Pho with rare beef and meatballs from Huong’s Restaurant on St. John Street in Portland. Ben McCanna/Staff Photographer
After 18 years in business, Huong’s Vietnamese Restaurant at 267 St. John St. has been sold, the daughter of chef/owner Huong Le confirmed Tuesday.
“My mother sold the restaurant and her name,” said Tuyet Thi Le, owner of Bahn Mi, a sandwich shop at 171 Cumberland Ave. that also sells hot foods.
The new owners, also of Vietnamese descent, Tuyet Thi Le said, were not at the restaurant when I called them Tuesday, and an employee who said she’d only been on the job for four days said she did not know their name. The new license filed with the city of Portland lists the owner as “Huongs Vietnamese Restaurant LLC – Calvin Ho,” according to Jessica Hanscombe, who manages restaurant licenses for the city.
Tuyet Thi Le said although her mother has retired from the restaurant business, she’s helping out at Bahn Mi and at her other daughter’s restaurant, Pho Huong, in the Portland Public Market, 28 Monument Square, pitching in whenever she’s needed.
“They still have the same menu and everything” at Huong’s on St. John Street, Le said. “Hopefully, they’ll keep the same recipes as well.”
Restaurant boom becoming a bust?
Kevin Alexander, author of a new book on the nation’s restaurant boom, will be speaking in Portland Thursday. Photo by Liz Daly
If I had a dime for every time someone asked me if Portland’s restaurant boom is nearing an end, I’d be able to dine out every night and single-handedly support every chef in town.
On Thursday, Kevin Alexander, Thrillist’s National Writer-at-Large and a James Beard Award-winning food journalist, will be in Portland to talk about what he considers the end of the national “restaurant revolution” that began in 2006 and how it may mirror what’s going on in our own food-obsessed city. Alexander is author of “Burn the Ice: The American Culinary Revolution and Its End,” which was published in July. He’ll be appearing from 6 to 7 p.m. at the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club, 75 Market St. Owners Andrew and Briana Volk will serve some free food and drinks inspired by the book.
Rosemont Market’s new production facility is completed
Rosemont Market & Bakery has succeeded in moving all of its production and 40 employees into a new space at Morrills Corner in Portland. The 10,000-square-foot facility at 832 Stevens Ave. – formerly an Aubuchon Hardware store – will house the baking operations, warehouse and kitchen for all six of the company’s stores. Rosemont plans to celebrate the move with a private, invitation-only party Friday evening.
Portland’s mayoral candidates talk food
Mark your calendars for Oct. 23, when Portland’s candidates for mayor will meet at the University of Southern Maine to discuss food systems issues. The event is being organized by the Portland Food Council and USM’s Food Studies program.
The food forum is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. in Talbot Hall on USM’s Portland campus.
Heads up, chocolate lovers!
Looking for something to do in Portland tonight? Bayside Bowl, 58 Alder St., plans to host a sunset rooftop screening of the 2000 film “Chocolat,” starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Binoche and Judi Dench. (Sunset these days is just after 6:30 p.m.) Dean’s Sweets will be giving out free caramel/chocolate popcorn and other treats to the first 100 movie goers.
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