Wicked Pickle brings largest indoor pickleball facility in Maine to South Portland

A new pickleball facility called The Wicked Pickle is coming to South Portland.

The Wicked Pickle has leased a 25,500 square-foot facility scheduled to break ground this month. The location is at 2401 Broadway in South Portland. Tony Miner, the entrepreneur behind this new business states, “It’ll be really cool place where people can just come and relax and play some pickleball.” Miner, a former baseball star, currently coaches softball at Thornton Academy in Saco as well as coaching baseball. Miner is hoping that the facility will give pickleball players an easier way to enjoy the sport in the harsh winter months.

The pickleball craze has recently boomed in the last few years. It is the country’s fastest-growing sport with close to 9 million people paying the game nationwide. Invented in 1965 as a children’s backyard game, pickleball is played with a baseball sized wiffle ball and is described as a mix between tennis, ping-pong and badminton. Pickleball is very user friendly, being slower paced, since there is less ground to cover. It’s easier to learn than tennis. It’s a sport all ages can enjoy and can be as competitive or as casual as you want!

The Wicked Pickle facility will be equipped with six professional courts and two practice courts. It will also include a full-service bar with beer and wine, as well as a smoothie bar and lounge area. Miner states that with a brand-new building, “we can pretty much do whatever we want.” So, stay tuned for more updates on the facility and what they will offer!

Andrew Ingalls of Malone Commercial Brokers brokered the lease. “It’s the weirdest thing, this pickleball phenomenon,” Ingalls states. “My wife and I are one of three couples in Cape Elizabeth who don’t play pickle ball. We feel like outcasts.”

Get your paddles ready, because Wicked Pickle aims to open by November 1st this year!

Read the full MaineBiz article HERE!

The Future of Freeport

0 Depot Street (pictured above) & 45 Depot Street in Freeport are listed for sale

It’s no question that Freeport is one of the most visited places in Maine. L.L. Bean flagship in Freeport is the second most visited attraction in the state behind the ever so popular Acadia National Park. However, with brick-and-mortar retail struggling, especially post pandemic, Freeport needs a new wave of change. Freeport Chamber of Commerce executive director Tawni Whitney and the Downtown Visioning Leadership Team are looking to execute this change. Whitney states, “Many of the towns the consultant groups are dealing with have lost their one main industry, like when a mill closes down, and they’ve got to start from scratch. For us, we have a well-appointed Main Street, we’ve got a great reputation, we have lots of natural resources, and we have a great school system.”

The key to the proposed plan is to bring housing and locally owned businesses back to Main Street. Parking is also on their radar. Current residents are in support of housing, but hope that the proposed apartment buildings have enough parking associated with them. “If you want a vibrant downtown, you have to have downtown living,” Whitney says. “It’s extremely exciting to think about that coming back.” More people living in the center of town would be great for local businesses with the consistency of business year round, and not just tourist season.

MCB has some exciting opportunities in Freeport, including a residential redevelopment site that is on a 1.11± AC lot with a parking lot and a 1,440± SF rental property. For more information about this opportunity, contact Mark Malone!

Click HERE to view this listing.

Read more about the future of Freeport by clicking HERE!

Fork Food Lab acquires larger space in South Portland for their expanding business

Fork Food Lab bought 95-97 Darling Ave in South Portland from East Brown Cow for $5.9 million. Fork Food Lab is Maine’s only non-profit food business incubator and shared commercial kitchen. According to their website, their mission is to “support a just, diverse, and sustainable food economy in Maine, where food entrepreneurs are supported in their quest to produce high quality and sustainable products utilizing locally sourced ingredients.” Fork Food Lab is owned by a Yarmouth-based nonprofit and is currently located at 72 Parris St in Portland. Darling Ave is about eight times the size of their current location.

“Our ability to purchase the property hinged on our partnership with East Brown Cow and they were willing to grant us an unusual amount of time to put all the pieces together to make this a reality for our members,” said Bill Seretta, executive director of Fork Food Lab, indicating that the deal had its roots in 2021.

The property consists of two single-story office buildings, on 3.18 acres. Originally separate structures, the two buildings later merged into one by an enclosed walkway. Construction is already underway at the 42,000-square-foot space to convert it into a kitchen and food business incubator.

Seretta stated that the move is expected to happen on or around June 1.

East Brown Cow was represented by Joe Malone and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers in the transaction and Brice O’Connor at the Boulos Co. represented the buyer.

Read more HERE.

Cong Tu Bot to open second restaurant, this one in Old Port

Owners of the popular Vietnamese restaurant Cong Tu Bot on Washington Avenue in Portland plan to open a new eatery in the Old Port by the end of the year.

Chef and co-owner Vien Dobui said they leased the space at 30 Market St., formerly home of Pat’s Pizza, which closed in early April. Dobui said his new restaurant will be called Lido’s 2, a reference to a former nightclub he frequented some years ago when he lived in San Jose, California.

The new space will seat as many as 70 people, considerably more than the 40-seat Cong Tu Bot, which in March became the state’s first independent unionized restaurant in more than 40 years. The larger venue, located in the bustling Old Port, “will allow us to reach a bigger audience,” Dobui said, noting that the space also will have a full bar.

The transaction was brokered by Peter Harrington of Malone Commercial Brokers.

To read the full article from The Portland Press Herald, click HERE.

East Brown Cow and Malone Commercial Brokers arrange a 10-Year lease at Zero Canal for Baja-style taco restaurant

Taco A Go Go, a Baja California-style restaurant, has signed a 10-year lease with East Brown Cow to occupy a 1,350 square foot space at Zero Canal Plaza in Portland, Maine. Taco A Go Go will use fresh, locally sourced ingredients in its menu of tacos, tortas and rotating specials. Taco A Go Go comes from the owners behind Nosh, CBG, Bramhall, Paper Tiger, and Roma, all popular staples in the area.

The exciting lease was brokered by Joe Malone and Jennifer Small of Malone Commercial Brokers.

“Taco A Go Go combines distinctive recipes from the West Coast with local ingredients from the East Coast,” said Mike Fraser, owner of Taco A Go Go. “We are excited for the opportunity to bring this coast-to-coast concept to Portland, where our surfer-inspired restaurant will offer a fun, vibrant twist on the city’s culinary scene.” The new restaurant will open at 11 am, offering lunch, and remain open until 11 pm to cater to the downtown office demographic while elevating Portland’s thriving food and nightlife scenes.

The opening of Taco A Go Go coincides with the announcement that East Brown Cow and Malone Commercial Brokers are looking to lease a ground-floor retail space at One Canal Plaza, adjacent to Zero Canal. One Canal is under development through the work of internationally renowned architect Moshe Safdie through a $10 million-plus capital improvement investment. This development and the opening of Taco A Go Go will bring new life to this area of Portland. Tim Soley, president and CEO of East Brown Cow states that it “will add to the vibrancy of the Canal Plaza block and will soon become a popular dining destination for locals and visitors alike."

Stay tuned for more updates on the opening of Taco A Go Go and development of the Canal Plaza block!

Read more HERE!