SEARSPORT—Just five minutes over the Belfast bridge heading north on Route 1 sits the newly opened Rio’s Spiked Café, a European-style tapas bar and eatery. Owners Oana and Russell Manton who also…
#dining-out
ROCKLAND—A wild idea turned out to be the smartest thing that Richard Curtis, a lobsterman out of Friendship, ever had.
He’d never run a food truck before. “One day, I found a truck for…
To open for take-out this spring
CAMDEN—Restaurants operating in a pandemic have had to make enormous changes in order to stay afloat. Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard, a couple featured in our recent story “…
Owners Gabriela Acero and Derek Richard turn the Drouthy Bear into new restaurant
CAMDEN—Many wondered what would become of the classic Scottish pub Drouthy Bear after owners Andrew and Shannon Stewart announced last May that the COVID-19 virus restrictions on their beloved pub…
‘We have so much gratitude for our community’
NORTHPORT — Though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect small business across the state, one Waldo County business opened up a new space for its business this month and celebrated with a…
closing was not an option: ‘The Only Doughnut is a Belfast icon’
BELFAST — A little more than a year ago, PenBayPilot.com introduced our readership to …
And the 7-Napkin Burger is Back!
OWLS HEAD—The Owls Head General Store, shuttered for nearly three years, is back in operation under new owner, Maya Newsam, 27.
“We originally planned to be open the Fourth of July, and…
Traditional Italian cuisine is elegant fare with casual dining
ROCKPORT—Italian born-and-raised restaurateur Sante Calandri was not about to let a pandemic stop him from opening his new restaurant, Ports of Italy, in Rockport last week.
With a sister…
Camden’s newest takeout eatery helmed by former Ebantide chef
CAMDEN—Patrons looking for your garden variety dogs and burgers will be pleasantly surprised to see what’s on the menu at the newly opened roadside takeout shack just outside Camden Hills State…
Crepes Crepes Crepes, a new food truck, opens in Thomaston
ROCKLAND—Something sweet has come out of the Summer of 2020 and it has rolled out in a pink-and-white food truck with a logo of the Eiffel Tower.
Eric Boyce has always had the dream of…
RasDal Falafel, a Belfast food truck and Station 118, a BBQ restaurant
MIDCOAST—A barbeque restaurant and a food truck serving Middle Eastern street food have opened on the coast in recent weeks. Here’s the skinny on both.
…
Plans to open at the end of July
Like most restaurateurs, Jordan Benissan expected he’d be running his popular restaurant Mé Lon Togo in Waterville this spring, but the pandemic had other plans for him. Not able to keep the…
ROCKPORT—With restaurants continuing to navigate seating challenges during COVID-19, one brick and mortar eatery has the perfect solution to stay operating—and the perfect location.
The…
Islesboro Ferry workers and beach goers will soon get custom food delivery
LINCOLNVILLE BEACH — New owners have taken over The Beach Store, a popular sandwich shop directly across from the beach. A family-run business, owners Owen, Shannon and Jonathan Weyers have added…
SOUTH THOMASTON—A new food truck opened May 8 to complement Waterman’s Beach Brewery, and fans of the old Waterman’s Beach Lobster, will be thrilled to know that the new venue has some unique…
Fine dining for location of former ‘Helm Restaurant’
ROCKPORT — Following a fall and winter of dormancy, construction is now under way at 141 Commercial St. (Route 1) in Rockport, preparing the building which once housed the Helm restaurant for a…
What’s In That Cocktail?
CAMDEN—After all of the gifts are unwrapped, the leftovers are put away and the hoopla dies down, it’s time for the adult equivalent of that last little bit of chocolate or candy cane in the…
BELFAST—If you’re shopping at the United Farmers Market of Maine in Belfast and happen upon Mike Raven’s booth, “Grandpa’s Specialty Smoked Meats,” you don’t have too far to walk for table service…
Rob Voudvihong, Jocelyn and Wind Tracy team up, pursue simplistic perfection
BELFAST — When the Gothic Building in Belfast became available for use it left a void downtown. The storied building, owned by Todd French, was once the home of now world-famous eatery The Lost…
Owner of Crush Distributors
ROCKLAND—When it comes to starting and running a business in Maine, Tabitha Blake Perry, owner of Crush Distributors, in Yarmouth, takes a look back on her humble beginnings and how far she’s come…
In business
CAMDEN—The little garage sitting next to The Smoothie Shack at 46 Elm Street became available recently when friends and business partners Ariela Kuh and Molly O’Rourke each saw her own vision of…
And the famous family lobster shack is back for a time!
SOUTH THOMASTON—It may be the end of the summer season for tourists to Maine, but Waterman’s Beach Brewing is just getting started.
General Manager Heath Curtis just opened the oceanfront…
ROCKPORT — The new owners of the former Helm Restaurant in Rockport received permission Aug. 14 from the Rockport Zoning Board of Appeals to reconstruct an old deck and increase the volume of a…
‘Must be Nice’ owner hauls, cooks, shucks lobster, and runs her own business
BELFAST—She works hard for the money, that’s for sure. Captain Sadie Samuels catches lobster all week on her own boat, FV Must Be Nice.
…
It’s about good food and people who care
WARREN – I didn’t really know what to expect when I walked into the Saint George Café at 310 Main…
In business
BELFAST—Was it a coincidence that the day I decided to check out The Only Doughnut, a new shop in Belfast, there was only one doughnut left?
Well, to be accurate, one kind of doughnut—a…
How to expand the markets
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is launching a new program to help institutions source more food locally. As a first step in that process, the…
20 percent of the profits went to Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services.
BELFAST—Matthew Norwood, owner of Baby Burrito in City Park, decided with his partner, Maggie Goscinski, to sell tacos for a cause on Tuesday, July…
honoring the dorman family legacy
THOMASTON — Significant changes continue to occur at Dorman’s Dairy Dream this summer.
After…
A safe port in an unsafe world
ROCKLAND — Matt Vokey, former owner of Thorndike Creamery, is at it again. Instead of building the sandwiches and pizzas that once fed diners in a former Main Street hotel, Vokey has set up shop…
SOUTH THOMASTON – Bree Burns owns and operates McLoon’s Lobster Shack at 315 Island Road, at the end of…
‘Beer shares’ are the latest trend in breweries carving out unique niche
BELFAST—A new brewery has quietly opened in Belfast, but unlike most hyper-local rural breweries, Frosty Bottom Brewing is choosing to operate not as a public tasting room, but as a “brew share,”…
After months of preparation, the Water Street Kitchen and Bar, formerly Le Garage, in Wiscasset, is set to debut Thursday, June 27.
After a couple of days of soft openings with family…
‘it’s a school bus, it’s not a kitchen, but we’ve designed a kitchen in there’
ROCKPORT — The latest eatery to join the trend of food trucks appearing in the Midcoast is actually not a truck. It’s a converted school bus painted blue.
The Rockport Harbor Food Bus is…
Takes over the old Cedar Crest Motel restaurant
Gary Oliver, the former co-owner of Mt. Battie Take Out at the base of the Camden Hills State Park, has a message for the shack’s loyal patrons who were disappointed to learn it…
Skål! Cheers!
VINALHAVEN — Since Kris Davidson, a seventh generation islander, opened her real estate business, Davidson Realty, in the front of a former hardware store built by Bodwell Granite Co., she knew…
popular demand leads to increased operational hours
THOMASTON — Lovers of ice cream in the Midcoast will now be able to get their frozen treat fill Sunday afternoons at Dorman’s Dairy Dream in Thomaston.
The ice cream stand announced on…
On May 3, Primo Restaurant will open for its 20th season. To celebrate, Primo will host special dinners and classes throughout the year.
“Twenty…
WALDOBORO—A new mobile food truck is set to open in Waldoboro this spring. Opposite Moody’s Diner at the corner of Rt. 1 and Washington Road, Ollie’s, a bright red mobile kitchen, is set to open…
ROCKLAND — It’s at the bend at 606 Old County Road. You know it because anyone who has traveled Old County Road knows you slow down to 25 mph and watch for golf carts crossing in the spring,…
Perennial Cider Bar & Farm Kitchen opened on April 17
BELFAST— The addition of Perennial Cider Bar & Farm Kitchen is exactly what Belfast needs right now.
The grand opening at 84 Main Street (formerly the yarn shop) took place in a cozy…
Ownership changes after more than three decades
ROCKPORT — A restaurant that has operated in much the same manner since the 1960s, the Helm, on Route 1 in Rockport, recently changed ownership and is headed in a new direction. Later this year,…
The Stone Brick Oven Kitchen takes over Pizza Permare location
NORTHPORT— Friends and former coworkers Stacy Schlensker and Nicole Pearse were catching up on each other’s lives over a drink last fall when they realized they both had the same dream: to open a…
Taking over the old Billy’s Tavern
THOMASTON—Carpenters and brewers Ethan Evangelos and Scott Bendtson built the foundation of their Searsmont brewery two years ago when they opened Thresher’s Brewing Co. in 2016. And now it’s…
For the month of December, we continue our “Shop Local” series to shine the spotlight on craftspeople who make things by hand.
Temple Tappers…
CAMDEN — Paying homage to the little girl after whom the original café on 55 Chestnut Street was named, as well as to the local restaurant made popular by Chef Brian Hill, Jennifer and Jack Neal,…
North Beacon Oyster’s Maine Revolvah
ROCKLAND — North Beacon Oyster’s pine state take on the classic San Francisco cocktail is the perfect sip for when the sun disappears too early and you want a companion who’ll listen to all of…
Isuken is the nation’s first Somali Bantu farm-to-table cooperative food truck
BELFAST— The word “Isuken” means unity in the Somali language, and after a successful crowdsourcing campaign this summer, six Somali Bantu members of a farm-to-table cooperative in Lewiston were…
Plus one new addition for October 13
Wait a minute; why are we talking about Oktoberfest in September?
You can thank the German Crown Prince Ludwig and his bride to be, Princess Therese of Saxony-…
Lincolnville’s newest ice cream shop and old fashioned candy store
LINCOLNVILLE—Set in the annex of the Lincolnville Beach’s Lobster Pound is a cool treat for the last days of summer: ice cream with unspoiled ocean views.
Even when the restaurant is…
