After the pandemic left a dearth of empty storefronts in Camden around 2022, as reported in our annual Welcome Back Snow Birds series, the town has gotten a shot in the arm with a number of new restaurants.

Here’s what’s popping this summer:

Goods —A Fun Food Shop & Bar

Even though Goods, a specialty market on 31 Elm Street in Camden, has technically been open for a year, owners Megs Senk and George Korsnick have developed a new offering in the little market—a bar with snacks starting at 3 p.m., every Thursday through Saturday.

Senk describes their market as “a fun food shop” with three main categories: Food and pantry items, vintage cookbooks, and wine and beer. 

“It’s all under the umbrella of food, with a focus on small-batch vendors,” she said. “For example, we have a chili crisp from a company in London—and we were their first retailer in America—and we also have a Little Brother chili crip from Portland. No matter how far we source the food items, we want to be able to offer things you just can’t find around here and tell the story of who makes it.”

The bar stems from Senk’s own background. Originally from Vermont, she has worked with food and design, has been a restaurant server, and has a lot of friends in the restaurant industry. Started a month ago, they will offer classic cocktails such as a margarita featuring a woman-owned tequila, as fun bar snacks like dusted popcorn and marinated olives.

“We want to be more of a pre- or post-dinner situation,” she said. “There are obviously a lot of good restaurants in town; we just want to provide a space where people can meet up before or after for a snack and a drink. We also have a big non-alcoholic section.”

In addition to the bar, they plan to offer made-to-order classic sandwiches including a BLT with local ingredients, a chickpea salad sandwich, and a tuna melt, plus wine and beer during lunch hours starting at 11 a.m.

Find a sample menu here.

Find out more at goodsmaine.com

Mosaic

Hannah Scott grew up in Camden, and having lived here most of her life, opened a new restaurant with her husband, Troy Scott, and their family on May 4.

“We decided it would be a great opportunity for us as a family to do this together,” she said.

As a private chef and a previous server for Long Grain, which used to be housed in the same space, Hannah Scott decided to use what she learned in the restaurant industry and create a Latin-inspired and farm-fresh menu with an emphasis on making dishes from seasonal, local ingredients.

“We have tacos, burritos, and bowls, but we also do paella, Korean barbeque, hence the name Mosiac—an amalgamation of different flavors with different ideas, concepts, and community,” she said. “We just like to put whatever’s fun, fresh, and exciting on the menu and aren’t limiting ourselves to any one genre.”

Tacos and tequila are a sure hit with any crowd, and Mosiac’s tacos are constructed with handmade tortillas, both vegetarian and with proteins such as chicken tinga, fish, shrimp, and carnitas.

“Everything on the menu is homemade, including the tortilla chips, salsas, and house barbeque and we source all local pork, fish, and chicken,” she said.

The space seats 30 people and is open from lunch to dinner (11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.) six days a week, excluding Wednesdays.

Scott’s oldest ons host a Taco & Tequila Tuesday from 9 to 11 p.m. for the late-night crowd and for other servers just getting off their shifts. 

“That’s kind of nice because there aren’t a lot of options open at that hour,” she said. “It’s a limited taco menu and people are really enjoying a snack and hang out.”

The margaritas going out the door are made with higher-end tequilas and mezcals and customers are interested in learning more about them, she said. They’ve got some spicy margs, house marg, and one called the Naked and Famous: made with either tequila or mezcal, yellow chartreuse, aperol, and lime.

“We have gotten really good feedback; people seem very happy with what we’re creating and putting out,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of local regulars come back week after week.

Find their menu here.

Follow them on Facebook or Instagram

Paper Plane

The newest cocktail/wine bar to anchor the Lyman-Morse wharf boardwalk on the opposite side of Camden Harbor is Paper Plane, just recently opened.

Locals will remember owner Clementina Senatore, former co-owner of Meanwhile In Belfast, a gourmet wood-fired pizza place that had to close in 2022 due to the pandemic. Her newest venture uses many of the same flavors she incorporated with Meanwhile in Belfast, having been born and raised in Italy.

“The food philosophy is the same as Meanwhile in Belfast, only instead of pizza, it’s small plates,” she said. “We also apply, simply fresh ingredients. It’s a casual place, no reservation, first come first serve, just come in to have a cocktail, a glass of wine, or a snack or a dessert. We’ll be offering small plates such as a rotating offering of cheese and meats for charcuterie, a special salad, or my Italian take on the Japanese dish itameshi, which is rice, shrimp, and fresh mozzarella and nori, a sushi dish with Italian ingredients.”

For our wine list, they have a rotating list for every taste, from a $10 glass of rose to a $70 glass, from simple to sophisticated. The cocktail list will also be rotating; for example, they are offering a margaritas, a wasabi martini, a chocolate espresso martini, and a Negroni Reposado.

Find their sample menu here.

Follow them on Instagram

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com