Mr. Tuna co-owners Jordan Rubin and Marisa Lewiecki outside the building under construction at 83 Middle St., where the Public Market House sushi spot will move this summer. Courtesy of Mr. Tuna

Popular sushi spot Mr. Tuna, a fixture at Monument Square’s Public Market House for more than five years, will move to a new space on Middle Street this summer.

Mr. Tuna will go into a new building at 83 Middle St., near Eventide and the former Hugo’s.

“The Market House was kind of a platform to get us to where we wanted to be, so we’re kind of billing this as the first real Mr. Tuna restaurant,” said Jordan Rubin, co-owner of Mr. Tuna, along with his fiancée, Marisa Lewiecki.

Mr. Tuna’s lease on the Market House space runs until May 2024. After the move this summer, the Market House space will serve as a prep kitchen for Mr. Tuna’s food truck and catering operations, Rubin said.

The new Middle Street restaurant, now under construction, will have 25 indoor seats and an additional 25 seats outdoors. The space is about 1,500 square feet, slightly bigger than their current space, but with the benefit of a kitchen they won’t have to share with other businesses.

“It’ll be really nice to have our own space just dedicated to Mr. Tuna,” Rubin said.

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Tea from Dobra Tea in Portland always came in a charming assortment of cups, trays and pots. Photo courtesy of Dobra Tea

DOBRÁ TEA CLOSES

After struggling to attract customers during the pandemic, Old Port’s Dobrá Tea closed permanently on Christmas Eve.

Ellen Kanner, who owns Dobrá Tea with her husband, Ray Marcotte, said their nearly 12-year-old tearoom business will switch to online sales through its website.

“For the past almost three years, we’ve been trying to reconfigure it, and it just wasn’t working,” Kanner said. “We couldn’t bring it back to the level it needs to be on Exchange Street. It was a hard decision to come to.”

Kanner and Marcotte are scouting possible new, smaller locations for Dobrá, both in Portland and surrounding towns. “We’re not ruling anything out,” Kanner said.

Dobrá Tea was a cozy, comfy space with a small menu of treats in addition to tea; it will hold some clearance sales, including tea services, in January, she said.

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NEW HOME FOR QUANTO BASTA

Quanto Basta, a food truck specializing in Neapolitan pizza, will take over the former LB Kitchen space on Congress Street in the new year, according to owner Betsy English.

English said she expects Quanto Basta will be up and running at 249 Congress St. by June. Quanto Basta started as a food truck in August 2021.

The new space is 939 square feet, allowing seating for 20 inside and 20 more outdoors in the back patio area. “I think that our lower Munjoy strip is going to be a really fun place to be this summer,” English said, adding that she expects the restaurant will be open five days a week, Thursday through Monday, with a brunch service on Sundays.

English said the brick-and-mortar location of Quanto Basta will serve a “small but mighty” selection of five or six pizzas daily, including two rotating specials that change weekly. “Less is more is a Quanto Basta philosophy. I want all five or six pizzas to be really freakin’ good,” she said.

Along with its pizzas, the new restaurant will serve salads and small bites like supplì – the Roman version of arancini, or fried rice balls. English said Quanto Basta will also offer natural wines from southern Italy.

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“I want this to be a place you can go multiple times a week and not break the bank, and not get bored either,” English said.

LB Kitchen has moved to 255 Congress St., adjacent to its previous home.

“They have welcomed me with open arms,” English wrote on Quanto Basta’s Instagram page of LB Kitchen owners Bryna Gootkind and Lee Farrington, “and I’m so excited for the opportunity to grow next to them in their new space.”

COOKING CLASS WITH CHEF SAM HAYWARD 

Fore Street chef-partner Sam Hayward will conduct a virtual cooking class in late January to benefit Oasis Free Clinics of Brunswick.

The class, scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 28 at 6 p.m., will feature Hayward teaching participants how to prepare a mid-winter pot of fish and shellfish stew. Back by popular demand, Hayward led a virtual cooking class for Oasis last year centered around risotto with Maine grains and seafood.

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Tickets are $75, available at the Oasis website.

Oasis has also announced two more virtual cooking classes this winter. On Feb. 11, Chef Ali Waks Adams will lead a class on how to cook roasted lamb rack and risotto for a Valentine’s Day meal, while chef and cookbook author Chris Toy will put together a meal featuring lobster wontons, hoisin Maine-farmed salmon and a root vegetable stir fry on Saturday, March 18.

Oasis Free Clinics is a nonprofit, primary care practice providing free medical, dental and prescription assistance services to the area’s uninsured residents.

CHAMPAGNE AND CAVIAR TASTING

Caviar containers on sale at Browne Trading Market in Portland. The luxe seafood market is offering a free Champagne and caviar tasting this evening. John Ewing

Satisfy your luxurious cravings with a Champagne and caviar tasting at Browne Trading Market on Commercial Street on Wednesday evening.

The free tasting event runs from 5 to 7 p.m., and will feature complimentary Champagne and caviar service. Caviars will include a variety of Browne’s staff favorites and top sellers, including roes representing Belgium, Israel, Italy and domestic products as well.

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The tasting also includes 20 honest-to-goodness Champagnes from France’s Champagne region, including a Billecart-Salmon Brut rose, Bollinger Special Cuvee, and samples from some of the region’s outstanding boutique makers, including Pascal Doquet and Jean Laurent.

Cheese boards and a raw bar will be set up for samples as well, according to organizers.

NEW YEAR’S EVE SPECIALS

A couple more food options for New Year’s Eve revelers:

Blue Spoon, 89 Congress St., Portland, will offer its full menu along with a few holiday specials. Call (207) 773-1116 for reservations.

Crispy Gai, 90 Exchange St., Portland, will serve Champagne, caviar and chicken nuggets along with its regular menu.


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