Vote for your favorite Indie Biz

Buy Local:

Voting for the 2012 Indie Biz Awards is now open! You may vote once per day until Monday, September 24, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. Please join us the evening of Wednesday, October 3, 2012 at One Longfellow Square for the 2012 Awards ceremony and to learn who this year’s winners are.

Eastland's Plans for Congress Square

As someone who looks over the "park" everyday, it is little more than a place where people drink, piss and fight. Unless someone else comes in with a few million dollars to change it into a better designed park, then the hotel should be able to use it.
PressHerald:

The owners of the Eastland Park Hotel are asking the city for permission to build a ballroom on Congress Square Plaza as part of a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the 85-year-old hotel.
The ballroom would take up nearly all of the public park. Advocates for the homeless and many residents of the neighborhood said the city should improve the park rather than sell it to developers.
The city established Congress Square Plaza in 1981, after a Dunkin' Donuts shop at the site was torn down. The plaza has never been popular. In his blog about architecture and town planning, Portland architect Michael Belleau describes the plaza as a "sunken, empty, tar-covered space often filled with vagrants."

Michael Shuman at SPACE

Michael Shuman: Local Dollars, Local Sense

Thursday 05.03.2012, Starts at 7:00 PM, free, All Ages

A growing body of evidence suggests that the most promising way to create new jobs is to nurture new, small, and locally owned new businesses. Small, local businesses constitute roughly half a typical community’s economy, and even more in rural areas and small towns. Yet almost none of Americans’ $30 trillion in long-term savings—in stocks, bonds, pension funds, mutual funds, and insurance funds—goes into these businesses.

In his new book, Local Dollars, Local Sense: How to Shift Your Money from Wall Street to Main Street and Achieve Real Prosperity (Chelsea Green, 2012), Michael Shuman argues that the most important economic stimulus opportunity for the United States today—and one that would cost almost nothing to implement—would be to relax securities laws that stand in the way investing in local business.

Shuman will discuss how new investment tools – including those just legalized in a new Crowdfunding Law – could begin to move as much as $15 trillion to local economies and create millions of new jobs. There will be time available for questions and answers.

Presented by Portland Buy Local. Longfellow Books will be on-site selling copies of Shuman’s books. Portland’s Downtown District will be providing 2 hours of free parking to attendees of the lecture. Wild Iris Inn, Tsunami Tattoo and Coffee By Design are also sponsors of the event.

Coast City Comicon - Kickstarter drive

Help support Portland's 2012 Comicon

"In summer of 2011, we decided to put on a comic convention in downtown Portland, Maine -- something that had never really been done before. Knowing that we wanted to have the first ever Coast City Comicon in November, we spent the summer planning, booking venues, and contacting creators, vendors, and guest speakers. With virtually no budget, we put on an amazing convention featuring 50 vendors, video game tournaments, the east coast premiere of Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts, the release of The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, and panels by special creative guests, including Todd Dezago,Craig Rousseau and Renae De Liz. See this article by the Bangor Daily Newsto see photos and highlights from last year's convention.
Why Kickstarter?
Although the response from our 700 attendees was resoundingly positive, we knew we could do even better. The theme for this year's convention? More. We want more vendors, more guests, more panels, more special events, and we know you do, too. That's where Kickstarter comes in. By donating through Kickstarter, you have the opportunity to contribute to our next convention's success."

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/382061767/coast-city-comicon

EMS Leaving Portland?

While Trader Joe's has brought many people to Marginal Way, it may be too many.  EMS is opening out near the SoPo mall, and presumably closing it's Portland store.  So first Cadillac Mountain Sports, then L.L. Bean, now EMS bail on Portland.  We'll still have Nomads for outdoor gear basics.

BangorDailyNews:  In 2010, Trader Joe’s moved into the space that had previously held a Wild Oats store. Whole Foods had bought the Wild Oats chain; the FTC forced Whole Foods to divest of some of its property, and Trader Joe’s bought that biz in Portland (among others, I believe…) 

The popularity of Trader Joe’s has made parking difficult for all the businesses that surround (and rely on) that 135-space parking lot. Sources say that EMS had been looking for another location – before parking became an issue.

Indie Biz Awards - voting open

Vote here

We’ll be celebrating the winners – and all of the organizations who make Portland such a great place to live – at the 2011 Indie Biz Awards! Organizations must be located in Portland, be locally owned and independent.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011
6:30 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
SPACE Gallery, 538 Congress

FREE for Portland Buy Local Members and their employees!
$5 suggested donation requested from all others.

More Booze

When beer and mead are not enough. Mainebiz

Wight intends to make gin, whiskey and rum in a gleaming 250-gallon copper still he had custom made in Portugal. Last spring, he moved into a 3,000-square-foot facility in an industrial area off Forest Avenue, where his neighbors include microbrewers Geary's Brewing Co., Allagash Brewing Co., Rising Tide Brewing Co., Bull Jagger Brewing Co. and Maine Beer Co. It's fitting that Wight's located here, because experts predict artisanal liquor will follow a similar trajectory to microbrews, which have grown in popularity over the last two decades.

Dobra Tea Opening

Upstairs from Videoport & Bull Moose is the new Dobra Tea

"Stop in Apr 1 – April 3 and come celebrate!

We’ll have music and over 100 varieties of tea along with many desserts and savory, light fare.
Bring your friends, family, out of town guests, and join us!

151 Middle Street, Portland"

New Buy Local Website

Portland Buy Local has launched a new and improved online directory - the best place to find your independent businesses. 

The Buy Local renewal campaign is also in progress, so now is the time to join or renew to be included this year's print directory.

Welcome Reny's (stop by MECA?)

It is great to see that Reny's will be taking over both the LL Bean and Olympia spaces on Congress Street.

I don't know if I've ever been into a Reny's, but (from their website) they do look like a very Maine-ish company.  Perhaps if they are looking to attract the "trendy" people of Portland they could get some advice from their soon to be neighbors about their branding.

Portland Press Herald: "The Maine-based department store will occupy both spaces at 540-544 Congress St. and become the company's 14th location in Maine.

John Reny, an executive with the family-owned company, said the company looked at the site years ago but was wary of moving into a downtown space with little on-street parking.

Portland "is a very trendy place to live and work," he said. "Downtowns are coming back. We really think it's a good opportunity for us."

Micucci's Customer Service Fail?

craigslist:

"Me: 5'2' Asian woman standing in line to pay for my slab

You: 40ish white male, nicely dressed man (maybe an owner?) behind the counter at Micucci's chatting with your friend and watching me get into the other line. I made eye contact with you, hoping you'd ring me up, but you just looked at me, looked away, and kept chatting. I figured working the register was beneath you. But as I started to pay and a white man got behind me in line, you stopped chatting and asked him, 'you all set?'   FUCK YOU. "

Longfellow Books turns 10

"Longfellow Books will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary on Friday, December 3rd from 5-11 PM.  Early evening festivities are set to include a graphic print display of the past 10 years “By The Numbers” produced by Forge Brands for the First Friday Art Walk. Starting at approximately 8 PM the store will also host musical acts Zach Jones and Honey Clouds. A portion of the proceeds from sales that evening will benefit The Telling Room, a local non-profit organization that works with youth to encourage writing and literature for future generations. All events during the evening will be free."

- via PR Maine

bloggers wanted

LiveWorkPortland.org wants you! We have a daily PortlandNow blog that covers as many of the corners of the creative economy in Portland as we can get our fingers into, but we know we're missing a lot. We want to open up the blog to the creative community and are hoping that you would consider becoming a contributor. We will be having a meeting at Space Gallery on Wednesday, June 30 from 5:30 to 7:30 to talk about how we are using LiveWorkPortland to increase the visibility of the creative economy here, and what we could be doing better. Our goal is both to make Portlanders more aware of what's going on in their own communities and to attract more talent to Portland from other creative metros. We are looking for bloggers and photo bloggers who want to keep us informed about interesting events, intriguing people, great food, unique products, cutting edge technology, mind bending art, unseen places and fleeting moments. Anything, in short, that you think your fellow creatives would want to know about and pass along. We are also looking to build reciprocal links with your blogs or projects and to trade links and build relationships with design, photo, food, music (etc.) blogs based in other places. We hope to see you there.

Panelists: Creative Portland's Andy Graham, Anthony Kosner, and Emily Straubel

Where: SPACE Gallery
When: Wednesday, June 30th, 5:30PM
Why: To explore collaboration between the LiveWorkPortland.org's PortlandNow blog and local bloggers, photographers, videographers, audiographers, and other sources of interesting content.

More Beer

Portland blogger Luke Livingston is moving from writing about beer, to brewing it. Baxter Brewing Company will open this summer and begin distributing - in cans only - this fall.

"You can expect to see cans of our flagship Stowaway IPA across the state of Maine beginning around Labor Day. Our brewery itself will feature a nearly-new, state-of-the-art 30 barrel brewing system, manufactured by Newlands Systems Inc. and an automatic canning line capable of filling thirty cans a minute from Cask Brewing Systems Inc."

Trader Joe's Coming for Real?

The Forecaster has the scoop. 

Documents filed with the Federal Trade Commission indicate Trader Joe's has agreed to lease the former Wild Oats grocery store space on Marginal Way. According to the FTC, the Monrovia, Calif.-based grocery store chain has worked out a lease agreement with Whole Foods Market.

Waterfront Forums

The Planning Board will be hosting two forums next month on the issues facing the working waterfront. 

The Changing Waterfront: Economic Conditions for the Central Waterfront – Ground Fishery, Lobster Fishery, and Marine Tourism
March 2, 2010; 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall, Myrtle Street entrance

Private Piers, Public Policy, and the Future of the Portland’s Central Waterfront
March 3, 2010; 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Merrill Auditorium Rehearsal Hall, Myrtle Street entrance

The first forum, The Changing Waterfront: Economic Conditions for the Central Waterfront – Ground Fishery, Lobster Fishery and Marine Tourism, will explore the economic challenges and opportunities facing three key components of the marine industries that current policies are designed to protect. Panelists include Deirdre Gilbert, Deputy Commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Burt Jongerden, General Manager of the Portland Fish Exchange, Barbara Whitten, Executive Director of the Greater Portland Convention and Visitor Bureau, commercial lobsterman and “Lucky Catch” tours owner Tom Martin, and Don Perkins, President of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. The forum will also provide an opportunity for the panelists, Planning Board and public to discuss how changes to current policies may impact identified marine industries.


The next day, a second public forum, Private Piers, Public Policy, and the Future of Portland’s Central Waterfront, will outline potential changes to Portland’s waterfront, and seek public input on the future of the zone. Participants will be broken into small groups to discuss a number of questions including: Have current policies helped or hindered economic vitality for the area? How would significant non-marine development in the Central Waterfront impact the city as a whole? What elements should be preserved and what elements can be improved for the Central Waterfront zone?

Portland's Who's Who

According to the Phoenix:

"We started with a simple question: Who are the people without whom Portland would be the poorer? But that's not the only criterion. Who is making Portland, and Maine, great for all of us to live, work, and play in today, and even better for tomorrow? Who is spending their time and energy really contributing deeply, in a way we should all notice and appreciate (even if they're too modest — and busy — to seek that publicity themselves)?"

Tropa Wine Co. Closing

The small wine shop Tropa on Congress is closing. They are selling off their stock with discounts up to 50%

Winter Farmers Market

Portland Press Herald:

"Beginning Feb. 13, the Portland Winter Market will set up shop in a vacant storefront at 85 Free St., across from the Cumberland County Civic Center. Vendors will sell vegetables, bread, cheese, yogurt, milk, beef, pork and fish.

The market will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Saturday until the middle of April, when the Portland Farmers Market will return for the summer."

Urban Hardware General Store [photo]

As noted earlier, Norm's Urban Hardware will become Urban General Store. According to the sign they will have beer, wine, sandwiches, groceries, coffee, hardware and "green, local." Hopefully they will get in a price war with Joe's Smokeshop over local beer.