Candy Lounge opens in Camden; Portland to get roast beef restaurant

Jul. 17—A cocktail and dessert lounge catering to grown-ups with a sweet tooth has opened this summer at the Camden Harbour Inn.

Done up in colorful candy shop décor, the Candy Lounge aims to provide a venue for playful escapism. The candy store theme runs through the entire customer experience: The lounge’s menus arrive tableside in vintage tins with each dessert printed on an individual card designed to look like a candy wrapper, and the check is delivered in the handle of a mini gumball machine.

The whimsical dessert menu from Pastry Chef Gwenythe Frechette includes dishes like “Snickers” — featuring vanilla ice cream with caramel swirl, espresso-chocolate sablé, malt Chantilly and candied peanuts — and “Bubblegum,” made with vanilla sponge cake, strawberry compote, white chocolate bubble gum mousse and edible wafer paper.

Lounge cocktails include sweet sippers like the Clementine Crush, Sake Snow Cone, Cotton Candy Cloud and Lemon Drop.

The Candy Lounge is open seven days a week from 4 to 11 p.m.

DOWNTOWN ROAST BEEF RESTAURANT TO OPEN

A new restaurant offering regional roast beef specialty sandwiches is on track to launch on Congress Street in Portland this summer.

Owner Jennifer Rockwell said she aims to open Roasty’s at 642 Congress St. sometime in August. The space formerly hosted Ada’s Kitchen, an Italian restaurant and pizzeria, which Rockwell owned from early 2020 until it closed at the end of 2021. Rockwell and her father and business partner, Richard Rockwell, have leased the Congress Street venue since Ada’s closing.

“It’s such a great space and an amazing neighborhood. We were waiting for the right time to breathe some new life into it, and we’re ready now,” said Jennifer Rockwell, who also owns the original Ada’s Kitchen in Rockland and Main Street Markets, a café and deli also in Rockland.

“We’re super excited about bringing some more roast beef options to Portland,” she added.

Roasty’s menu will feature regional roast beef sandwiches like French Dip, Beef on Weck, a North Shore-style three way and a Chicago-style Italian Beef. “There’s no representation of these regional specialties all under one roof,” Rockwell said.

Rockwell hasn’t yet set pricing for the counter-service restaurant, but said the sandwiches will be “affordable” and come in two sizes: standard and roast beast. The venue will be able to seat about 20, with additional outdoor seating.

Rockwell said she expects Roasty’s will be open seven days for lunch and dinner starting at 11 a.m. She said the venue will stay open until 1 a.m. at least some nights to cater to late-night diners, including hospitality professionals.

THE PINK WAFFLE CLOSES

The owner of The Pink Waffle food truck recently announced on social media that he is ceasing operations.

“It is with a heavy heart and an excited view of the future that I am announcing the closing of The Pink Waffle food truck,” Roux Kehoe, chef-owner of The Pink Waffle, posted on Instagram on July 10. “A lot of you know TPW is a solo-run operation with a stunning selection of humans who like to help me out. The time has come for me to move on from this project and focus on something new.”

The Pink Waffle launched in the spring of 2021. The truck featured sweet and savory waffles with a variety of inventive toppings, as well as items like waffle sandwiches and caramel-filled stroopwafel cookies.

Kehoe could not immediately be reached for an interview.

ORANGE BIKE HOSTS BENEFIT

East Bayside’s Orange Bike Brewing Company is hosting a two-day public event this weekend to benefit the National Black Brewers Association.

Orange Bike’s event begins July 19 with a mixer featuring members of the National Black Brewers Association and the creators of the award-winning documentary “One Pint at a Time,” which explores the Black experience in the American craft beer industry. The mixer runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at the brewery, then morphs into a “bottle share” party from 6 to 8 p.m., where guests can bring and share some of their favorite beers and beverages.

On July 20 at 3 p.m., Orange Bike is hosting the Maine premier of “One Pint at a Time.” The movie will be screened at Toad & Co., located at an adjacent suite at the brewery’s 31 Diamond St. address in Portland. A Q&A session with the filmmakers and members of the National Black Brewers Association’s board of directors will follow the screening.

No ticket is required for the kickoff mixer, while a donation is suggested for the bottle share party. Tickets for the film screening are $10 to $100, available online.

‘MUSHROOM MANIA’ BOOK

“Mushroom Mania,” the new book from Maine-based author-illustrator Hilary Bartlett, hit shelves this month.

Bartlett’s book delves into the health benefits of mushrooms, and includes tips for growing them at home or foraging for them in the wild. The book also features mushroom recipes and Bartlett’s own watercolor illustrations of Maine’s wild species.

Published by North Country Press, “Mushroom Mania” ($28.95) is available online via Amazon or in Sherman’s Maine Coast Book Shop locations.

DOK MALI NOODLE BAR OPENS

Dok Mali on India Street launched its sister restaurant, Dok Mali Noodle Bar, this month in South Portland. The space, at 169 Ocean St., was formerly occupied by Judy Gibson restaurant. The owners could not be immediately reached for details about the new pan-Asian noodle bar.

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