Inside Old Port’s French bistro, Petite Jacqueline, in December 2021. The Market Street restaurant is for sale. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
After 12 years in business, the owners of the French bistro Petite Jacqueline recently announced plans to sell the restaurant.
Owners Michelle and Steve Corry – named 2020 Restaurateurs of the Year by the trade group HospitalityMaine – launched Petite Jacqueline in Longfellow Square in 2011, then moved to Market Street in the Old Port in 2016. “As of now we plan to continue to operate through September and hope that someone that is equally as passionate about French food and culture will continue our vision,” the couple recently wrote in a post to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
In a phone interview, Michelle Corry gave several reasons for the decision to sell, including rising operational costs, a desire to spend more time with their children, and the lingering effects of the pandemic. “We did survive COVID, but there’s still really a lag there,” she said. “We’re not fully recovered yet from the huge devastation.
“The cost of doing business right now, especially in Portland, is becoming insurmountable,” she continued. “It’s not worth it. And Steve and I just can’t be there as much as we used to. We had to make a choice between working nights and weekends and being with our two teenage boys. We choose family at this point in life.”
The restaurant, named for Michelle Corry’s French grandmother, serves classic bistro fare like steak frites, French onion soup, terrines and vegetable tians.
Corry said she and her husband, a 2007 Food & Wine magazine Best New Chef, have been on the cusp of selling for a long time. “But we stayed open because we love our staff, and we’ve been able to hang on so they could stay employed.” Corry said they gave their staff ample notice of the closure and offered to help them find work elsewhere.
“We’re both super-grateful for all of our employees, past and present, and our regular customers over the years. And the community in general has been extremely supportive,” Corry said. “We’ll miss operating in Portland. That’s sad.”
The move will allow the Corrys to turn their attention to running 555 North in Brunswick, which is owned by their partner, Gerard Kiladjian. The Brunswick venue is named after the popular 555 restaurant the Corrys owned at 555 Congress St. in Portland from 2003 to 2020.
NEW ICE CREAM SHOP IN YARMOUTH
Honeycone Ice Cream Social opened at the beginning of September in Yarmouth in the Route 1 building that formerly hosted Maples Bakery. Courtesy of Honeycone Ice Cream Social
Organic ice cream parlor Honeycone Ice Cream Social opened in Yarmouth over the holiday weekend.
Located at 881 Route 1 in Yarmouth, Honeycone is in the front of the building formerly occupied by Maples bakery, before that business moved last spring to New Gloucester. The shop has more than 20 seats inside, and at least 20 more outdoor seats as well, along with three fire pits.
“The concept is for it to be a gathering place,” said co-owner Joyce Chittick. “We wanted to create a social environment.”
Honeycone makes its own ice cream onsite. The shop has 22 flavors, all organic, including eight vegan options. None of Honeycone’s ice cream contains eggs, Chittick noted.
Chittick said Honeycone will strive to keep all of its flavors organic, but said it can be challenging to gather components for organic ice cream in large quantities.
The new store is open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., and from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Honeycone won’t reopen this week until Thursday, however, because the staff is busy making more ice cream and waffle cones after big opening weekend crowds wiped out inventory: The shop sold more than 500 cones in three days.
“The turnout and support was absolutely mind-blowing. We had not anticipated it,” Chittick said.
WHEN PIGS FLY TO OPEN IN PORTLAND
York-based When Pigs Fly Breads is opening a new Bayside bakery and retail location in October.
The shop, to be located at 65 Hanover St., will be When Pigs Fly’s seventh, in addition to retail locations in Freeport and Kittery, and four more in the greater Boston area.
The Bayside store will carry the bakery’s full line of more than two dozen breads, along with various baked goods and pantry items like jam, butter, oil and spreads they recommend pairing with their products.
When Pigs Fly founder Ron Siegel launched his bakery in Wells in 1993, he baked 80 loaves on his first day in business. Soon after, the business relocated to York, where the bakery now cranks out as many as 12,000 artisanal loaves a day.
BREAD & FRIENDS ADDS DINNER SERVICE
Fore Street bakery and brunch hot spot Bread & Friends has expanded its offerings to include dinner service four days a week.
“Since we’ve opened, we’ve been doing a bakery and restaurant combined concept,” co-owner Maggie Rubin said. “The brunch service has really blown up a little bit, so we decided to take our talents further and add on a dinner service.”
Maggie and Tanner Rubin, along with their co-founders Jessica Rattey and Jeremy Broucek, opened Bread & Friends in April at 505 Fore St. in a space previously occupied by Pizzarino. The team had originally launched their bakery business in 2021, selling at farmers markets and to wholesale accounts.
“We never had (dinner service) in our short-term plan,” Rubin said. “But once we started taking a look at what was bringing in business for us, it made sense for us from a business perspective to tap into another revenue stream in the restaurant side, which seems to be taking off a little bit.”
Bread & Friends launched its dinner menu on Aug. 26. Rubin said dinner service – overseen by Broucek, who is also the venue’s executive chef – amounts to “elevated shared plates. It’s definitely meant to be more of a family-style experience at the table.”
Broucek offer his spin on world classics, Rubin said, like a grilled corn and butter lettuce salad inspired by elote, or Mexican street corn. Most of the dinner dishes range from $15 to $35.
The restaurant, which has about 25 seats inside and another 20 on its sidewalk patio, takes reservations for dinner seating and also accepts walk-ins. Dinner is available at Bread & Friends Friday through Monday from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
MAINE LOBSTER WEEK RETURNS
The third annual Maine Lobster Week is set for Sept. 24-30, and the event organizer is encouraging more restaurants to participate.
About 17 restaurants spread through a wide swath of the state – including Rodney’s at 436 Main up in Presque Isle – have already signed on for Maine Lobster Week. Event organizer Gillian Britt said she expects 50-60 venues will ultimately take part, in line with the event’s past two years.
“Interest has been strong and there’s always a flurry of activity as we get closer,” Britt said.
The weeklong lobster celebration – which includes National Lobster Day on Monday, Sept. 25 – differs from the annual Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland in that it takes place in a number of different locations. Maine Lobster Week is similar to Maine Restaurant Week, the popular late-winter celebration of special dishes and menus at special prices, also spearheaded by Britt.
Running the gamut from seaside shacks to fine-dining venues, participating restaurants will use the week to sell lobster specials and three-course menus priced between $45-$65 and featuring at least two lobster courses. Select local lobster shippers will also have special offerings that can be ordered online and shipped to lobster lovers around the country.
Britt said Maine businesses interested in participating are welcome to sign up on mainelobsterweek.com under the “restaurant registration” tab.
“We’re excited to see what the different chefs come up with,” said Marianne LaCroix, executive director of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. “This is a great way for diners to support Maine’s lobster fishermen.”
The event is sponsored by the Maine Lobster Marketing Collective.
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