PORTLAND, Maine — Portland is known for its great restaurants.
Now national recognition is creating even more buzz around a small city known for big flavor.
Earlier this month, Bon Appetit magazine named Portland its restaurant City of the Year.
Portland restaurants are staying busy, and tourists are seeking out restaurants mentioned by Bon Appetit.
[Bon Appetit magazine names Portland its City of the Year]
When the article came out — Tuesday, Aug. 7 — Portland restaurants felt an immediate impact.
“From Tuesday, just right out the gate, we were just significantly busier than we usually are,” said Kit Paschal, general manager of The Shop, an oyster bar on Washington Avenue that was named in the Bon Appetit writeup. “And then as we got toward Wednesday and Thursday, we were already going through our weekly order of oysters that we get from our farmers, a lot quicker than we usually do.”
Chad Conley, owner of Rose Foods on Forest Avenue, told the Portland Press Herald that while local restaurants are enjoying the bump in business, it’s been a challenge to keep up with the demand.
“It’s been significant, which is great, but it’s also hard,” Conley told the Press Herald. “I’ve also noticed it at a lot of other restaurants in town. The expectations are high. It stretches your inventory, and it stretches your staff. Everybody who was on that list has been running out of food and closing early.”
Past winning cities include San Francisco, Chicago and Washington, D.C.
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