El Rayo owners branch out
The owners of El Rayo Taqueria are expanding in two directions. Tod Dana and Alex Fisher are opening a cantina in the building next door to their popular Mexican restaurant on York Street. And in the other direction, a few blocks west, they are working on a new restaurant at 231 York St. called River House.
The cantina will have a full bar and a light menu, Dana says, and be open by next March or April. "El Rayo has been a really positive and successful venture, but we're handicapped at certain times," he explains. In the winter, when they can't sit outside on picnic tables, waiting diners have no place to stand or even sit at the bar, which has just a couple of stools. Same goes for the summer if it rains.
To accommodate the overflow, Dana is converting a former upholstery shop that shares the parking lot with El Rayo into a 30- to 35-seat establishment where customers can sip tequila and eat appetizers until their table across the way is ready. The Portland building permit for this renovation puts the cost at $36,650. Or diners can just stay put at the bar, Dana says. "We'll be leaning toward small plates that are affordable like the taqueria, but more sophisticated, like lobster nachos -- creative things." He says the cantina will be more elegant than the colorful taqueria, with "chill" lighting and comfortable seats.
At the same time, Dana and Fisher are teaming up with Cheryl Lewis and Noreen Kotts, El Rayo's culinary team and the former owners of Aurora Provisions, for another venture. The four are converting what used to be Popeye's Ice House into a new restaurant Dana describes as a "neighborhood bistro." It'll have 60 seats, and gets its name for its view of the Fore River. They hope to be open by late next summer.
"There are very few places to walk to in that area," Dana says, referring to this part of the West End. "There's Caiola's and Bonobo, and those are both west of us, so for people like me who live down closer to the waterfront, this will be a nice addition to the neighborhood."
Dana also owns the furniture store Asia West on Commercial Street, and Fisher owns Planet Dog, which has a store on Marginal Way. They will continue running these businesses while expanding their restaurants.
Dana points out that he's quite aware of the restaurant boom in Portland, but that the city has room for more. Indeed, he goes on, the boom appears to be driving a surge of new eateries. "Everyone coming to Maine knows that Portland is the culinary seat of [the state], and we're interested in being part of that and we're excited," the Portland native says. "And there's some growth there as far as the restaurant scene. Portland will continue to blossom as a foodie town."
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