14 hours Ago
Dizzy Birds Rotisserie in downtown Biddeford announced on social media this week that it will be closing Dec. 31. Birds roasting at Dizzy Birds Rotisserie in Biddeford.
Derek Davis/Staff Photographer Chef-owner Tom Peacock said, since the pandemic, he’s seen a sea change in his customers’ dining habits. “We play to an empty dining room every night. Prepandemic, we were 70% dine-in to 30% takeout/delivery.
Post-pandemic, we’re 85% takeout/delivery and 10-15% dine-in,” Peacock said, noting that delivery programs can be costly for businesses, often requiring a minimum 20% commission be paid to the delivery app. “Forty percent of our space isn’t revenue-producing,” he added. “We just haven’t caught fire, and I don’t have an explanation for us.
” Peacock said he’s also had difficulty with staffing, and although half of his remaining team has worked at Dizzy Birds since it launched in early 2019, he can’t compete with the wages offered by Portland restaurants. “I don’t want to make excuses,” Peacock said. “There have been restaurants that have been successful.
I hate to say we haven’t been one of them.” Located at 65 Main St., Dizzy Birds is known for its ethically raised, organic rotisserie chickens and scratch-made sides such as maple-ginger glazed carrots and broccoli kale salad.
The wide-ranging menu also offers proteins like baby back ribs, pot roast, hand-carved roast beef and fish cakes, along with soups, sandwiches, house-baked breads, cake rolls, cookies, crème brûlée and pots de crème. “We’re much beloved, and the comments we’re getting from people, they’re really sad,” Peacock said. “They feel as though we’re a member of the community, and that’s really the way I wanted to position the business from the beginning.
” Peacock said he’s been approached about developing a franchise model for Dizzy Birds and suggested a scaled-back Dizzy Birds Rotisserie store or two may be popping up in the area over the next couple of years. In the meantime, he hopes to sell some Dizzy Birds take-and-bake items at a few markets in the area. “I have every reason to be proud of what we put together here, and we’re excited for the future,” Peacock said.
“I’m not exactly sure of the bridge between here and there right now, but we’ll figure that out.” NEW BAKERY OPENS IN WINDHAM Waxwing Bakery opened for business on Route 302 in Windham on Dec. 6.
Located at 868 Roosevelt Trail, adjacent to Yolked Farm to Table , Waxwing specializes in laminated pastries like croissants and Danish as well as sourdough bread, but will also offer other baked goods, both sweet and savory, such as scones, quick breads, layer cake by the slice, chocolate cream pie, pear-blueberry buckle, sausage rolls and quiche. Hannah Buoye and Billy Hager inside Waxwing Bakery in Windham, which launched in early December. Photo courtesy of Waxwing Bakery Co-owners Hannah Buoye and Billy Hager hope to add a lunch menu in the new year with a small selection of sandwiches and salads featuring local produce from Windham’s Bumbleroot Organic Farm.
Waxwing will serve coffee and espresso beverages from Tandem Coffee Roasters, along with a variety of teas. The 1,500-square-foot space has 16 seats, including some counter seating. The owners expect Waxwing to be open Thursday through Sunday from 7 a.
m. to 1 p.m.
, and they may add Wednesday hours as well. Buoye and Hager live in Windham and moved to Maine from the San Francisco Bay Area five years ago. The couple have more than 15 years of hospitality experience.
Buoye was most recently kitchen manager at Tandem Coffee and Bakery, and Hager was executive chef at Helm Oyster Bar & Bistro, which closed in March . Both will be baking at Waxwing, though Buoye has more training as a baker. “Having our own business has always been a goal of ours, and we thought a bakery was a nice way to showcase both of our talents,” Buoye said.
“Moving to Windham, we found there was a definite lack of good bakeries out here,” Hager said. “There’s a small eatery scene starting to pop up a little bit, but there was a void that needed filling, so that’s what we’re hoping to do.” The couple also noted a lack of third spaces – places to connect with community beyond home and the office – in Windham, another need they hope Waxwing can meet.
“We’re really striving to make this place a community gathering spot,” said Buoye. “We really want to make it a place people feel comfortable relaxing and enjoying time with their friends.” COUNTERSERVICE LUNCHEONETTE COMING TO PORTLAND Two hospitality industry professionals plan to open a new salad-focused, counter-service eatery in Portland in the former Cumberland Avenue home of Union Bagel.
Alex LeBlanc and Angela Lee plan to open Luncheonette in Portland in the late spring. Photo courtesy of Alex LeBlanc Angela Lee and Alex LeBlanc aim to open Luncheonette at 147 Cumberland Ave. by June.
In the meantime, they’ll be renovating the 300-square-foot ground floor so that it can seat 10-12 customers, with seating for an additional 20 available on a back patio in season. “We liked that it’s a small, stand-alone building,” Leblanc said. “We really wanted a small place to start.
” The core of Luncheonette’s menu features salads ($8), such as celery and fennel with mozzarella and sherry vinaigrette; shredded beetroot with yogurt, dill and pistachio; and mushrooms with wilted chicories and sesame dressing. Customers can add proteins such as tinned tuna, smoked salmon or roasted chicken for an additional $6. Prepared salads will be available in a deli case for convenient to-go orders.
The proposed morning menu includes toasts, granola and house-baked pastries, with bread by the loaf available daily as well. Luncheonette will also offer a couple of sandwiches ($10) like fried eggplant, baba ganoush and cabbage slaw on milk bread or sourdough. Drip coffee and teas, beer, wine and house-made sodas will be available to drink.
LeBlanc, a South Portland native, was sous chef at acclaimed chef April Bloomfield’s Sailor in Brooklyn, New York, and also cooked for Matt Ginn at Evo Kitchen + Bar in Portland. After leaving a career in advertising, Lee put together a wide-ranging culinary training program for herself in New York City over the past several years that includes working as a whole animal butcher at The Meat Hook, a fish butcher at Osakana and a baker at Petee’s Pie Co. Lee and Leblanc said they expect Luncheonette to be open Thursday through Monday from 8 a.
m. to 3 p.m.
ALLAGASH NAMED TO NATIONAL ‘BRANDS THAT MATTER’ LIST Portland-based Allagash Brewing Company has been named to Fast Company’s annual Brands that Matter list, which honors companies that make a meaningful impact. Allagash was honored this year in the Enduring Impact category, which recognizes brands that are “continuing to innovate and have kept consumers interested for more than 15 years.” Fast Company called out Allagash’s approach to sustainability-minded advertising, as well as its recycling record.
“We’re equally proud of our beer and our work with communities in Maine and beyond,” Allagash founder Rob Tod said in a statement. “This year’s recognition feels especially significant as we approach our 30th anniversary in 2025. It speaks to our brewery’s continued relevance and impact.
It’s another sign that giving back, standing by our core values, and taking a thoughtful approach to growth have been the right moves for us as a brewery.” Allagash last appeared on the list in 2022, then in a category recognizing community-minded initiatives. We invite you to add your comments.
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