesday and Thursday, and noon – 9 pm on Friday.