The head bartender at Izakaya Minato plans to open a new cocktail lounge on Congress Street in Portland’s East End.
Isaac MacDougal has applied for a license to open Cocktail Mary at 229 Congress St., the former location of Ramen Suzukiya, a noodle shop that closed last fall after the owner’s death. In a letter accompanying his liquor license application, MacDougal noted that while some restaurants in the East End serve cocktails, there is not yet a cocktail bar in that part of town.
MacDougal cited his experience working as a bartender or manager in Michelin-starred restaurants in New York City, and pointed out that his family ran the now-closed Vaughan Street Variety, a sandwich shop on Portland’s West End, since 1995.
MacDougal’s target opening date is June 1.
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