A popular Portland restaurant will close later this month to make way for a theater’s expansion.
Katahdin Restaurant on Forest Avenue will be open until Sept. 24. It plans to relocate, according to a Facebook post.
“We had hoped never to have to write this post, but the time has unfortunately come,” owners Becky Simmons and Winnie Moody wrote in the post. “After nearly three very stressful years of living with the uncertainty of what is happening with our space in the Portland Stage building, coupled with the stressors of the pandemic, we have decided to depart our beloved Forest Avenue location.”
Portland Stage is under construction to make the building wheelchair and gurney accessible beyond the second floor, which includes adding an elevator in the building. Builders determined the best place for an elevator shaft is where the current restaurant space is located, according to a statement from Portland Stage.
Portland Stage said that Katahdin’s owners were presented with a plan that would move the bar and table service of the restaurant to the next storefront and the kitchen could remain in the same place. That plan, according to the statement, would increase table space for the restaurant.
“Our goal has been to shift their existing space, bar and all, to the new space with the least disruption to the restaurant possible basing our construction timeline and flow of work to meet Katahdin‘s needs rather than the comfort of builders,” Portland State said.
But Simmons and Moody said the changes just weren’t “economically feasible” for them.
“We love the community we have built here — regulars and theater patrons alike — and truly wish that we had been able to come to an agreement with Portland Stage, but that is not how things turned out,” they said.
They plan to relocate the restaurant, though no date nor location was given.
