Philly fans, rejoice: New eatery comes to Portland's Washington Avenue
Courtesy / Ramona's via Instagram
Ramona's Sandwiches is slated to open Friday, featuring mandatory hoagies.
While many restaurants in Maine have morphed into takeout establishments or delivery services, or closed their doors altogether, a new eatery is scheduled to open Friday in Portland.
As if that’s not rare enough these days, Ramona’s Sandwiches has an unusual menu.
Ramona’s, at 98 Washington Ave., offers takeout only, and “every order must contain at least one hoagie,” according to the shop’s website. For those unfamiliar with the term, popular in the Philadelphia area, a hoagie is roughly equivalent to an “Italian sandwich” in Maine — a sandwich on a long roll with meat, cheese, lettuce, peppers, and other vegetable ingredients.
Looking for a side order? A soft drink to go with lunch? The website instructions are strict: “Order as many of those items as you’d like if your order includes at least one hoagie.”
But ordering is difficult. The site’s online menu wasn’t functional Wednesday morning, and a notice said that takeout meals for Friday were already sold out.
Ramona’s is the brainchild of Chad Conley and Josh Sobel, according to Portland Food Map. Conley is co-owner of Palace Diner in Biddeford and the founder of Rose Foods, a New York-inspired deli in Portland. Sobel, who is from Philadelphia, has worked at Rose Foods and at various restaurants in New York. Attempts to reach Conley and Sobel for comment were not immediately successful.
The site of their new business formerly housed Flying Fox, a juice bar that closed in October after four years of operation. The 625-foot space, which reportedly was offered for rent at $1,600 per month, is on Washington Avenue’s evolving “restaurant row.”
The neighborhood includes Drifters Wife, named one of the country's top 10 new restaurants in 2018 by Bon Appetit magazine, and Terlingua, which had planned to move from its current location at 52 Washington Ave. to larger space in the former site of Silly's restaurant. Silly's closed last year; it's unclear what effect the pandemic may have on Terlingua's moving plans. Bob's Clam Hut, at the corner of Washington and Cumberland avenues, closed in March.
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