In Portland, A Family Life And Career In The Restaurant Industry Can Peacefully Coexist

Conley, isn’t alone as he’s part of a new breed of restaurant owner in Portland looking to pursue a passion of the industry while also having a family.  Chris Deutsch, owner of Belleville, always knew he would open a bakery. Informed by his childhood in Europe and time spent training in pastry in Paris, his decision to open a business would always lead to a bakery. However, when deciding where to open, that decision meant where he and his wife and business partner, Amy, would start and settle their family. As world travelers they had their options open to Europe, New York, Boston or Washington D.C., but choosing Portland meant that they could have the advantage of a restaurant scene and the slow Maine lifestyle that made having a family easier.

Deutsch’s bakery, Belleville, provides authentic Parisian croissants and baked goods as well as the Roman style of pizza – al taglio – meaning by the slice. In the release of Bon Appetit’s Food City feature, Belleville was featured as a must-visit established in the area. “We saw a whole lot of people coming through the door. It’s been great for us,” Deutsch commented on the response to the press. Deutsch said that when they first opened, they didn’t do much press or advertising. Instagram and the locals living in the area were the first to come in the door. Since Deutsch was in the shop everyday he had the first hand opportunity to talk to locals, make them regulars and let them in on his story. The community that came to support Belleville in its first months open continues to show up a year later. Even on a cold, Saturday morning in November the shop was bustling with people standing at the counter in the window and raving over the baked goods that Deutsch himself was baking off that day. Community seems to rally around Portland restaurants in their early phases. Deutsch notes that as long as those in the industry are putting out quality products, the community will support it.

The city of Portland wants to encourage small business. This creates an opening for those who want to open a business to tailor their family’s needs. Peter and Orenda Hale of Drifter’s Wife immensely benefitted from Portland’s welcoming community to new businesses. Originally from New York City, the couple moved to Maine upon their plans to start a family. After working in the New York restaurant community for their professional lives, Portland felt like the right move despite neither being were from Maine originally. Peter had spent summers in the state and relatives now resided there, but above all, it was Portland itself which attracted the Hales to the state of Maine. The couple knew that they wanted to be business owners but in the meantime that had a safety net of knowing that with their restaurant experience they could easily find jobs working at restaurants in Portland.

They were able to finally open their own business, but it wasn’t a restaurant at first. Instead the Hales owned Maine & Loire, a small natural-wine shop. “The wine shop gave us normal hours,” Peter says explaining how a desire to be in the food and beverage industry but have hours that fit for family life. While the wine shop was just the start, the Hales moved on to expand to a restaurant that could provide the income they needed to have a growing family. Eventually, they expanded to a restaurant with their New York colleague, chef Ben Jackson, coming on board to work the kitchen while Peter and Orenda handled the front of house management and beverage programming. Their restaurant would become Drifter’s Wife which in 2018 was named in Bon Appetit’s Top 10 New Restaurants of 2018.

With the popular and criticritical success of Drifter’s Wife, the Hales now work as the face of the restaurant (without kids in tow) on weekend evenings. Since moving to Maine, they’ve grown not just an exceptional business but their family. Peter and Orenda have two young children with a third on the way. On a Saturday evening, Drifter’s Wife becomes a dimly-lit fine dining restaurant perfect for date night, but the signs of a family-based lifestyle the Hales came for are still there if you look closely. Sitting at the bar, I watched chef Ben Jackson running the kitchen while holding his toddler son, Acer, who his wife Alexis had brought in for a visit that evening. At Maine & Loire, the original wine shop which now resides next door to Drifter’s Wife, the Hale childrens’ toys are scattered across the back off floor – a well placed reminder of the lives of those running the restaurant.

Portland has ushered in a new breed of homesteaders drawn to the state. Chad Conley, Chris Deutsch and the Hales represent the best of the talent Portland’s restaurant industry has to offer. They also represent those who came looking to Portland for a vibrant community excited about food and culture while also balancing family life. It’s no coincidence that Portland attracted the same type of restaurant owner. While national attention highlighted the quality of cuisine, it is clear that there is a specific quality to the city that brings people in not just for a visit but to stay. Maine has always had something special that while it won’t always keep people around, it may be just the right fit for others.