Portland Food Map

Peter and Jessica Sueltenfuss announced that they’ve sold the Other Side Diner. Their last day as owners of the business was Sunday.

Their statement reads in part, “The Diner has been such a huge part of our lives, and we are beyond grateful for every guest who walked through our doors, every staff member who worked alongside us, and every friendship and memory made over the years. Your support, loyalty, and kindness helped shape this restaurant into something truly special.”

The diner is being taken over by Danielle Dubois and Dan Washington. Dubois has been a member of the Other Side kitchen staff for the last year, and Washington has several years experience cooking at the Miss Portland Diner. They plan on maintaining continuity with the food and atmosphere at the Other Side Diner while bringing some of their own ideas to the menu. They hope to relaunch the Other Side Diner in July.

Other Side Diner opened 7 years ago in April 2019. The Sueltenfusses previously operated two locations of the Other Side Deli on Veranda and Vaughan Streets.

Belleville - Portland, Maine has announced plans to close their location on Munjoy Hill. They’ll continue to operate out of their Forest Avenue bakery. The last day of operations on Congress Street will be June 8th. Their statement reads in part,

“We understand this seems like strange timing with high season ready to begin in Portland, but we simply don’t have enough trained bakers to maintain our quality standards and produce enough pastries to continue operations as normal.”

“Additional factors that played into this tough decision include the financial strains of the overhead costs of maintaining two locations. We have also struggled with the logistics of supporting teams at two separate locations. We’re nearing the end of our 10 year lease at 1 North St and we were feeling ready to make changes. Lastly, Amy and I have hustled hard for many years and surprise, surprise, we have less energy. We’re older now too!”

The Forest Ave location opened in 2023 and is currently open on Saturdays and Sundays, 8 – 11 am. Owners Chris Deutsch and Amy Fuller expect to expand hours of operations there in the near future.

Deutsch and Fuller launched Belleville at the corner of North and Congress Streets in 2017.

This week's Maine Food & Dining Report includes word of several new openings: The Rumery cocktail bar🍸 in Eastport, Hug Sen Noodle Bar🍜in Brunswick, Maine Jamaican Kitchen in South Portland, The Flounder and Shorties in York, Swell Kitchen in Cape Neddick. It also has news about new restaurant developments in Kennebunk, Old Orchard Beach, and Rockland, the release of Aragosta chef Devin Finigan's new book📚, the sale of the Cellardoor Winery farmhouse and vineyard, details on farm dinners👨‍🌾 taking place all over the state, the rebranding of Standard Gastropub to The LAST CHAIR, the upcoming closure of Mulligan’s in Biddeford, the rhubarb festival taking place in Perry with the theme of “Rhubarb is Sexy”, a series of edible insect events taking place this year at the Maine Tasting Center, and additional news from Norway and South Portland as well as the addition of Suzuki, St. George Pizza, The Parlor, Perch Cafe and Bakery and Walkers Maine to the Maine Food Map.

You can read the full report here: https://www.portlandfoodmap.com/maine-food-dining-news-waldoboro-monson-deer-isle-nobleboro-eastport-brunswick-south-portland-old-orchard-beach-wells-bridgton-york-beach-kennebunk-rockland-lincolnville-biddeford-pe/

There was a fire yesterday at Makoto in South Portland. Co-owner Rattanak Tray shared that everyone was able exit safely. The timeframe to re-open the restaurant is unknown at this point. Extinguising the fire required cutting open the roof of the building.

Makoto opened earlier this year. It’s was launched by Tray and Hope MacVane-Tray who also own Yosaku in Portland.

Update: The South Portland (Maine) Fire Department has issued a news release about the fire that reads in part, "The building was occupied at the time of the incident. Those present exited when alerted to the fire. Upon arrival, crews encountered heavy smoke inside the restaurant. Firefighters quickly located a fire in the ceiling area near the kitchen exhaust hood system. The fire was extinguished promptly; however, significant damage was sustained to the kitchen and portions of the roof. No injuries were reported. The business is expected to remain closed for an extended period while repairs are completed."

Barkada is opening for business on Saturday May 30th. The new Filipino🇵🇭 fast casual restaurant is located at 425 Fore Street in the space formerly occupied by Paper Tiger. It will be open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 am – 9 pm and until 10 pm on Fridays and Saturdays.

Chefs Nicole and Ben Bowers and business partners Margaret and Luka Dow are serving a menu house designed bowls like the Spicy Baddie shown above as well as a Build Your Own option where customers select a base of grain or greens, a protein, toppings and sauce. Lumpia rolls and a noodle dish called pancit are available as sides. In addition to soft drinks Barkada also serves an ube pina colada slush, and Singha, Tsingtao and Sapporo beer.

Nicole and Ben Bowers are the chefs for Barkada. Nicole Bowers is originally from the Philippines. She and Ben Bowers met while attending the Institute of Culinary Education in NY. They’ve worked in Michelin-starred restaurants including for Daniel Boulud. Prior to moving to Maine they worked as private chefs in Florida. The Dows also have a background in the hospitality industry including operating a cafe in Boston and in food distribution.

Barkada initially launched as a food truck late last June.

There's a lot going on! This week's Maine Food & Dining Report includes word of the launch of The Dooryard Pub in South Portland and the Barn at Smith Farm at Falmouth, of Good Wolf🐺 restaurant in the final stages of construction in Northeast Harbor, the upcoming sale of the Taste of Maine Restaurant🦞 in Woolwich, the closure of North Star in Wells, the decision to close Olive Pit Brewing in Lisbon Falls in September, a new deli/cocktail bar🥪🍸 called Scullery Made in Searsport and additional news from Oxford, Dover-foxcroft, Westbrook, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Pembroke, Solon, Buxton, Sanford, and Ellsworth.
You can read the full report here:

Maine Food & Dining News: South Portland, MDI, Falmouth, Oxford, Westbrook, Dover-Foxcroft, Cape Elizabeth, Yarmouth, Wells, Lisbon Falls, Woolwich, Pembroke, Solon, Buxton, Belfast, Sanford, Ellsworth - Portland Food Map New food and dining developments are taking place all across Maine. Here are some recent updates to keep you in the know: The Dooryard (instagram) is scheduled to open on Thursday. The South Portland pub is being launched by Chris Beth and Lori Eschholz, the former owners of OhNo Cafe. It will initi...

Chefs Melody Medina and Quinn Williams are launching Chérie on Thursday. Chérie is located at 249 Congress Street in the space formerly occupied by Quanto Basta.

The menu (see below) includes dishes like steak frites, roast chicken, and halibut with tarbais beans as well as desserts like creme brulee and strawberry sorbet. Chérie also features a full bar program run by Lucie Anderson. The beverage menu includes wines by the glass🍷 and bottle, local beer and cider, appertifs and a cocktail program as well as non-alcoholic options. The Chérie Negroni as well as the asparagus and snap pea salad, and the leek vinaigrette are shown below as well as the steak frites and strawberry🍓 sorbet.

Williams and Medina have made some light renovations to the 20-seat dining room but otherwise retain the same general layout—including the Fiero Forni oven. Cherie also has a 20-seat enclosed patio located behind the building.

The couple moved to Portland from Brooklyn in 2024. They met when both were working at Frenchette New York City. Medina is a 2011 graduate of the French Culinary Institute and helped launch the bread program at Frenchette and open the Frenchette Bakery in Tribeca. Williams’ career began in his hometown of Pittsburgh and once in NYC worked at Le Rock and Lords. Since last fall they have been holding a series of Cherie pop-up events at Lambs, Hunt & Alpine and the Big Tree event space.

Chérie will initially be open Thursday through Monday, 5 – 10 pm with plans to expand hours this summer to offer lunch and brunch on the weekend.

Ladyfish opened for business on Wednesday. The new restaurant has been launched in former Bar Futo space on Fore Street by the owners of Mr. Tuna. It’s a pop-up restaurant that will be in operation May through October. Reservations are available on OpenTable.

The kitchen is being headlined by chef Christine Lau. The menu (see below) includes dishes like steamed buns with uni butter, crispy noodles alle vongole, tuna carpaccio, fragrant eggplant dip, and key lime hand pies for dessert. The bar menu includes cocktails like the South End and North Country drinks shown above, wine, beer, vermouth and nonalcoholic beverages.

Lau was the executive chef at Kimika which was a Beard Awards semifinalists for Best New Restaurant in 2022. Her press accolades include an Eater NYC Best Dishes of 2020 nod, Condé Nast Traveler’s 2021 Hot List for Best New Restaurants, and Food & Wine magazine’s Best Bites of 2021.

Jordan and Marisa Rubin launched the Mr. Tuna food cart in 2017 and the Mr. Tuna restaurant on Middle Street in 2024. With partners Cyle Reynolds and Sasha Brouillard the Rubins launched Crispy G*i on Exchange Street in 2021. Last year Rubin was named to the 2025 class of Best New Chefs by Food & Wine magazine.

Ladyfish is located at 425 Fore Street and will be open daily, 5 – 10 pm.

Heather Gildea, the owner of Black Elephant Hostel, has been developing an all-day cafe and a listening lounge which together are called The Company of Others. They will be located in the former India Street Coffee by Design building. Renovations are well underway and Gildea hopes to launch the cafe space first early this summer followed by the lounge.

She envisions the establishment as a third place where members of the community can meet and connect. Gildea shared “In a world that moves too fast, we offer something essential: a place to pause, to connect, to feel at home in the company of others. Connection doesn’t happen on a schedule. So, we don’t close until the the night is over. The atmosphere changes as the night deepens – from high-end café to something funkier and looser — a late-night gathering spot for the people who aren’t ready to go home yet. Same room. Same welcome. The company just keeps getting better.”

The menu for the cafe will include crepes, tartines, and other light fare. It will offer a full line-up of brewed and espresso-based coffee☕️ drinks using beans from a local roaster as well as a rotating selection of internationally-inspired beverages like Moroccan Mint Tea🫖. Gildea expects to evolve the menu offerings as the community engages with the business.

In the evening The Company of Others will serve cocktails🍸, wine by the glass, and craft beer as well as nonalcoholic beverages in Lowell’s Lounge—the listening lounge is named for Gildea’s father who “had a deep appreciation for music and how it should be heard.” A sound engineer has been working to create the optimal environment for a listening lounge. It will feature an experience “centered around high-fidelity audio and curated vinyl programming” that shares a wide range of musical genres, “jazz to soul, classical to electronic, we move across genres with the same spirit of genuine curiosity — following the music wherever it leads. Some nights a DJ takes the room on a journey. Other nights it’s just a needle, a record, and whatever Lowell might have put on next.”

Wednesday’s at The Company of Others will be an alcohol-free day in the cafe and lounge. The listening lounge menu is still under development so stay tuned for additional details.

Fresh Approach Meat Market in Portland's West End is closing after 34 years in business.

It is with deep regret and broken hearts
We must announce that after 34 years in business on Bracket Street we will be closing Fresh Approach
As many of you are aware our ability to take food stamps at our store was taken away from us about 1 year ago. Unfortunately an employee sold dish soap and tissues to an undercover USDA agent. Although we know this was wrong and it never should have happened our license was suspended for 6 months and we received a hefty fine. It took us 11 months to get our license back - which was a very big part of our business. We established a good wholesale business to local restaurants and caterers but because of so many restaurants closing our sales have gone down. With the current economy and cost of doing business is more than we can overcome we will be liquidating our inventory effective immediately.
We will remain open until everything is sold.

With that being said we want to sincerely thank all of you for supporting us for the last 34 years. We have made so many friends and have watched children grow up to adults. Each and every one of you are special to us and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts

Thank you also to our employees for hanging in there with us - You are the best!

Chet and Peggy-Fresh Approach