Leisure Time Cocktail Co., a small-batch craft cocktail bar specializing in draft and freezer cocktails, launches this Wednesday on Thompson’s Point.

The roughly 1,500-square-foot space at 290 Thompson’s Point Road had been home to Rwanda Bean, which has kept a small space inside Leisure Time to roast coffee beans.

Inside Leisure Time Cocktail Co., the new craft cocktail bar on Thompson’s Point. Photo courtesy of Leisure Time

Co-owner Kai Parrott-Wolfe, a Peaks Island native and former owner of the Post Office Whiskey bar in Brooklyn, New York, said he’d hoped to open Leisure Time in the spring, but the project was delayed in part by “complicated egress issues” to comply with code that meets the needs of both Rwanda Bean and Leisure Time.

Parrott-Wolfe said he hopes to share what he learned about mixology in New York with his customers in Maine.

“We’re taking molecular gastronomy and food science and mixing it with traditional bar craft,” he said. “We’re making great high-level cocktails, but making them accessible. And a lot of that is making them not too expensive. I would rather serve someone a well-made drink and have them be able to afford another one. We’re looking to do more than just make profit here.”

In addition to Leisure Time’s selection of highballs, lowballs and freezer cocktails ($8-$12), the bar will also serve some “really cheap beer.”

“There are two places down here that make some of the best beer in Maine (Bissell Brothers and Sacred Profane, both in Thompson’s Point), so there’s no need for us to butt up against that,” Parrott-Wolfe explained, noting that the beer menu will lean on labels like Miller High Life and Narragansett, though it also includes a gluten-free offering from Portland-based gluten-free craft brewers Orange Bike.

Parrott-Wolfe said the wine list includes “out-there wines that you won’t typically find,” many from Eastern Europe. Chef Emma Reed, a former sous chef at Luke’s Lobster, oversees the food, which includes a selection of salads ($8), handmade pierogies ($12) and sausages ($12). “That’s her real passion: making hand-cased sausages and hot dogs,” he said of Reed.

Leisure Time, which seats 58 customers, is open Wednesday and Thursday from 12 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Parrott-Wolfe said he expects to be open seven days later this season.

FINESTKIND OPENING IN SACO NEXT MONTH

The owners of Finestkind, a soon-to-be breakfast and lunch restaurant in downtown Saco, have set a launch date of Aug. 15.

Co-owners Tom and Victoria Barthelmes have been working on the venue since the spring and had hoped to launch in July.

“Every cliché they have about opening a restaurant is true – it’ll always take way longer and be more difficult and expensive than you originally anticipated,” chuckled Tom Barthelmes. The hospitality industry veterans did as much of the renovations on the 17 Pepperell Square building – formerly The New Moon – themselves as they could.

A peek at the renovations inside Finestkind in Saco, due to launch mid-August. Photo courtesy of Finestkind

“The work was more extensive than we thought it would be when we started the process,” Victoria said. “But we found some structural issues with the building.”

“We’ve shored all those things up,” Tom Barthelmes said.

The venue can seat 26 customers inside, and another 12 on the newly reconstructed porch.

Barthelmes has worked as kitchen manager at Central Provisions and Tipo, both in Portland, while Victoria has been general manager and wine director at Tipo, and also wine director at Central Provisions. The couple also have experience at renowned New York City restaurants, including Lincoln Ristorante and Per Se. Their business partners in Finestkind are Chris and Paige Gould, who also own Central Provisions and Tipo.

Breakfast dishes at Finestkind range from $7 to $14, and lunch is available for under $18. Breakfast dishes include items like a Truffle Deluxe breakfast sandwich served on a brioche bun with a jammy-yolk fried egg, crispy fried truffle cheese croquette, truffled French onion schmear and house-made bacon. Lunch dishes will include mac and cheese, a lobster roll dressed in Hollandaise sauce, a fried chicken sandwich, and salads.

Victoria said Finestkind will feature more pastries than they’d originally planned, with many meant to evoke nostalgia, like the Tiny Deborah oatmeal raisin cookie sandwich filled with Italian buttercream, a fluffernutter cookie sandwich, and items like crullers, muffins, biscuits and brownies.

Finestkind will be open from Thursday through Monday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

MY BUDDY’S PLACE IN BUCKSPORT

A restaurant featuring sandwiches and Italian dishes has opened in the former Friars’ Brewhouse Tap Room.

Chef-owner Dustin Diolo launched My Buddy’s Place at 84 Main St. in mid-July. “My Buddy’s Place is Maine classics with a little bit of a Sicilian twist,” said Diolo, explaining that the name comes from his habit of affectionately calling everyone “buddy.” “It’s a place where everybody belongs where you can get a good meal for a really good price.”

Friars’ Brewhouse closed permanently last November after one of its founders, Brother Donald Paul Martel, 66, died. Diolo, who moved to Verona Island two years ago, said the location is ideal for him because he can walk to work.

Diolo’s menu features sandwiches and sliders like a Shredded Italian ($14), Chicken Marinara Melt ($14) and Maine BLT Lobster Sliders on Hawaiian rolls ($25). It also includes dinner dishes like housemade linguine ($18) and cioppino ($25).

Beverages include Italian sodas, Moxie floats and other soft drinks. Diolo said the restaurant will serve wine and local beers later this summer.

The 39-seat restaurant is open for lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and for Sunday brunch from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

TWO NEW BURGER SHACKS

Two burger shacks launched in southern Maine this month. In Gorham, chef-owner Rick Boyd opened Backwoods Burger Shack at 680 Gray Road, former home to the vegan roadside restaurant Curbside Comforts.

In addition to the menu’s specialty burger offerings, made from a house-ground beef blend, Boyd said the restaurant’s onion rings – sold as “Tree Rings” – have proven exceptionally popular.

“We use a tempura-inspired beer batter that makes the rings very light and crispy. And we slice the onions pretty thin so they really do melt in your mouth. They’re just so delicate,” said Boyd, who owned burger restaurants in Nevada and Idaho before moving to Maine.

Boyd said Backwoods will start its daily specials this week, including a California-style chili burger, and will also begin selling ice cream, including milkshakes, ice cream floats and a limited soft-serve selection.

Backwoods Burger Shack is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., though Boyd hopes soon to extend the hours to 8 p.m.

In Kittery, Harbor Burger Shack recently opened at 355 U.S. Route 1. Styled like a 1950s diner, the restaurant offers a variety of burgers, hot dogs, shakes and fries.

Harbor Burger Shack is part of First Serve Hospitality Group, which owns Kittery and Kennebunkport restaurants including Bob’s Clam Hut, H.B. Provisions and Mabel’s Lobster Claw.

Harbor Burger Shack is open every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. An owner could not immediately be reached for additional details.

FORBES ON BIDDEFORD FOOD

Forbes magazine ran a recent travel feature highlighting the wealth of trip-worthy food options in Biddeford. The many venues recommended in the piece include Batson River, Coco Bar & Grill, Dizzy Birds Rotisserie, Elements, Fish & Whistle, Layalina, The Jewel of India, Magnus on Water, Nibblesford and Thai ME. The story also touts The White Barn Inn in Kennebunk.