The owner of the Brea Lu Cafe plans to reopen the breakfast and lunch spot in Westbrook by August.
Christian DeLuca, who has owned the cafe on Forest Avenue in Portland since 2007, said Tuesday he has found a new home for the restaurant at 9 Cumberland St., in Westbrook. The location is just off Main Street and on a route between Portland and downtown Westbrook.
DeLuca said in early May that he would permanently close the Portland location because of damage caused by a fire on Valentine’s Day. At the time, DeLuca said he had found a new location that looked promising, but he did not want to divulge the location until a lease was signed.
On Tuesday, DeLuca posted a short video on the Brea Lu Cafe Facebook page showing the interior of the new space. It also showed him signing the lease.
DeLuca said Brea Lu’s menu will be “exactly the same” as it was on Forest Avenue, featuring breakfast and lunch dishes. The restaurant will have its own parking lot, which the Forest Avenue location did not, and about the same amount of seating, at least at first.
DeLuca said he can’t open until he gets city approval, and he plans to attend a city council meeting in July. If all goes well, he hopes to be open by August.
“We want to do exactly what we were doing (in Portland) but better,” said DeLuca Tuesday. “And as we grow, our menu will grow.”
The new location has housed several food businesses, including Thanksgivings and Hoggy’s Market. It also was eyed last year by Portland-based Union Bagel Co. In December the Westbrook Planning Board reviewed a sketch for the proposed location of the company’s wholesale operation and a retail shop at 9 Cumberland St. At the time, Union Bagel Co. owner Paul Farrell said plans to move to the Westbrook location were not definite. He did not return a call Tuesday.
Brea Lu Cafe in Portland was a popular hangout for University of Southern Maine students. No one was hurt in the Feb. 14 fire, which was not considered suspicious, but the restaurant’s equipment was ruined.
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