Owlbear’s Rest Opens on Friday

| Posted in Openings

A new board game cafe called Owlbear’s Rest (website, facebook, instagram, bluesky) is scheduled to open this Friday in Westbrook.

Owner Patty Turnquist has assembled a wide range of games to enjoy from 5-Minute Dungeon right through the alphabet to Zendo. You can explore the collection and even get a little help selecting the right one for you via their online catalog. The attractive space features a number of gaming tables that can seat 40+ people overall, a long food and service counter, shelves of games and gaming retail items, and a private side room available for gaming or other events with a table for 10.

The food menu includes options like soft pretzels, chips and dip, meat/cheese and vegetarian boards, a variety of hand pies (German sausage, chicken pot pie, vegan curry, etc), grilled cheese sandwiches and cookies. Liquid refreshments include a range of craft beers, drip and espresso-based coffee drinks, teas, cider and non-alcoholic options.

Owlbear’s Rest will initially be open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 am – 9 pm (until 10 pm on Friday and Saturday). They’re located at located at 506 Maine Street in Westbrook in the same building as the Stockhouse restaurant.

Freedom’s Edge Closing in Portland

| Posted in Closings

Freedom’s Edge Cider has announced plans to close their Portland tasting room on Diamond Street. This Saturday will be their last day in operation. Their announcement reads in-part,

We have nothing but gratitude for your incredible support in Portland over the past year. We’re also very grateful to Kerri, Elena and the entire tasting room team. Everyone who came felt the care, thoughtfulness and warmth they put into every little thing they did.

Truthfully, our plan was for Andy & Ned, Freedom’s Edge’s owners, to spend a lot of their time in Portland working to create new ciders. And the reality is that that simply didn’t happen. Too much to do, to little time, a tale as old as time! And without all those bottled ciders, our Diamond St location was simply too big and costly to be sustainable.

The cider company will continue to operate their production facility and tasting room in Albion.

2025 Must Eats List

| Posted in Reviews

Eat Drink Lucky has released their 2025 Must Eat List, a compendium of 68 not to be missed dishes from restaurants in Portland and South Portland.

We’ve updated our Must Eat List for 2025 with 68 mouthwatering dishes. This year’s list shows Portland’s changing dining scene: sandwiches are serious business and regional and global flavors shape local favorites. Portland (with a few South Portland standouts) continues to surprise with dishes that are craveable, creative, and (mostly) easy on the wallet.

You’ll see some favorites from last year still holding strong, and plenty of new bites worth discovering.

Lady Shuckers at Willard Beach

| Posted in General

Lady Shuckers (website, instagram) has leased the snack shack at Willard Beach where owner Libby Davis will be serving a menu (see below) that includes lobster rolls, sandwiches, curly fries, ice cream, sides and, of course, oysters. The surfside Lady Shuckers will have a soft opening on May 31st and June 1st and will be in full operation June 5th.

This summer you can also find Lady Shuckers at Thompson’s Point during their events and Summer Sunsets series, and at Hearts of Pine home games where they’re serving oysters on the half shell to fans  like Patrick Dempsey.

Upcoming Food and Dining Events

| Posted in Events

June 7 – BayCider Fest is taking place.

June 13/14 – The Rockport Donut Festival is taking place.

June 26-28 – The Holy Trinity Greek Festival is taking place.

June 28 – The Wavy Days beer festival is taking place.

June 28/29 – The Maine Oyster Festival is taking place in Freeport.

June 18-20 – The Yarmouth Clam Festival is taking place.

September 14 – The Maine Cheese Festival is taking place in Pittsfield.

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.

The Infatuation on SoPo Seafood

| Posted in Reviews

The Infatuation has included SoPo Seafood in their national list of The Spots Of The Summer.

Over the summer, things change. Sourpusses smile. Uncoordinated people go to baseball games and say things like, “Keep your eye on the ball.” Pedicures happen. It’s a good time to be alive, and it’s a great time to eat, mostly because sandwiches and cheeseburgers taste best between chlorinated fingertips. Below are places across the country that are best enjoyed between Memorial Day and Labor Day. These are the spots of the summer.

Red Snappers

| Posted in General News

Today’s Maine Sunday Telegram includes an article on the efforts by W.A. Bean & Sons to find an alternative to artificial red dye in their hot dogs.

“We’ve been working on a replacement for that dye for a long time — it’s been a goal of ours,” said W.A. Bean Director of Sales Sean Smith, pointing to a rack of red snapper links fresh out of the dye shower in the “kitchen” at Bean’s production plant. “We’re not fighting science. We want to get ahead of it as well. We want to make sure we can stand behind a product the people of Maine are proud of.”

Maine Food & Dining News: Lewiston, Swanville, Scarborough, Skowhegan, Hallowell, Augusta, Lincolnville, Belfast, Owl’s Head

| 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:

  • The Lewiston Sun Journal reports that Democracy Brewing (website, instagram) is launching a $3.7 million dollar project to renovate the former St. Joseph’s Catholic Church into a brewery and restaurant. The brewery’s co-founder and CEO, James Razsa, is a native of Gray, Maine.
  • The Bangor Daily News reports that the Wabanaki group Niweskok has purchased a 245 acre farm in Swanville. “Niweskok plans to use the space to offer educational programming including outdoor classroom space, cultural camps and community events. It also plans to cultivate food and medicines on the land.”
  • Blake Orchard will be opening their new Scarborough location. This will be their third location having expanded from Portland to Brunswick last year. Stop by 2 Stewart Drive Unit 101 off Route One to see their new cafe. They’ll be open on Saturday the 31st, 8 am – 2 pm. For additional reporting see today’s article from Mainebiz.
  • The Snack Shack (website, facebook, instagram) in Skowhegan recently changed hands. The Chapman family who have run the eatery for 19 years have sold the business to Erin Hall who opened the seasonal business on May 6th along with general manager Fabian Fernandez and chef Kamden Diffley.
  • The Kennebec Journal reports that a new French bakery is under construction in Hallowell. Belle Boulangerie (facebook) will be located at 156 Water Street. “The new bakery will sell all kinds of French baked goods — freshly made croissants, brioches, pan au chocolats and baguettes — over a counter. The store will have no seating inside, and Syrota said she wants to lean into the grab-and-go model.” The bakery is being launched by Ukranian Galyna Syrota who attended the Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris and moved to Maine 8 years ago. UPDATE: Belle Boulangerie opened for business this morning, May 23rd. Their offerings included croissants, baguettes, and a variety of French pastries.
  • Begun as a food truck in 2020, Bao & Beyond (instagram) has leased space at 1 Hichborn Street in Augusta where they plan to open a restaurant. Owners Pear Nalaphas and Trevor Charette hope to open the restaurant in mid-June. See this article from the Kennebec Journal for additional reporting.
  • The Pen Bay Pilot has published an article about Dot’s in Lincolnville and its owner Susie Barnes.
  • The Midcoast Villager has recently published a trio of food and dining articles about Chase’s Daily in Belfast, the new Ararat Farms farm store, and the award-winning Seven Napkin Burger from the Owl’s Head General Store.

Interview with Hannah Ryder

| Posted in People

Mainebiz has published an interview with Hannah Ryder, the executive chef at Twelve.

Hannah Ryder was recently promoted to executive chef at Twelve, a high-end restaurant on Portland’s East End owned by the Prentice Hospitality Group. The 27-year-old, who grew up in Cumberland and has worked at the Prentice-owned Evo and Chebeague Island Inn, was part of the team that opened Twelve in July 2022. We sat down with her in the enclosed waterfront patio one sunny April morning as chefs were prepping that evening’s dinner.