Mainebiz Special Editions

V O L . X X I X N O. X I X 30 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine Q UA L I T Y O F L I F E Roundup HELLOS Leading the list are the newest openings Mainebiz covered in the Friday Food Insider. e Kennebunkport Resort Collection partnered with New York City's sushi restaurant Rosella NYC to open its second restaurant in the Grand Hotel, bring- ing the renowned restaurant's innovative approach to Japanese cuisine to 1 Chase Hill Road in Kennebunk. is restaurant is the first and only upscale sushi and omakase concept in the area. Featuring a selec- tion of Rosella's dishes, seasonal picks and exclu- sive new items, the menu is complemented by a selection of domestic wine, small-batch sake and a focused cocktail list. Another opening in Kennebunk is Rococo Ice Cream, a Kennebunk fan favorite, has moved from its previous Dock Square location to a new flag- ship scoop shop in Kennebunk's Lower Village at 8 Western Ave. e new location opened at the beginning of June and makes the perfect spot to drop in and get some ice cream after a meal at one of Kennebunk's restaurants. Rococo Ice Cream has opened a first-of-its- kind dessert bar next door. It is open from mid- afternoon to 11 p.m. And last new restaurant that has been included in the Insider is Nico's Italian Ice & Gelato in Naples. e shop's menu boasts a rotating selection of flavors, from mango and blue raspberry to more unique flavors like "tiger's blood," watermelon mar- garita and strawberry guava. e gelato is made by an Italian-owned company called GS Gelato. What sets Nico's apart are fun specialty offerings such as Churro a la Mode, Gelato Waffle Nachos and Gelato or Italian Ice Flights, which feature six scoops of the customer's choice. Other openings include: Tacos la Poblanita opened at 57 Bridge St. in Westbrook. It launched as a food truck in 2019 and moved into the Maine Mall in 2022. Its menu includes tacos, enchiladas, burritos and quesadil- las. The Westbrook location opened in March and still operates its venue in the mall. Lenora, at 2 Portland Square, opened on Feb. 6 in what had been Walter's, a fine dining restaurant that closed in May 2019. The upscale Mexican restaurant is open from breakfast to late evening. Papi Portland, a Puerto Rican-inspired bar and restau- rant, opened at 18 Exchange St. on March 14. If you are looking to try a beef empanada, churrasco (skirt steak, yuca hash, pickled mango, blistered shishito, leek puree), or yuca fries, this is the spot to check out. Paper City BBQ, at 855 Main St. in Westbrook, opened its doors in November 2022. It specializes in smoked meats and local beer and also serves more than 50 whiskeys. Casa Jalisco, is a family-owned and operated Mexican restaurant, which opened in September 2022 and is located at 205 High St., in Ellsworth. Brickyard Hollow Brewing, opened several new locations including 149 Maine St. in Brunswick, 310 ME-27 in Stratton-Eustis, 437 Lewiston Road in New Gloucester and 123 Madison Ave in Yarmouth. Owner Brad Moll is also expanding to 180 Main St. in Biddeford. Bar Futo, a Japanese-inspired restaurant, took over the space at 425 Fore St. in the Old Port that had been occupied by Five Guys Burgers & Fries. The restaurant opened in December 2022. Twelve opened in July 2022 in Building 12 of the old Portland Co. site. The restaurant has modern New England cuisine including a version of the lob- ster roll, which made Esquire's list for its "fanciest lobster roll ever." Smoke BBQ, at 58 York St. in Kennebunk, is fairly new to the Maine barbecue scene, opening in November 2022. This spot is 100% authentic wood-fired bar- becue and the meats are smoked up 16 hours. In the past few years, Maine has seen restaurants come and go. Let's take a trip down memory lane and see which Maine restaurants have come to the scene and which ones we have had to say goodbye to. INDUSTRY INDUSTRY B y A l e x i s W e l l s RESTAURANT RESTAURANT Maine says hello and goodbye to local restaurants Sea Dog Brewing Co. opened in the former Famous Dave's restaurant space at Cabela's Plaza, right off I-95 in Scarborough. The spot opened in December 2022. Bread & Friends is a Portland-based bakery concept specializing in naturally leavened, whole grain bread, inventive and nostalgic pastries, as well as pickles, jams, butter and spreads. The bakery opened in April. Bixby Chocolate, a Rockland maker of organic chocolate bars opened its first chocolate café and retail shop in Waterville in December 2022 at the Paul J. Schupf Art Center at 93 Main St. KPort Bagel, at 2 Morning Walk Lane in Kennebunk, opened in March and features sourdough bagels. Ferris BBQ, at 79 Parsons St. in Presque Isle, is the first barbecue restaurant in the area. It opened in February. GOODBYES While the pandemic resulted in a crisis for the restau- rant industry in 2020, things eased somewhat in 2021 thought restaurants also faced challenges like the work- force shortages and supply chain issues. ose issues resulted in longer wait lines, fewer restaurants open in busy tourist enclaves and shortages of ingredients. Many patrons still see longer wait times, fewer tables, or their favorite establishments have closed due to rising costs due to inflation and the need for more workers. Let's take a moment for those restaurants we said goodbye to in recent months. Sea Dog Brewing Co. announced on April 12 that it planned to close one of its two South Portland locations. The Maine-based restaurant chain closed the site at 725 Broadway in South Portland. Fred Forsley, co-founder and partner of Sea Dog Brewing, told Mainebiz, "It was a very difficult decision. The increased costs in the restaurant business made it hard for us to make money. We appreciate the sup- port from other businesses and the community." In February, Rivalries owners Amy and Lance Meader announced on the website that the Portland location had closed permanently. "With mixed emotions we share the news that we have sold our Rivalries Portland location. With heartfelt appreciation, we owe our staff and many guests over the years a huge thank you for making Rivalries Portland what it was. We consider so many people a part of the Rivalries family." Rwanda Bean Co., shut down its retail presence at Thompson's Point on May 1, but maintained its roastery, production and wholesale operations at the location. The owners of Portland's TIQA Mediterranean restau- rant inside the Courtyard by Marriott hotel announced in April that they planned to close. "Over the past three years, since COVID started, we have faced an exhausting ever-changing set of dynamics that we have yet to figure out how best to handle — because of this — we have decided to close TIQA and con- sider all possible future options," Deen and Carol Haleem said in a Facebook post.

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