Night Moves Bread has completed its move to South Portland and is holding a soft opening this week at its new Broadway location. Pictured, left to right: Owner Kerry Hanney, and staffers Mary Reed, Kelsey Keller, Kelsey Morgan and Laura Lee Timko. Photo courtesy of Night Moves Bread.

After finally completing its move from Biddeford, where it’s been closed since November 2021, popular artisanal bakery Night Moves Bread will hold a soft opening at its new South Portland location this week.

Head baker-owner Kerry Hanney said Night Moves will be open at 695 Broadway this Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Starting next week and going forward, the bakery will be open Wednesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Hanney said the new Night Moves will feature the same selection of bread it offered in Biddeford, along with coffee from New Hampshire-based East Alstead Roasting Co. and an expanded pastry menu with new items like a sunflower seed cake with chamomile-macerated strawberries and a selection of coffee cakes.

The roughly 1,500-square-foot Broadway location, formerly a motorcycle repair garage, is a production facility with retail space in the front. It has no seating inside, but customers can sit at the outdoor picnic tables that boast water views.

Night Moves’ new grain mill will allow Hanney to produce all flours in-house, while a giant new Italian oven will roughly double the bakery’s production capacity, she said. Hanney expected her team to expand to about 10 staffers by next week, twice as many employees as the Biddeford location had.

Hanney signed the lease for the Broadway space in March 2022, though she said she’d been pursuing possible locations practically since she first opened in Biddeford in 2018.

“Since the beginning of the business, I’ve been looking for a space that would give us more of a balance for wholesale and retail,” Hanney said. “It’s a wild feeling to have something that’s existed in my head for so long be something I can actually be standing inside right now. It’s a dream come true.”

NAME CHANGE FOR THE HENRY

An Old Port pub and restaurant launching soon in the former Bull Feeney’s space recently had to change its name to avoid a trademark conflict, according to owner Joshua Miranda.

Miranda’s latest venture, which he’d called The Henry, caught the attention of Arizona-based hospitality group Fox Restaurant Concepts after Miranda applied to trademark the name. Fox’s corporate counsel advised Miranda in June that they essentially had dibs on the name.

So now the new venue at 375 Fore St. will be called Henry’s Public House, which still allows Miranda to pay homage to Portland’s own Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Miranda hired Randa Vashon to serve as Henry’s general manager. Vashon has worked with Miranda Group restaurants for years now – she helped open both Blyth & Burrows and Papi, and was the original general manager at Via Vecchia.

Henry’s has also signed on Chef Joshua Doria, formerly of Liquid Riot Bottling Co. and Fore Street, and co-beverage directors Danielle Cochrane and Corey Arnold, who both previously worked at Bar Futo. Cochrane also worked at The Dead Rabbit in New York City and Arnold worked at Silver Lyan in Washington, D.C., two of the most esteemed bar programs in the country.

Henry’s menu will feature American comfort classics with heavy Maine influences, including dishes like surf and turf, burgers, fish sandwiches and a lobster club sandwich, with prices in the $11 to $18 range.

“We want the prices to be affordable,” Miranda said. “It’s going to be a lower price point than a lot of places in Old Port.”

Henry’s will offer live entertainment like jazz and acoustic acts on its lounge area stage, though Miranda added, “We’re not going to be doing the big rowdy bands that Bull Feeney’s was famous for.”

Miranda and Vashon said they expect to hold a soft opening for Henry’s sometime late this month. From there, they plan to officially open the weekend of Friday, July 28, and be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

“It’s important to know this place has been an institution,” Miranda said. “We’re just stewards of it. It’s going to be a bar for however long we get to do it, and it’s our chance to hold court.”

“We take pride in this building,” Vashon added. “We’ll take care of it and bring it up to what it can be.”

MODESTMAN BREWING COMES TO SOPO

New Hampshire-based Modestman Brewing opened a “satellite tasting room” in the site of the former Fore River Brewing Company in South Portland.

Modestman Maine launched in the 3,000-square-foot space at 45 Huntress Ave. on July 1, with about 15 beers on tap, including their New England-style IPAs and sours. The location can accommodate about 40 customers inside, with more seating outdoors.

Owner Ash Sheehan said he expects to serve food at the location, Modestman’s second, by the end of July. The menu will feature pizzas made from cold-fermented dough and baked on site in a wood-fired oven. The menu will also include wood-fired, globally-influenced barbecue dishes, including brisket carnitas, barbacoa and Korean brisket.

Sheehan, a Maine native and resident of Peaks Island, opened the original Modestman Brewing in Keene, New Hampshire, in 2020. Modestman Maine is currently open Tuesday 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.

MAINE LOBSTER ROLL CAMPAIGN

A new lobster roll sales campaign aims to raise awareness of the lobster fishery and raise funds to support it. Courtesy of Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative

The Maine Lobster Marketing Collective is launching a “Celebrate the Maine Lobster Roll” campaign this month to increase awareness of the state’s lobster industry and raise funds to support the fishery.

Starting Saturday, lobster lovers can order the special “Celebrate” roll at nine local venues: Cousins Maine Lobster, DiMillo’s, The Highroller Lobster Co., Island Lobster Co., Luke’s Lobster and Portland Lobster Co., all in Portland; The Boathouse Restaurant and The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport; and Union River Lobster Pot in Ellsworth. The special offer is also available online, where customers can order shipped kits for anywhere from four to 16 rolls starting at about $150.

The campaign aims to spotlight the broad impact the fishery has on the state of Maine and associated materials will feature the stories of the individuals behind the industry – from the fishermen to the processors, dealers, trap builders, restaurant owners and others.

A portion of the proceeds from the rolls will go to the Maine Lobstermen’s Community Alliance, an organization that works to ensure the health and sustainability of the fishery.

“We’re proud to be serving this special lobster roll to diners who come from far and away,” said Brian Langley, owner of the Union River Lobster Pot restaurant. “Maine lobster is more than a menu item. It’s an integral part of the state of Maine. The fishery supports many businesses like mine, as well as countless families and coastal communities.”