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2 weeks ago | 
thebollard.com | Elizabeth Peavey |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Chris Busby
Joe Soley in his Old Port corner store a few years ago. photo/John DuncanJoe Soley enters the That’s My Dump! Hall of Fame “The root disease that afflicts the world at the present day is the supremacy of the commercial point of view. … The commercial mind is neither benevolent nor malevolent — as little as science is. It seems at times to be beneficent; at other times it seems to be almost fiendish — as in the case of the atrocities perpetrated on the Congo.
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2 weeks ago | 
thebollard.com | Elizabeth Peavey |Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlWard McGovernAge: 66Hometown: Brooklyn, NYBar of Choice: Sacred Profane, BiddefordDrink of Choice: Dark LagerIt’s hard for a craft brewery to stand out in Maine, but that hasn’t been a problem for Sacred Profane. Since opening in Biddeford in 2022, the beer company has made a name for itself with its delicious Czech-inspired light and dark lagers, and the quality service and unpretentious atmosphere at its “tankpubs” in Biddeford and on Thompson’s Point in Portland.
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2 weeks ago | 
thebollard.com | Al Diamon |Samuel James |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
Border CrossingI’m standing on the side of the road, talking with my neighbor Chester (not his real name) about the porcupine that had been in that very spot for several days but is now gone. “Smelled it before you saw it,” he says. A period of silence follows. I’ve learned not to rush these conversations. They’re fragile things, and one wrong word or move can shatter them. We both gaze at the greasy smudge where the critter met its fate.
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Jan 5, 2025 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie Banhazl Erin Abraham (a.k.a. Kitty Caboose), Lily Abraham-Jellis Ages: 40, 8 Homestate: Vermont Bar of choice: Austin Street Brewery, Fox St. Drinks of choice: Double IPAs, Honest Kids Goodness Grapeness Grape Fruit Juice Austin Street Brewery opened its first tasting room 10 years ago on Industrial Way, out in Portland’s Riverton neighborhood, and it was much like the other craft beer tasting rooms clustered there: a modestly sized, lightly decorated drinking space sectioned off...
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Dec 8, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Al Diamon |Chris Busby
photo/Jessie BanhazlLayne WitherellAge: 79Hometown: Los Angeles, CABar of choice: Blue Portland Maine (BPM)Drink of choice: Whatever wine is featured in Layne’s Wine Gig Originally opened in 2005 as a jazz lounge named Liquid Blue, the downtown Portland bar and music venue Blue Portland Maine (BPM) has grown increasingly eclectic, adding roots music, salsa dancing, indie rock, poetry and comedy to its offerings over the decades.
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Nov 11, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlJoel ThetfordAge: 50Hometown: Fort Worth, TexasBar of choice: Geno’s Rock ClubDrink of choice: Coors BanquetKnown for hosting punk rock and metal shows, Geno’s Rock Club in downtown Portland has been in business since 1983 and operating at its current Congress Street location since 2005. Limerick, Maine-native Kitty Taylor purchased the bar from its namesake’s son, Geno Jr., a.k.a. J.R., during the pandemic in 2020 and has gradually been renovating the space.
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Oct 13, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie BanhazlKim and Tom Howard Ages: 46, 53 Hometown: Brooklyn, New YorkBar of Choice: Portland ZooDrinks of Choice: Margarita (Kim), Coors (Tom)At the foot (or maybe the ankle) of steep Fox Street on Portland’s East End you’ll find the Portland Zoo, an unassuming, European-style beer garden that draws service-industry workers, soccer fans (casual and hardcore), young families, friendly dogs and the occasional tourist.
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Sep 8, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Chris Busby |Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan |Dan Zarin
The Reddy Guntaka family (from left): Sai, Charitha, Geetansh, Sudarsana, Sidhansh and Hemalatha. photos/Kiki GarfieldHow the Guntaka family makes the tastiest Indian food in MaineIn the spring of 2013, while researching what turned out to be the first of two exposés about the malevolence of celebrity chef Harding Lee Smith [“Satan’s Sous Chef,” July 2013], I’d bring up his name at bars and restaurants all around Portland.
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Aug 12, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photos/Jessie BanhazlMark MilliganAge: 56Hometown: South Portland Bar of Choice: Commercial Street Pub Drink of Choice: Bud and a #1“Thirty years ago here, fishing was still predominant in Portland Harbor, and people were coming off boats with stacks of money,” recalled Emily Campobasso, a bartender at Commercial Street Pub in Portland’s Old Port.
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May 9, 2024 | 
thebollard.com | Jessie Banhazl |Sara Hogan
photo/Jessie Banhazl Frank KimballAge: 86Hometown: Peaks Island, MaineBar of Choice: Blyth & BurrowsDrink of Choice: Bacardi and Diet When Frank Kimball goes “honky-tonkin’,’” this gregarious octogenarian hits watering holes in Portland’s Monument Square and Old Port, especially those owned by his ol’ pal Josh Miranda (Blyth & Burrows, Papi, Via Vecchia and Henry’s Public House), which are known for their stunning interiors and thoughtful food and cocktails.
