If you know someone who lives in Buxton, then you know the community has been salivating over the news that it is getting a new smokehouse restaurant that serves things like smoked beef brisket, black-eyed pea burgers and cornmeal-crusted rainbow trout with cheddar grits. Located in a renovated 18th-century home at 1420 Long Plains Road, the restaurant now known as The Buxton Common was previously an antiques shop called The Mustard House.

Chef/owner Max Brody, who once owned The Night Kitchen in Montague, Massachusetts, has announced that his new venture will be open Friday and Saturday, and then re-open for its first full week on Tuesday. It appears to be reservations only for the first couple of weeks – my boss will love that – although walk-ins will be taken at the bar. To make a reservation, call (207) 298-9621 or email info@thebuxtoncommon.com.

The restaurant will eventually open for Sunday brunch and dinner as well.

WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME

Lindsay Holden of Dayton and Tyler Holden of Gorham are taking over the longtime neighborhood bar (very longtime!) Forest Gardens at 371 Forest Ave. in Portland and renaming it 371. Longtime patrons of the bar protested to the Portland City Council in 2016 when it appeared the business was going to be razed, along with several other buildings, to make room for a CVS. They told the council that the bar had for decades been a popular gathering spot on Thanksgiving and during difficult times such as just after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In a letter to the current city council, the new owners wrote, “Our plan is to keep the tradition, camaraderie and familiarity the current patrons have come to know and love since 1936 the same as it currently exists. With the retirement of the current owner we feel privileged to take on this task.” They said they were changing the name at the request of the building’s owner.

The bar will serve beer and wine, and have a small food menu.

BIDDEFORD’S GAIN

Say you’re in Biddeford and have a hankering for a breakfast burrito, a turkey-avocado BLT or a snickerdoodle. Drop by Part & Parcel, the new specialty market at 17 Alfred St. that’s part of the growing Biddeford food scene. The market opened in late May and is selling local produce (local rhubarb, I hear, is going for a king’s ransom), beer and wine, some groceries and lots of prepared foods, including croissants from Little Spruce Baking Co., a wholesale bakery in the Pepperell Mill that is affiliated with Big Tree Hospitality (the Portland-based restaurant group that includes Hugo’s, Eventide Oyster Co. and The Honey Paw). Part & Parcel is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily.

TAVERN & TABLE

Bob and Paula Coppersmith, owners of Docks Seafood in South Portland, have bought the old Chicago Dogs space at 671 Main St. in South Portland and plan to open a restaurant and bar there called Coppersmith Tavern & Table. No word yet on what kind of food they’ll serve, but I heard they’ve gutted the place and added a larger bar. It’s supposed to open in a few weeks. Stay tuned for more details.

TIGHT WHITE PANTS

Two Portland food and drink businesses are celebrating their fifth anniversaries with toasts and special events.

Vena’s Fizz House at 345 Fore St. is throwing a weekend-long party July 6-8 with festivities ranging from a free bitters tasting on Friday to a Will Ferrell-inspired “Tight White Pants Dance Party” on Sunday. Silver Street will be closed from 2 to 3 p.m. for the dance party. White pants are required; and you could win a prize for tightest pants, whitest pants, and other dubious achievements. There’s a $5 admission fee, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the Preble Resource Center. Get tickets at Eventbrite.com

(Earworm warning: Think very carefully before watching the YouTube video of Will Ferrell singing about his pants. You won’t be able to get it out of your head, and will be walking around the office singing, “Everybody’s talking about my tight pants, about my tight pants, I’ve got my tight pants on.”)

BARTENDER CONVERGENCE

Tickets are on sale for the Sept. 10 celebration of the Portland Hunt & Alpine Club’s 5th anniversary. If you’re a bartender groupie, you’ll definitely want to attend. According to Briana Volk, co-owner of the popular cocktail bar, some of the best-known bartenders in the country will be flying in for a day’s worth of seminars and a night of mixing drinks and signing books: Jim Meehan of PDT in Manhattan; Jeffrey Morgenthaler of Clyde Common in the other Portland; Alex Day of Death & Co. in New York; and Ryan Lotz of Bar Mezzana in Boston.

Volk and her husband/business partner Andrew will also be launching their own first book, “Northern Hospitality,” that night. The book features the craft cocktails and Scandinavian-inspired food that Hunt & Alpine is known for at 75 Market St.

Tickets cost $150 and include the seminars, lunch and, Volk says, “LOTS of cocktails.” The evening party and book signings are open to everyone.

For tickets, email info@huntandalpineclub.com

WASHINGTON AVENUE BASH

June 30 should be a good day to hang out on Washington Avenue, the developing food-and-drink hub in Portland that has become an alternative to the Old Port. The street’s distilleries, breweries, restaurants and so on will be selling food and drink at the 2nd annual Washington Avenue Block Party from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two live bands will provide entertainment, and The Root Cellar is organizing kids craft workshops. The event is free, but organizers are encouraging donations to The Root Cellar.

COMMONS KITCHEN

Apparently hungry visitors to Pineland Farms were having trouble finding The Dish Cafe, which is on the premises and owned and run by The Black Tie Co. They reached for the obvious solution: They changed its name to signal its locale. The eatery, which serves breakfast and lunch, is located in the Commons Building on Pineland Drive, so it will now be known as the Commons Kitchen. It’s open 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Last week, they were giving away a free cookie with every purchase to celebrate the new name, but only while supplies last. If you hurry, maybe you can still grab one.

MORE BEER

Portland resident Mark Miller is planning to open a nano brewery/beer hall called Illmadic at 41 Fox St. in Portland, targeting a July 15 opening.

NOODLES, POKE AND SUSHI

It looks as if 66S Fusion, a quick-service Asian restaurant in Portland’s Old Port that’s been in the works for more than a year, may finally be close to opening. The restaurant at 425 Fore St., next to Gelato Fiasco, apparently has a new owner, James Yao of Scarborough. It is scheduled to open June 28, and will serve noodles, poke and sushi.

Meredith Goad can be contacted at 791-6332 or at:

mgoad@pressherald.com

Twitter: MeredithGoad