Welcome to the August 2024 edition of the Portland Food Map’s restaurant real estate listings, sponsored by The Boulos Company – a commercial real estate brokerage helping Maine restaurant owners purchase and lease restaurant space since 1975.
This resource summarizes in one convenient location the spaces available in Portland (and some surrounding areas) that could be potential locations for restaurants, food producers and retailers to locate their next business. Finding the right place is one of the critical challenges of starting a new business, and hopefully this resource will make that step a little easier.
Art District
547 Congress St – the 1,500 sq. ft. space formerly occupied by Broken Arrow is available for rent for $3,800/month (NNN).
553 Congress St – the commercial kitchen in the former Five Fifty Five premises (now rented by the Core Cannabis Museum) is available to a co-tenant for $2,000/month (MG).
554 Congress St – 1,600 sq ft former Dunkin’ Donuts space for $2,301/month (NNN).
594 Congress St – the 241.5 sqm space in the Upper HH Hay Building, formerly occupied by Starbucks, is available for $28/sqm (MG).
602 Congress St – The 1,500 square foot ground floor space at the corner of High and Congress is available for lease. The Schwartz Building has been undergoing renovations for a decade. For more information, contact Joe Atwood at (207) 899-7373.
Bayside/Inner Washington
219 Anderson St – The former Blue Lobster tasting room in the Rockingham Electric building is available; 2,700 square feet at $16/square foot (NNN).
73 Bay St – A 5,519 square foot industrial space in East Bayside is being offered for $35 per square foot and is expected to be available later this year.
52 Hanover St – On the first floor of Armature, 140 – 280 m² of retail space is available for 30 USD/m² (NNN). One space in the building is reserved for a café.
178 Kennebec St – 2,644 square feet of space is available in a newly constructed Bayside building for $25/square foot (NNN).
55 Washington Avenue – this 80,000 sq. ft. space is located in the Nissen Bakery building right between Cong Tu Bot and Hardshore Distillery and is available for $13,708/month (NNN).
Old Port
1 Canal Plaza – Upcoming renovations will provide 4,284 – 14,412 square feet of retail space on the ground floor; $30/square foot (NNN).
15 Kastanienstrasse – the building that housed Grace Restaurant is for sale. It includes the land, business assets and all FF&E facilities. The restaurant seats 175 and has a large circular bar on the first floor of the former church. The building is 14,358 square feet. It is for sale for $2,985,000.
185 Trade Street – a new building on Commercial Street has 213 sqm of ground floor retail space available for $55/sqm (NNN).
266 Trade Route – This new development offers 6,689 square feet of retail space at $20-22/square foot (NNN).
383 Trade Street – 1,193 – 4,805 square feet of space in a newly constructed building on Commercial Street is available for $28/square foot (NNN).
8 Exchange St – 1,800-3,600 square feet of space formerly occupied by The Bar & Bites on lower Exchange Street is available for $34.99/sqft (MG).
201 Federal Highway – a 2,300 square foot space in the new 18-story Casco building is available for $40/sqft (MG). The building owners are looking for someone who would like to open a market in this space.
420 Fore St – the space formerly occupied by the Old Port Slice Bar is available for lease. The 2,600 square foot space is available for $40/square foot (MG).
477 Fore St – the 125 sqm space formerly occupied by B + B Bakery is available for $30/sqm (MG).
40 Free St. – a 141.5 sqm space in the new building constructed by JB Brown is available for $27.50/sqm (NNN).
100 Middle Street – a 350 square foot cafe on the first floor of an office building in Old Port is available for $850/month (MG).
111 Middle Street – the 150 sqm former cabana building is available for rent for $3,500/month (NNN). For more information about the property and its history, check out this post on Instagram.
121 Middle Street – a 2,482 square foot retail space is available for $45/sqft (MG).
157 Middle Street – 2,039 – 5,155 square feet of retail space available for $27.95/square foot (MG).
184 Middle Street – this newly renovated space will be available in August. It was previously occupied by Blanche & Mimi and includes 1,169 sq. ft. of retail space on the ground floor and 808 sq. ft. of storage space in the basement, all for $48.43/sq. ft. (MG).
5 milk pcs – this 2,199 sq. ft. former hair salon is available for $28/sq. ft. (NNN).
1 Memorial Square – 1,500 square feet of ground floor space next to Cera is available for $25/sqft (MG).
28 Monument Square – There are numerous spaces available on the first and second floors of the Public Market House.
25 Perlenstrasse – 1,689 square feet of former subway space available for $30/sqft (MG).
66 Pearl Street – 5,796 square feet of space – the former Bull Moose retail store – is available for $15.75/square foot (MG).
3 Spring Street – the space formerly occupied by Stage Cannabis is available for rent: 2,000 square feet at $15.50/square foot (NNN).
144 State Road – A retail space is available in the former Mercy Hospital building on State Street. The 2,500 square foot space is available for $20/sq ft (MG). Chocolate Passions has already moved into the adjacent retail space.
53 Wharf St – a 1,600 square foot space at the corner of Wharf and Union Streets is available for $30/sqft (MG).
India Road Area
144 Fore St – Located near the Portland Foreside complex and adjacent to several new office buildings on Thames Street, the former VA building offers 1500-1,000 sq ft of space at $22-$29/sq ft (NNN).
Outer Forest Avenue
503 – 509 Waldallee – the exterior of the building will be restored to its historic design. 1,268 – 6,313 square feet of space is available for $10-15/square foot (NNN).
Deer
164 Porch St – the 1,000 square foot former Other Side Deli location is available for $2,500/month (gross).
550 Washington Avenue – 2,000 – 2,400 square feet of the former Botto Bakery is available for lease at $18/square foot (NNN).
Elsewhere in Portland
Old Harbour Bar – a 12,000 sq. ft. bar/restaurant in the Old Port is for sale for $195,000.
1339 Washington Ave – the 4,000-square-foot former Parker’s Restaurant building in North Deering is for sale for $1,750,000.
Northgate Shopping Centre – 140 to 180 m² of space is available.
Westgate Shopping Centre – There are three spaces available for rent, measuring 130, 350 and 460 square metres. The rental prices are negotiable and the owner is very interested in finding a catering tenant for the shopping centre.
Other rooms – some vacated restaurant spaces have not yet been officially listed by the owner. Please refer to the closure announcements for current information.
Outside Portland
The Downs – A 185 m² restaurant space is for sale in the mixed-use building complex The Downs.
Trudy Birds, North Yarmouth – The business, land and both buildings are for sale for $1,450,000.
358 Main Street, Yarmouth – the building, which housed several gluten-free bakeries, is for sale for $475,000.
Ferry Village – The building that housed the Knitting Nook is available; 500-1,200 square feet for $2,000 (MG).
188 Lincoln St, Lewiston – this 25,000-57,000 sq ft former fire station has been renovated and used as retail/restaurant space. List price is $5-14/sq ft (NNN). For more information on the building and neighborhood, check out this Instagram article.
glossary
MG – Modified gross amount, which indicates that the operating costs (taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc.) for the property are included in the rental price. The tenant pays his own utilities, sometimes including heating costs.
NNN – Triple Net means that operating costs are not included in the rent and the tenant pays them separately. They are often referred to as CAM (Common Area Maintenance) fees and taxes and are quoted in $/sf. The tenant is also responsible for utilities.
Gross – Gross means that all costs, including utilities, are included in the rental price. The tenant is responsible for telephone and internet access as well as the janitorial work in the house.
