Never Too Many Portland Restaurants!

Dana Street, owner of the venerable Street & Co, and Fore Street restaurants in Portland, plans to open a new one on Portland's Maine Wharf.

Portland is fast becoming one the country''s foodiest cities ("Foodiest."Foodiest." Say it a bunch of times, it will start to sound funny.) The city already has more restaurants per capita than any other in the USA, but that isn't the part that matters; what matters is if they are good restaurants. If past history is any indicator, this will be.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Street confirmed that the deal was inked recently to lease the space at 68-72 Commercial St., which is physically located on Maine Wharf, in the city’s central waterfront district and adjacent to the Casco Bay Terminal.  The two-story building now under renovation will accommodate the restaurant’s approximately 7,000 square foot ground level space with offices above. The dramatic interior has towering ceilings flanked by large casement-style windows overlooking both sides of the wharf with easterly and westerly views. It will seat 144, making it one of the largest restaurants in the city.

Maine Wharf, before and then during renovations.

Street described his new venture as "a classic New England seafood house reminiscent of the way fish houses were in the early part of the 20^th century." Look for a grand opening sometime next summer.