The Village Cafe | |
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![]() John and Amedeo Reali outside the building in the 1970s | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 1936 |
Closed | 2007 |
Previous owner(s) |
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Dress code | Casual dress |
Street address | 112 Newbury Street |
City | Portland, Maine |
Postal/ZIP Code | 04101 |
Country | United States |
Coordinates | 43°39′41″N 70°14′57″W / 43.66128665°N 70.2493035°W |
Seating capacity | 550 |
The Village Cafe was a 550-seat family-owned Italian restaurant in Portland, Maine, United States. It was in business, at 112 Newbury Street, for 71 years (1936–2007) [1] and was one of the few restaurants in the Old Port during the restaurant's existence. [2] [3] [4] It stood across Hancock Street from the Shipyard Brewing Company, in a space now occupied by condominiums—The Village at Ocean Gate—which maintain The Village's name. [5] [6] The restaurant closed at 11:30 PM on weekdays and 12:30 AM on weekends. [1]
The restaurant was founded as a twenty-seat café in 1936 by Maria (1884–1967) and Vincenzo Reali (1892–1981), [7] the grandfather of the restaurant's last owner, John Reali. Amedeo Reali (1926–2010), [8] John's father, took it over, with co-owner Albert DiMillo Sr., [9] after Vincenzo's retirement. He had initially only planned on helping out for two weeks upon returning from service in the Navy during World War II. [5] The restaurant was renovated in 1998. [1]
John Reali won the Restaurateur of the Year Award from the Maine Restaurant Association in 2001. Amedeo Reali won the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. [10]
After increasing competition from the numerous restaurants opening to take advantage of Portland’s " foodie town" status, the restaurant's owner decided to close the business, rather than spend an estimated $500,000 on work the building needed. It was under contract in 2006 and sold in 2007. There was a plan to downsize the restaurant and include it on the first floor of the condominium, but this did not come to fruition. [5] In December 2007, after 71 years in business, the restaurant closed. [11]
Amedeo Reali died in 2010, aged 83. [7] [12]
In the 2010s, the restaurant was torn down and replaced with the Bay House condominium project. [13] The Bay House, an 85-unit condo on Middle and Newbury Streets, was built by Reger Dasco Properties. [14] Since then, the neighborhood has been filled in with high-end condos, hotels and offices. In 2021, a one-unit condo in the Bay House was listed for sale for $625,000. [15]
The Village Cafe served a traditional menu of Italian food. The menu listed soups, salads, Italian specialties, pastas, pizzas, seafood, steaks, sandwiches, and desserts. [16] Menu listings that have been remembered by customers are veal parmigiana, clam sauce, red sauce, [17] homemade bread, baked stuffed haddock, and eggplant parmigiana. [18]
Two menus from the restaurant in 1982 and in 1989 are included in the collection of menus at the Portland Public Library. [19]