The Prentice Hospitality Group, owners of upscale venues in Greater Portland, recently announced that it has bought The Good Table, Cape Elizabeth’s landmark restaurant.

Prentice, which also owns Chebeague Island Inn, Evo Kitchen + Bar and Twelve, among other properties, said on Sunday that it was taking over the nearly 38-year-old restaurant.

“We’re honored to carry on the legacy of this exceptional neighborhood treasure,” said Casey Prentice, CEO of Prentice Hospitality Group. “The Good Table aligns perfectly with our commitment to delicious food, community-focused hospitality, and showcasing local ingredients. Our goal is to nurture the spirit of The Good Table for the next 30 years.”

Former owner Lisa Kostopoulos said Casey Prentice and Prentice Corporate Executive Chef Matt Ginn were the first people to come asking about The Good Table in January after her family put it on the market. She called the Prentice Group “a perfect fit” for the farm-to-table restaurant, which is known for its Sunday brunches and family-style service.

“They’re local, No. 1,” Kostopoulos said. “Matt is from Cape Elizabeth and he’s always wanted a restaurant in Cape Elizabeth. And I think Matt and I have similar goals as chefs as far as working with farms and being as close to farm-to-table as we can. And they want to keep it family-friendly, which thrills me. We were really hoping that (the new owners) would continue to serve the people who’ve supported us, and I think they will.”

Kostopoulos has said her family had been considering a sale for several years, particularly after enduring pandemic challenges and a 2001 fire that destroyed the building, though it was rebuilt and opened again seven months later.

“We wish (Prentice) all the luck in the world. I think they’re going to knock it out of the park,” she said. “The minute I met Matt and Casey, I was like, ‘These are the people who need to be here.’ It made handing over something I’ve worked at for 38 years much easier, and I feel nothing but good about it.”

BANDED BREWING CLOSES TASTING ROOM

Banded Brewing Co. has closed its Portland tasting room, serving the last beer there on Saturday, according to an Instagram post by the Biddeford-based brewery.

“We’ve made this decision with Banded’s sustainability and growth at the forefront. We believe that closing our Portland space will allow our team to better use our resources to support our home taproom and kitchen in Biddeford, and our production brewing operations,” the post said in part.

The brewery, which opened in 2013, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May. The owners couldn’t be reached Tuesday for an interview about the bankruptcy filing or the closing of the Portland tasting room, which opened on Hanover Street in Portland’s West Bayside in 2020.

SWELL COFFEE OPENING IN SACO

A nitro cold brew coffee shop is in the works for downtown Saco.

Swell Nitro Coffee is in the buildout phase at 200 Main St., the location of the former Everything Zen clothing and gift shop. The 850-square-foot space will be able to seat about 25 people.

Co-owner Taylor Archambault said Swell’s focus on nitro cold brews dispensed on tap will distinguish the shop from other cafes in the area. “The method kind of simulates what Guinness does with their stout to give it a nice creamy head,” he said. “It changes the mouthfeel and the profile of the coffee, and creates a much less bitter product.”

Swell will source its coffee beans from Carrabassett Coffee Company in Kingfield, and the shop will specialize in Carrabassett’s extensive line of flavored coffees like French vanilla, hazelnut, toasted almond, pumpkin spice, Christmas Cookie and Blueberry Cobbler.

“They have a ton of flavor profiles, so we’re going to be able to experiment and give our customers a wide range of variety,” co-owner Peter Vacca said.

Swell also will offer some standard hot coffees along with some more creative beverages like cold lattes using condensed cold brew to simulate espresso, since the shop will not have an espresso machine.  The new cafe will sell pastries from Little Spruce Baking Co. in Biddeford.

“We really want it to be fast,” Archambault said. “There are a lot of coffee shops now that are very artisan, and it can take up to 10 minutes to get your coffee. We want (Swell) to be quick, and I think the pastries coexist with that.”

“We have a really good opportunity to bring something new to Saco,” Vacca said. “Where a lot of companies are going into Biddeford now, we’re hoping to be the start of revamping Saco Main Street and getting it almost on par with what Biddeford is becoming.”

Archambault and Vacca – whose wives, Chrissy Archambault and Kelsey Vacca, are partners in the project – said they hope the shop is open by early December.

COMMUNITY PLATE SUPPER SERIES

Community Plate, a new nonprofit group seeking to battle the loneliness epidemic and build community through shared meals and stories, has announced its upcoming lineup of Story-Sharing Potluck Suppers.

Upcoming supper dates include Oct. 18 in Waterville, Nov. 16 at the Freeport Grange and Feb. 3 in Bowdoinham as part of the smelt festival. The group is planning additional suppers for Cumberland, Orono, Brunswick and Camden.

Community Plate was co-founded by Karl Schatz and Margaret Hathaway, who edit and publish the Maine Community Cookbooks. “When we put together the Maine Community Cookbooks, we saw firsthand the incredible power that sharing recipes and food stories can have to bring people together,” Hathaway said. “We wanted to create a series of in-person events that would bring this work into communities around the state.”

Community Plate’s free events bring people together for a traditional potluck supper with a twist: Each attendee brings a dish, a recipe and a story to share about what they brought. Over the course of the meal – led by an MC, and structured around story prompts – participants are encouraged to share stories and make connections. In the weeks following the meal, each attendee receives a mini cookbook filled with recipes and stories for the dishes brought to the event.

“When we read the Surgeon General’s 2023 report on America’s epidemic of loneliness and crisis of disconnection, we began to understand that this work could have a larger impact than we’d first imagined,” Schatz said. “Intergenerational connection over shared food is a time-honored way of building and strengthening community ties. Sharing stories is a fundamental way human beings make connections, and Maine’s tradition of storytelling is one of the state’s cultural treasures. Our mission is to bring food and stories together in ways that make us all feel a sense of belonging.”

For more information on the upcoming suppers, visit the Community Plate website.

CHEESE LOUISE TO JOIN ROCK ROW

Cheese Louise, the fast-casual grilled cheese restaurant that has locations in New Hampshire in Conway and Portsmouth, as well as in Portland’s Old Port, plans to open a fourth location in Westbrook’s Rock Row mixed-use development in 2025.

The restaurant began as a food truck in New Hampshire opened in 2018 by college friends James Gaudreault, Ian Lubkin and Bryce Harrison. The Portland brick-and-mortar spot opened in May 2021.

The restaurant will join a mix of local and national chain eateries at Rock Row, including Big Fin Poke, Cowbell sports bar, Crumbl Cookies, Firehouse Subs and Chick-fil-A. Quarryside, a beer garden featuring Lone Pine Brewing, opened in August at the complex, which also is home to Market Basket and REI.

“Our mission is to create a rich and vibrant destination that supports local businesses and offers the community an array of unique culinary options,” Josh Levy, CEO of Rock Row developer Waterstone Properties Group, said in a statement.

COFFEE BY DESIGN AWARDS GRANTS TO LOCAL GROUPS

Coffee By Design announced Tuesday grant awards totaling $14,800 to five Maine nonprofit projects.

The funding comes from sales of Coffee By Design’s popular Rebel Blend coffee, which combines beans from Asia, the Americas and Africa. The company’s annual Rebel Blend Fund Grant has contributed more than $125,000 to Maine nonprofit projects over the past 26 years, Coffee by Design owner and founder Mary Allen Lindemann said.

The five grant recipients this year are the podcast “Conversations in Compassion,” which seeks to build an empathetic community with a focus on marginalized populations including opiate misusers, the mentally ill and homeless veterans; the annual Dyke March, held the night before the Portland Pride parade; a Back Cove trail public art installation in 2024 from TEMPOart; a new Express program from the Yellow Tulip Project, a youth-driven group dedicated to destigmatizing mental illness; and Four Directions Maine, in support of its Wabanaki Artisan Fund that aids the state’s native artisans.

The Rebel Blend recipients are chosen each year by a team of Coffee By Design employees who review all applications and determine where the grant money will be most beneficial. To be considered for Rebel Blend funding, applicants must submit projects within the state of Maine along with a detailed description of how their projects would benefit from the grant money.

“One of the greatest ways we can create social change is through progressive arts,” Lindemann said.

Staff Writer Aimsel Ponti contributed to this report. 

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