Samuel’s Bar and Grill in Portland, Maine, Permanently Closing

A staple of Morrill's corner and a favorite amongst locals in Portland, Maine, is closing permanently. Well, kind of. According to Portland Old Port, Samuel's Bar and Grill has plans to shutter their longstanding location at 1160 Forest Ave in the not-too-distant future.

Samuel's will return shortly thereafter. It just won't be called Samuel's anymore. Instead, Samuel's intends to rebrand into the North Deering Tavern. Their new location will at 1349 Washington Avenue. That was formerly the home of Parker's Restaurant.

Back in 2022, Parker's Restaurant, a longtime favorite for people who lived in the outer Washington Avenue corridor, sounded almost apologetic in their goodbye on social media. Parker's dubbed itself "Portland's best kept secret", as a place folks could gather for a good meal and great drinks, all at a reasonable price.

The restaurant sat on the market for more than two years before Sam Minervino decided to take the plunge with the idea of taking his popular spot on Forest Ave and move it into a bigger space.

Despite the rebranding, North Deering Tavern intends to still feel like Samuel's does right now. Much of the menu will stay the same with additional options added thanks to a larger kitchen and more seating.

The space at Washington Avenue also has substantially more parking than the current Samuel's location. The additional elbow room inside the restaurant plus the excess parking should be welcomed by patrons.

No firm closing date for Samuel's on Forest Ave was listed as of this writing. North Deering Tavern hopes to have a grand opening sometime early next year.