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Room for Improvement

Room for Improvement opened on April 13, 2023.

41 Wharf Street, Portland, ME, USA

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The End of Portland

About Portland Food Map

Portland Food Map launched in 2007 as a directory of the local food community. Other features have been added over the years including food event listings, the Under Construction page, guides to Maine apples and cider producers, the restaurant real estate listings, Year in Review reports, and the My Kitchen Their Table chef interview series.

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A new Cambodian restaurant called Khmer Kitchen is

A new Cambodian restaurant called Khmer Kitchen is under construction on the second floor of the Public Market House. Khmer Kitchen is moving into the two spaces that were formerly occupied by Dila’s Kitchen and Pho Huong.
Owner Khanya Mimande plan to serve “a variety of authentic Cambodian/Khmer food, fresh, delicious, flavorful meals, appetizers, and drinks.” The draft menu includes a wide variety of rice dishes like Cha Kroeung (stir fry lemongrass with red and green peppers, onion and Thai basil), rice noodle based soups, wings, ribs, and Khmer egg rolls.
Mimande is in the final stages of launching Khmer Kitchen, and also plans to open a Laotian restaurant. #khmerkitchen #mainefood

The beer bar and restaurant we know today as The G

The beer bar and restaurant we know today as The Great Lost Bear (@greatlostbear) was founded in 1979 by Dave Evans, Weslie Evans and Chip MacConnell. Now after more than four decades in business, ownership of The Bear is being handed off to the next generation. Longtime managers Michael Dickson, Mary Dickson and Andrew Pillsbury signed paperwork Monday and became the new owners of the iconic Forest Ave establishment.
The Great Lost Bear launched in the pre-craft beer era in Maine. Geary’s was Maine’s first modern craft brewery and it sold its first beer in 1986. Gritty’s opened in 1988, and Shipyard and Allagash didn’t launch until the middle of the next decade.Now clocking in at ~70 taps of craft beer, the original Great Lost Bear draft line consisted of just four taps.
As the local brewing industry has developed, The Great Lost Bear has been a witness and essential supporter of the Maine craft beer industry. Here are some thoughts from Allagash founder Rob Tod,
“The folks at the Great Lost Bear were the first to take a chance and put my beer, Allagash White, on tap. And since then, they’ve been institutional in supporting and expanding the popularity of the beer scene here in Maine. I’m glad to see that I’ll be able to enjoy a pint at the Bear for many years to come.”
Weslie and Dave Evans moved to Portland from North Conway where they worked in the restaurant industry—Dave as a cook and Weslie in the front of house. When they decided to launch their own business they moved to Portland and eventually found a location on Forest Ave in what had been the Bottoms Up rock club. The Evans’s and MacConnell leased their half of the building for $800/month.
An interesting side note is that The Grizzly Bear which was the original name of the business. It was changed, after a legal challenge from an pre-existing West coast operation called Grizzly Bear Pizza in 1981 to the new (and much better) moniker we use today. Flip through the photos in this post to see cover art from early menus and vintage photos from the early days. #mainebeer #mainefood

Melissa Lombardi, the owner of the Twist (@portlan

Melissa Lombardi, the owner of the Twist (@portlandtwist) ice cream food truck, has leased a first floor space at the Public Market House. The new location will be the home of a year-round business named Twirl.
Twirl will offer an expanded menu of shakes, cakes, pints, and other grab and go treats such as ice cream sandwiches in addition to the made-to-order ice cream creations that have been available from the food truck since it launched in 2019.
Lombardi hopes to have Twirl open in time for Father’s Day on June 18th. #portlandmaine #maineicecream

Tally’s Kitchen (@tallyskitchen) has opened a se

Tally’s Kitchen (@tallyskitchen) has opened a second location in the Stevens Square Community Center. The new Tally’s serves the same menu as their original location on Marginal Way which includes breakfast sandwiches, bakery items, salads, wraps and lunch sandwiches. It features seating in the entry courtyard and in a sunny balcony overlooking the cafe.
Tally’s Kitchen was founded by Julie Taliento Walsh in 2018. The Stevens Square Community Center is a new mixed use development located in the former Catherine McAuley High School.
The Stevens Square Tally’s is open 7 am – 3 pm (and until 6 for prepared meal pickup and 2DineIn meal deliveries) on weekdays and 9 am – 3 pm on Saturdays. #tallyskitchen #deeringcenter

Portland area chef Jimmy Leftis is joining with th

Portland area chef Jimmy Leftis is joining with the team at Table Bar (@table_bar) to launch a new regular food menu at the wine bar in Gardiner. The new menu will be available Fridays and Saturdays, 5 – 9 pm beginning this weekend. The draft menu includes dishes like asparagus with ravigote, pork sausage with chard, celeriac and chutney, and a honey custard tart.
“After stints cooking in Charleston, SC, and Brooklyn, NY, Jimmy Leftis made his way to Portland, ME, which he quickly realized he would call home. The abundance of small farms and fresh seafood made it an exciting place to be a cook. Leftis’ food is inspired by the classic simple fare of European cafes and wine bars. His work is also informed by the places where he honed his skills, such as Andrew Tarlow’s Diner in Brooklyn and beside Ben Jackson at Drifter’s Wife and Magnus on Water.”
Table Bar was launched one year ago by Billy Rosser, Morgan Peirce, and Zach Lyons. It pairs an informal space and culture with excellent wines that are available by the glass and also available for retail purchase. Table Bar has emerged as a go to spot in the Augusta area, and regularly hosts pop-up events with area chefs working to launch their own businesses. #tablebar #mainefoodmap #jimmyleftis

Rick Binet, the owner of Mash Tun and Jefe Juan’

Rick Binet, the owner of Mash Tun and Jefe Juan’s, is planning to open a third Wharf Street restaurant named Hot Liquor Tank. The name is a reference to the equipment that supplies hot water into the brewery process. Binet selected the name to “highlight the sister bar relationship with Mash Tun.” Binet opened Mash Tun in 2016 and Jefe Juan’s in 2020.
The draft menu submitted with Hot Liquor Tank’s liquor license application includes calamari, fried oysters, clam chowder, shrimp po’boys, blue fin sashimi as well as chicken and waffles, caesar salad, wings and a fried chicken sandwich.
Hot Liquor Tank will be located at 43 Wharf Street adjacent to the recently opened Room For Improvement. Binet hopes to open the restaurant in June. Binet is also pursuing a brewing license for the business. While its not likely to be in production in time for the opening, the plan is for HLT to eventually serve their own house beer. #hotliquortank #wharfstreet #comingsoon2023

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