Two Westbrook food institutions are merging this winter as the long-dormant Don’s Lunch Van will launch in the Main Street space of the recently closed River’s Edge Deli.

Don’s Lunch Van owner Craig Bernier said workers are remodeling the interior of the roughly 700-square-foot space at 616 Main St., and he hopes it will open in February or March.

“We’re getting close,” Bernier said, noting that he will be general manager of the restaurant, while a silent partner who wished to remain anonymous will serve as owner. “We’re almost done construction and ready for paint. Being under one roof – as opposed to having a food truck and separate commissary – will be a lot easier for us, and more user-friendly.”

River’s Edge had been in operation for 30 years, but closed recently when owner Steve Lampron retired. Bernier is the third owner of Don’s Lunch Van, a food truck business that launched in 1976, decades before the hip, specialized food truck movement that spread nationwide came to Maine. Bernier bought Don’s Lunch in 2015, but had to close it down in 2018 after he was diagnosed with leukemia.

The disease is now in remission, and Bernier said he’s heard from many well-wishers since announcing on social media his plan to take over the River’s Edge venue.

“It’s overwhelming, the outpouring of support from the community and people hearing that (Don’s Lunch) is coming back. It’s been a nice experience, especially after being sick. I’m the comeback kid now,” Bernier chuckled.

The new iteration of Don’s will feature both breakfast and lunch service, but not the late-night hours the van had kept before 2018.

“Steve had a pretty good following for breakfast, so we’re going to continue the breakfast and try to mimic what he was doing,” Bernier said. “Then around 11 o’clock, we’ll swap over to the old Don’s lunch menu. We’re going to be basically a breakfast-and-lunch place.”

In addition to the River’s Edge breakfast items, the new restaurant will offer a number of favorites from Don’s Lunch Van like their best-selling double cheeseburgers, as well as clam cakes, a selection of hot dogs, grilled cheeses and other sandwiches.

The new Don’s Lunch will be counter service, with about 20 seats inside. Bernier’s team is installing a new takeout window that opens onto the front deck, which will be partly covered to protect takeout customers from the elements.

Bernier said the Don’s van may make appearances at events later this year, after they’ve had a chance to smooth out any kinks in the brick-and-mortar operation. He expects to be open Monday through Saturday from about 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., though he has not yet finalized the hours.

LOCALS BUYING DAMARISCOTTA MAINSTAY

A team of Midcoast hospitality veterans aiming to buy S. Fernald’s Country Store in Damariscotta is nearing its $35,000 fundraising goal.

Alexandra Welch said she and Ramsea Lucas, a former back-of-house staffer at both Regards and Little Giant, hatched their plan to take over Fernald’s about 18 months ago, when the store owners put it on the market.

“When they listed it for sale, we were just so devastated,” Welch said. “We thought, ‘Oh my goodness, somebody from away is going to buy it and turn it into just another overpriced, bougie cafe and shoppy-shop.’ Fernald’s is really a pillar of the community on the Midcoast.”

Welch and Lucas partnered with Hootenanny Bread owner Derek Deeger and River House chef Jon Merry in October. She said the team plans to take over the store operations on Feb. 3.

The team has most of its financing for the purchase already in place, and is about $8,000 shy of its $35,000 Kickstarter goal. That crowd-sourced funding will be used to cover operating costs for the first few months.

Welch said she and Lucas will run the store day-to-day. They expect to add a bakery component to the space, and sell local produce and dry goods. The team also plans to sell basic food items like milk, eggs, bread and some produce at cost.

“Our motivation for buying the shop was not to make a bunch of money. We really wanted to save this important space for the community, and we believe food is a basic human right,” Welch said.

The team also hopes to offer community-centered events like pizza nights, movie screenings and art showings at the store.

Welch and her partner have about two weeks left to accept contributions toward the project’s Kickstarter campaign. “I’m feeling pretty confident we’re going to make it,” Welch said.

OUN LIDO’S MAKES BON APPETIT SHORT LIST

Bon Appetit’s list of its nine most anticipated restaurant openings of 2024 includes Oun Lido’s in Old Port.

Oun Lido’s, which will be a sister restaurant to the Washington Avenue Vietnamese hotspot Cong Tu Bot, is the only New England restaurant on the magazine’s list.

“The opening of Oun Lidos … is a good enough reason to book a trip to Maine this spring,” the magazine’s writeup states in part. “Oun Lidos will be a multilevel restaurant in Old Port, with an all-day takeout counter offering Chinatown-style baked goods, rice plates, and boba to-go.”

The story adds that “Chef Bounahcree Kim will move over from Cong Tu Bot to helm the kitchen and serve the Khmer-Chinese food of his childhood, with dishes like iced jello salad with coconut sauce and mi ka thung – a fresh wide-noodle stir fry with shredded beef, five-spice gravy, and pickled mustard greens.”

Co-owner Vien Dobui hopes Oun Lido’s will launch its basement-level takeout operation in February, with full service in the dining room starting later in the spring.

NEW SHAWARMA STALL IN PUBLIC MARKET

A new food stall, Luna Shawarma and Falafel, opened recently in the Public Market House on Monument Square in Portland.

Owner Eve Al said Luna launched last Wednesday on the Market House’s second floor, in the space of the former Dila’s Kitchen. Luna offers a selection of Mediterranean food, including shawarma and falafel sandwiches, a hummus plate, fresh veggie salads, hamburgers and hot dogs, all costing between $5-$15, as well as coffee and Belgian waffles ($5) in the morning.

“We have a very small menu of things made fresh every day,” Al said. “We’re focusing on the quality not the quantity. That’s the goal.”

Al moved to Maine two years ago from Tennessee, while her parents have lived in state for 15 years. She said her family is first-generation American, with roots in Iraq, Egypt and North Africa.

“With Mediterranean people, food is part of our culture, and it’s also the passion,” Al said. “We’re doing this in part because we want to give back something to Portland.”

Al said Luna offers free kids’ meal specials when children eat their with their families, along with student discounts of up to 30%. Luna is open seven days a week starting at 11 a.m.; they close at 6 p.m. every day but Friday and Saturday, when the stall stays open until 8 p.m.

SOLO CUCINA CLOSES IN SOPO

South Portland’s gourmet neighborhood grocery Solo Cucina Market closed for good on Sunday.

The Knightville market announced its plans for the impending closure on social media in November. The market’s Instagram post said the owners, who also run Solo Italiano restaurant in Portland and the Bath bakery Solo Pane e Pasticceria, were “stretched thin” and hampered by “legacy liabilities.”

In a social media post this month, the owners appeared resigned to having to close at last.

“We are feeling a bit like the poor fishermen’s huts at Willard Beach this week,” the post reads in part. “Despite our most sincere efforts and fervent hopes, we have been unable to arrange a sale of the market to a buyer who will continue the concept. We are deeply grateful for your ongoing patronage and good cheer since the news of our closure came out, and your optimism has buoyed us to this point – but sadly these last few rogue waves have left us without a path forward.”

Solo Cucina opened in March 2020, a particularly challenging time to launch a business. Market owners were not immediately available for questions.

CHOCOLATS PASSION ADDS CO-OWNER

The lead chocolatier at Chocolats Passion recently became a co-owner of the award-winning shop.

Sarah Burns was named co-owner along with founder Catherine Wiersema as of Jan. 17, according to posts on the store’s social media pages. Burns came on staff as a chocolatier about four years ago.

“It was clear from the time Sarah joined Chocolats Passion in early 2020 that she brought skills and energy that complemented our small team perfectly,” the store’s Instagram post states.

The store’s announcement also states that the move allows Wiersema “peace of mind” as she contemplates retiring in a few years.

“The most difficult task for a small business is to create a good succession plan: Most small businesses become empty shells when an owner sells to an outsider, because the intellectual property and production secrets are gone; and the heart and soul of the enterprise as well. So, we are so lucky that we can continue working together with our wonderful team, creating a great future for our little company,” the store’s post continued.

FLOODING TEMPORARILY CLOSES SALTWATER GRILLE 

Its interior heavily damaged by flooding during a recent storm, the waterside Saltwater Grille in South Portland will be closed until February, its owners said.

A recent post on Saltwater Grille’s Facebook page announcing its closure shows the restaurant’s parking lot completely flooded on Jan. 13. Co-owner Jill Moses said water had come over the front deck and through the sides of the building, destroying floors and damaging the building’s boiler.

“We were luckier than what could have happened,” Moses said. “It was a couple of inches, but it was enough to ruin all the floors in the dining room. But we’ve seen some of the other damage (from recent storms) up and down the coast, so we know it could have been worse.”

The restaurant, situated on Casco Bay and overlooking Portland’s Old Port, has been closed since it flooded. A post from Jan. 18 on the restaurant’s Instagram page stated that the restaurant will remain closed for “at least two weeks.” Workers are repairing the boiler, ripping up damaged flooring and installing a new surface.

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