Ada’s Kitchen, a Rockland restaurant that serves handmade pizzas and pasta, is planning a second, smaller location in Portland at 642 Congress St., in between The Jewel Box and the Sagamore Hill lounge.

Ada’s Kitchen in Rockland will open a branch in Portland. Photo from VillageSoup.com

“It’s a slightly different concept, ” said Jenn Rockwell, who opened the Rockland location in November 2017. “It will be Roman-style pizza and fresh pasta. And our (Portland) concept will be a much more casual vibe. We’ll have an area where we’ll be selling our fresh pasta retail, as well.”

The housemade pasta will also be sold wholesale to other restaurants, grocery stores and other outlets, she added.

Rockwell said she wants the Portland restaurant to be “quick, easy and affordable.” Unlike the Rockland Ada’s, which has a full bar and lounge, the Portland restaurant will serve only wine and beer on tap, she said.

Rockwell also owns Main Street Markets in Rockland.

The chef at Ada’s Kitchen in Portland will be Siddharta Rumma, who helped open the Rockland location and once worked at Trattoria Fanny, an Italian restaurant owned by Portland restaurateur David Levi that closed in 2017.

Rockwell is shooting for an early June opening.

“We love Portland,” she said. “It’s an amazing community of restaurants and such a great food scene.”


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