Chad Conley, co-owner of Palace Diner in Biddeford, confirmed Tuesday that he will be opening a new restaurant at 428 Forest Ave., the former location of BreaLu Cafe.
The BreaLu served only breakfast and lunch and was a popular hangout for University of Southern Maine students. It was destroyed last year in a Valentine’s Day fire that began in an adjacent apartment building. No one was injured in the fire, but the restaurant’s equipment and much of the space was ruined. The BreaLu Cafe re-opened last year at 9 Cumberland St. in Westbrook.
The opening of the new restaurant will be welcome news to fans of Palace Diner, which is thought to be Maine’s oldest diner and which Conley and business partner Greg Mitchell reopened in 2014 to criticalacclaim.
The Portland restaurant is a solo project for Conley. He said the space is still being restored, and he doesn’t expect to open until early summer. Saying he still needs a few weeks to work out the details, he declined to reveal the name of the new restaurant or discuss the menu, other than the fact that it will serve breakfast and lunch only.
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