The combination gluten-free bakery and nose-to-tail butcher shop that opened last April in Brunswick’s Tontine Mall was forced to close this month because of financial concerns, the owners said.

Co-owners Marissa Stahl-Hodgkins, the shop’s lead baker, and butcher Steven Campbell, closed The Butchers & Bakers at 149 Maine St. on Oct. 16, according to an open letter they posted on the shop’s Facebook page and website.

“Our purpose was to be a place where everyone could enjoy handcrafted butchery, bakery and café items from ingredients that were locally sourced and 100% gluten-free,” the letter reads, in part. “We have made the tough decision to close our doors because it is no longer financially possible for us to continue to operate properly.”

Stahl-Hodgkins and Campbell opened in March after hiring 22 employees to round out their culinary team. The butchery staffers had expertise in curing, fermenting, drying and lesser-known meat cuts, while the bakery side featured artisanal gluten-free breads and pastries, along with items catering to the needs of those on soy-, dairy- or nut-free diets.

The owners could not be reached for an interview on Tuesday.

SIP SPIRITS AT MEET YOUR MAKER 

Harvest on the Harbor, Portland’s annual food and wine festival, has some tickets remaining for its spirit tasting and cocktail bash this Friday.

Meet Your (Craft Spirit) Maker, one of Harvest on the Harbor’s three showcase events, kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Friday. Ticket holders will sample liquors and cocktails from many of the state’s distillers, including Batson River Distilling, Cold River Vodka, Liquid Riot, Maine Craft Distilling, Mossy Ledge Spirits, New England Distilling, Round Turn Distilling, Stroudwater Distillery, Sweetgrass Winery and Three of Strong.

The culinary team at Pemberton’s Gourmet Foods will pair food with beverages while the Hadacol Bouncers band supplies old-time jazz for the 21-and-over event.

Tickets, which cost $65, are all-inclusive and available online. Harvest on the Harbor’s popular Maine OysterFest on Saturday and Thursday’s Lobster Chef of the Year competition have already sold out.

WEST END BAKERY HEATS UP

In anticipation of opening his new West End bakery in Portland next month, Barak Olins of Zu Bakery has announced some pop-up dates this week and next at the venue.

Olins said he’ll be hosting pop-ups Wednesday and Friday, and on Nov. 2 and Nov. 4 from 3 p.m. until his breads and pastries are sold out at the nearly completed brick-and-mortar location of Zu Bakery at 81 Clark St. In addition to baked goods, Zu Bakery also will feature pizza alla romana – with a light, airy crust texturally similar to focaccia – in the afternoons.

A respected artisanal baker, Olins has developed a loyal following for his bread over the years, which he’d been producing from Freeport and selling at area markets. He said he’d hoped to open his Clark Street bakery by August, but ran into the same systemic delays as other area restaurateurs.

The delays have made it so Olins can’t feel confident setting a firm opening date, so the pop-ups will allow him to better ease into the launch. “This is what a soft opening looks like to me,” he said.

Olins is now baking alone, but he has lined up two staffers to join him next month when the bakery opens. He anticipates the bakery’s hours will be Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

EAST BAYSIDE GETS ITS HALLOWEEN ON

The East Bayside Halloween Fest is on again for this Saturday, with nearly 40 businesses signed on to participate in the charitable neighborhood celebration.

Last year was the first for the Fest, a collaboration of East Bayside breweries, bars, restaurants and food trucks offering food and drink specials, costume contests, dancing parties, raffle prizes, and more. While more than 20 businesses participated last year, a promotional poster for the event lists almost double that number lined up this year.

A portion of proceeds from drink sales at the Fest will go to Maine Needs, a nonprofit supplying Mainers with basic material goods like clothing and household items.

The free Fest starts at noon and runs until 10 p.m. According to event organizers, Lost and Found, maps and schedules for the event will be available soon.