Last month, we told you there were as many as 40 licenses for adult recreational retail operations pending in the city of Portland, alone. But that’s just the beginning of the new developments in the adult-rec world as the marketplace quickly expands. 

It wasn’t even on the list of applications we pulled in early March, but Rugged Roots announced its retail brand Sinsemilla will be opening on Portland’s Washington Avenue in the near future by placing a new sign over the storefront that sits right next to the new Silly’s Restaurant and just two doors down from Tu Casa Salvadorena, which features the best Salvadoran food in Portland. This represents an expansion in addition to the medicinal facility they operate in Lewiston and will be supported by a new 24,000-square-foot grow facility in Portland. 

Up north in Bath, HighBrow opened its second recreational location, to go with its three medical dispensaries, and the first recreational retail facility in the seaside city. However, that status might last only a month or two, as Port City Relief has plans to open a recreational shop about 500 feet down the road in the old Gulf station. And, yes, they’re going to keep the pumps running out front. 

And HighBrow’s news comes just a few months after the January opening of their recreational Rockland location. 

Further up Route 1, Farley’s Cannabis Farm was approved by the Woolwich select board to shift from a medicinal operation, which has been in place on Main Street since 2014, to recreational use in a meeting that just happened to be on April 20. The town ordinance says there can be just three recreational storefronts in town limits. 

Yet further to the north, Full Bloom Cannabis will similarly convert their medical storefront in Presque Isle to a recreational operation, the city’s first. They also operate a medical shop in Fort Kent and a recreational shop in Grand Isle. “The County” reports there were no objections or comments during the public hearing period. 

Not to be outdone, the select board of the town of Fryeburg decided on April 22 to put an ordinance allowing recreational retail shops on the June ballot, when townspeople can decide whether to add to the town’s four medical shops. Already, at least five businesses have inquired about a recreational license. 

With the tourist traffic just over the border in North Conway, that could be a hopping market, indeed. 

Brickyard Hollow Brewing Company, which already operates a brewhouse in Yarmouth and pizza joints in Yarmouth and Freeport, announced in April it would be opening a new pizza-focused location in Portland, in the site most recently occupied by Arabica Coffee, not far from the Ocean Gateway on Commercial Street. 

With hopes for completion this summer, “pizza” probably undersells the menu, which in Freeport also features protein bowls, soups, salads, and all manner of appetizers. But the best news for those who like to go out on the town a bit is that they plan to operate well past last call, staying open till 2 a.m., with a slice counter. 

Not much that goes better with beer and weed than a slice counter. 

Westbrook’s Mast Landing Brewing Company announced in April it will be expanding into a second tasting room location as part of Freeport Crossing, with plans to open for business this summer. The two-story spot will have a brewing facility and will offer small-batch brews exclusive to the Freeport location, in addition to its regularly offered beers. If you’re into experimental stuff, this will be your new spot — right after you grab a new paddle board at LL Bean. 

As part of a covid-inspired trend that will hopefully outlast the pandemic, the new brewery space will feature significant outdoor seating with a garage-door that can be opened for free movement between the indoor and outdoor seating areas. And the second floor will offer rentable event space. No word yet on who it is, but look for a restaurant to open next door and handle the food portion of the tasting-room experience. 

The expansion should come as no surprise to close observers of Maine brewing industry: In 2018, Mast Landing, along with Lone Pine and Bigelow, made the Brewers Association’s list of the top 50 fastest-growing craft breweries in the United States. 

Continuing a tradition they began last year, Orono Brewing Company released on April 23 its Congrats Class of 2021 IPA, a special version of its popular Tubular IPA, with dry-hop additions. 

Run by UMaine grads and serving a UMaine population, the brewery wanted to do something to help a class of students who’ve had a, well, non-traditional senior year do some celebrating. And, hey, with a 6.9% ABV, that four-pack should certainly help them get in the mood. 

Better yet, they promise a “proper homecoming” in the fall when students return to a full, in-person college experience.