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.

Portland Coffee Crawl

| Posted in Events

A “coffee crawl” is being organized in Portland. Coffee Crawls has recruited 12 coffee shops to participate: Another Round, Arabica, Bom Dia, Coveside, Double Great, Flat Iron, Radial, Rambler, Smalls, and Twinflower as well as Cafe Luna in Scarborough and Owlbear’s Rest in Westbrook.

To take part customers buy a $25 digital pass from Coffee Crawls and that entitles them to a $5 credit at each shop. The program will run during the month of January.

West End LB. Mini-Mart Now Open

| Posted in Openings

LB. Kitchen (website, instagram) owners Bryna Gootkind and chef Lee Farrington opened a new location of their LB. Mini-Mart (website, instagram) business this morning. The market and beverage counter is located at 235 Vaughan Street in the space formerly occupied by the Other Side Deli. It sells grab and go breakfast and lunch items like salads, snacks, sandwiches and wraps, serves made to order coffee, and smoothies (beverage menu below), and offer a variety of grocery staples, wine, newspapers, magazines, and other retail goods. The West End location will initially will be open daily, 7 am – 5 pm.

Gootkind shared “We designed this store and what we carry within it, for the West End neighborhood—from the Maine Medical campus to the residential full time Portlanders who care about what they eat, what they buy, and how they connect. Need a birthday celebration at the hospital? We have the supplies. Need a to-go lunch on your way to work and a bottle of wine for dinner later in the day, we have that too. We want to be part of the neighborhood’s daily rhythm—that quick coffee or smoothie, cookie, newspaper or conversation that makes the day a little better whether you are walking your kid to school or walking the dog.”

Farrington and Gootkind launched their first market at Rock Row this past March. The original restaurant opened in 2017 and moved to the corner of Smith and Congress Streets in 2023. They have on deck the expansion of the market at their Congress Street location into the adjacent storefront which is expected to launch next year.

Fork Food Lab

| Posted in General News

The Press Herald reports that Fork Food Lab is at risk of foreclosure.

“We are working diligently to restructure our organization and to create a sustainable financial plan that will allow us to continue to serve our members and the community,” Food Fork Lab Executive Director Bill Seretta said in an email statement on Tuesday. “We are actively engaged with our lenders in hopes of finalizing an agreement very soon.”

2025 Favorite Cocktails: Cuties

| Posted in Reviews

Punch has included the Salad Bar Martini at Cuties in their list of their Favorite Cocktails of 2025.

In a year filled with exciting new bars, talented emerging bartenders and trends that touched everything from Margaritas to M&M shots, picking a favorite cocktail is no easy feat. So what does it take to stand out? For some of us, the best drinks of the year nail a classic template and make us want to come back for more. For others, the recipes that defy categorization take top honors. And for others, getting a little treat with your drink goes a long way.

With regard to the drink from Cuties they had this to say,

“There’s a scene in Ratatouille where Remy the Rat bites into (I think) a piece of cheese and goes into a synesthesia-like trance as a result of its complex combination of flavors. That was me when I tried this cocktail from Portland all-day cafe Cuties. Despite the flavor’s top billing, with both clarified tomato water and an Italian tomato gin, this is not just a tomato Martini. There is much more going on in this drink…