Fresh Pickins occupies Unit 4 of The Black Box development on Washington Ave, in Portland, ME

Fresh Pickins Farm products are inspired by the owners’ adventurous lifestyle and how they interact with nature. Their goal is to cultivate, formulate, and design products that allow you to live a life in connection with nature and to nurture your soul. From seed to shelf, they have a close connection to all of the plants they cultivate and believe that this love they provide is passed onto their customers with hopes of elevating the life journey.

Fresh Pickins will be selling fresh spring and summer bouquets along with tea, honey, tinctures, skin/ hair care, bug & tick spray, solar protection and much more.

"We first saw The Black Boxes when they opened in 2018. We were 100% interested but had to be patient on the waiting list,” said Dan Marion, owner of Fresh Pickins. “Since we already had a pretty good following in the Portland area we knew that one day we wanted a brick and mortar location in Portland so our customers could come find us in person. And to be honest, we've done a fair share of farmers markets, and the idea of having a spot that we didn't need to take down at the end of every market was becoming a goal. So here we are, settling our roots into Black Box unit #4 - and it feels great already."   

Fresh Pickins occupies interior Unit 4 and is open Wednesday - Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.Follow along and learn more via www.freshpickinsfarm.com

The ISHI ISHI grand opening was covered by and featured in MaineBiz’s Insider Notebook on February 20, 2020. See below for an expert and a link to the original.

Noodle shop Ishi Ishi Ramen has opened at The Black Box retail incubator in Portland, occupying space that had housed The Cheese Shop.

Ishi Ishi is owned and managed by Matthew De Fio and Andrew Doolittle, both of whom have area restaurant and retail experience.

De Fio has worked at Trattoria Athena and Enoteca Athena in Brunswick and at Hugo’s, Scales, Tipo and Duckfat in Portland. Doolittle is co-owner of Pot & Pan Kitchen in Portland, which makes CBD and THC edibles.

Nine-stool Ishi Ishi offers three types of ramen, along with gluten-free and CBD options, and is the latest addition to a growing eclectic food neighborhood on Washington Avenue.

For the full article, please click here.