The rotating-menu concept restaurant Full Turn in Portland closed recently on Anderson Street, roughly six months after it opened.
A post on the restaurant’s Instagram page from May 27 included a photo of a sign in its window that states, “We did all we could, but we’re closed for good.
Portland restaurant Full Turn closed recently after about six months in operation. Full Turn replaced Baharat at the 91 Anderson St. space, pictured here in 2017. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer
“It was a long, expensive and rough road between permitting, the city, construction and hurdles of all kinds, and when the new lease came, we just couldn’t sign it,” the post continued.
Full Turn owners could not be reached Tuesday for details about the closure.
Full Turn first opened last December in the space at 91 Anderson St. previously occupied by the Middle Eastern restaurant Baharat, which closed last September in part because mounting supply chain problems left it unable to procure key ingredients.
Baharat owners Clayton Norris and his wife, Jenna Friedman, held the lease on the space until 2024, and partnered with former Baharat managers Chloe Kessell and Melissa Pappas when they opened Full Turn. The concept Kessell and Pappas had in mind was inspired by celebrated Chef Grant Achatz’s restaurant Next in Chicago, which fully changes its menu theme every few months.
Full Turn’s owners envisioned changing their menu about six times a year. Its opening menu theme was “staff comfort favorites,” including dishes like fried chicken sandwiches and smash burgers.
In March, after closing temporarily for interior renovations, Full Turn offered its second menu, with an “Italian Sunday dinner” theme, featuring dishes like housemade pasta Bolognese.
NEW FARMERS MARKET AT WOODFORDS CORNER
The Woodfords Corner Farmers Market launches its inaugural season on Thursday.
The market will be held Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. through Oct. 5 in the parking lot of the Woodfords Congregational Church at 202 Woodfords St. in Portland. Ten to 12 vendors will be on hand each week offering local produce, eggs, cheeses, baked goods and seafood, along with services like knife sharpening, market organizers said.
The market is the result of ongoing efforts the nonprofit organization Friends of Woodfords Corner has made to revitalize the area into a “sustainable, thriving village hub.” Organizers said as they conceptualized the market, they felt it was important to provide food options not already offered by the more than 10 locally owned grocers and markets in the neighborhood.
“It was paramount for us that the Farmers Market complement the Corner’s wonderful array of grocers and markets that bring such a diversity of food to the immediate area and greater Portland community,” said FWC President Teresa Valliere. “Shoppers now have a unique opportunity to get hyper-local homegrown delicacies and international cuisine or culinary ingredients all in the heart of Woodfords Corner – the best of both worlds.”
For more information on the market or particular vendors, visit the Friends of Woodfords Corner website.
Twist food truck, shown here, is gone, but any day now, you’ll be able to get the same ice cream from Twirl, scheduled to open soon in the Public Market. Jamie Mercurio Photography
TWIRL ICE CREAM COMING TO PUBLIC MARKET
Twirl, an ice cream stall, is slated to open in the Portland Public Market in June.
Melissa Lombardi, who worked in Portland restaurants for two decades and more recently ran the Twist ice cream truck, will serve an unusual style of ice cream that melds attributes of soft serve and hard ice cream. She starts with a base flavor of Maine-made Gifford’s vanilla or chocolate hard ice cream, then blends in a wide range of pulverized items that includes fruit (fresh and freeze-dried), cookies, crackers, cereal and cold-brew coffee. “I’m a variety-is-the-spice-of-life kind of gal,” Lombardi said.
Finally, she puts the ice cream through a machine that twists it into a soft-serve like twirl. The ice cream that results from her process is “really, really soft and fine and velvety,” she said. “We are actually pushing air out. Most soft serve is putting air in. It’s confusing but when you taste it, you get it immediately!”
“My favorite thing has always been letting that pint of Ben & Jerry’s sit out for a bit and get all soft and goopy,” she continued. “That’s my texture and flavor intensity that I am going for.”
Lombardi, who will not operate her Twist truck this summer, hopes to open Twirl in time for Father’s Day. If she misses that target date, then she’s looking at July 4, which has a nice synchronicity for her: It’s the anniversary of the opening of Twist in 2019.
BENEFIT DINNERS
Salt Yard Cafe and Bar in the Old Port is kicking off Pride Month with a benefit party Thursday. The all-ages party runs from 5-9 p.m. at the Salt Yard, located at 285 Congress St. in the Canopy by Hilton Portland Waterfront. Proceeds from drink specials will benefit the Campfire Institute, a wilderness enrichment camps for girls and LGBTQ youth. The event will also feature a live DJ, free snacks and vendors, including Portraits as You Pass, Print Bookstore and The Lady in the Moon boutique.
Full Plates, Full Potential is hosting a “Haute Lunch Special” at Yarmouth High School on Friday evening. Attendees will be served an elevated, locally sourced school meal developed and prepared by the school nutrition staff, and event organizers will be on hand to discuss the opportunities and challenges facing school nutrition programs. The high school jazz group will provide live music, and the event, which is alcohol-free, also features a live auction. Tickets, available online, cost $75. Proceeds from the event will benefit Full Plates, Full Potential, a nonprofit group dedicated to ending child food insecurity in Maine and maximizing access to USDA child nutrition programs.
BEER COLLABORATION DINNER
Chef Josh Berry, then chef at Union in the Press Hotel, in 2018. Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer
Mast Landing and chef Josh Berry are collaborating on a four-course beer pairing dinner hosted by The Maker’s Galley on Friday, June 9. Berry, founding chef of Union restaurant in Portland’s Press Hotel, will prepare each course in the open kitchen at The Maker’s Galley, located at 5 Commercial St., and will introduce the Mast Landing beers and canned cocktails. The collaboration dinner runs from 6-9 p.m., and tickets are $115, available online.
SOLO ITALIANO SALUTES STAFF
To show appreciation for their staff and mark their seventh year in business, the owners of Solo Italiano recently welcomed their employees as VIP guests for a special celebration dinner.
A post on the restaurant’s Instagram page from May 25 reads in part, “The owners (and their families) bartended, cooked, served, bussed and washed dishes in an attempt to show our staff a slice of the true magic they create for you every night during service. … Solo Italiano is what it is because of each and every server, bartender, runner, busser, dishwasher and host sharing in our ethos of Genovese cuisine made fresh in Maine as well as our passion for warm, authentic service.”
Staff Writer Peggy Grodinsky contributed to this column.
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