The gutting and design of the new kitchen and its new healthy cafe has just started at 255 Congres Street, at the corner of Smith Street near the bottom of Munjoy Hill.. The new sit-in restaurant and kitchen is co-owned by Lee Farrington,co- owner of LB Kitchen at 249 Congress Street, just several storefronts from her expanded enterprise.
The work on the property has been a long time in starting. The reason for the delay was placed front and center on the steps of city hall. The slow permitting process was the cause of the delay in getting this project underway said someone familiar with the process. The slow permitting process at Portland’s city hall is old news – having been reported in this news blog based on numerous off the record conversations with other busines owners over the past fifteen years of this blog’s existence. The same source said there are business owners who just won’t do business in Portland because of the permitting office’s reputation for slowness. This discussion was not off the record.
What is now the LB Kitchen located at 249 Congress Street was originally FIGA restaurant owned by Farrington as well. When she purchased the building it was also a slow opening because she was involved in a water rights dispute with the building owner. She ended up having to install her own water line: known as the “Big Dig” . The problems with it delayed the opening of this neighborhood bistro for over a year. The construction of a 5 ft. ditch in which a copper pipe line was laid cost Farrington $19,000. to fix the problem. Hopefully there were no water right disputes this time around when she purchased these addidtional storefronts from the previous owner again. It was just the slowness of the city’s permitting office that caused this delay in this start-up.
For more background information, pleas visit posts herein dated September 2, 2010.and September 22, 2010.