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Updated: February 9, 2022

Portland seeks vendor to run café concession in vacant 'Castle'

Castle building exterior in park Courtesy / City of Portland Portland is seeking a vendor to run a food-concession business at the historic Castle-in-the-Park in Deering Oaks Park.
By Renee Cordes

The city of Portland is seeking proposals for a vendor to lease and operate a café inside an unusual building that's been vacant for a couple of years.

The city aims to reopen Castle-in-the-Park in Deering Oaks Park, a space that Fork Food Lab has looked more than once but eventually passed on.

"We actually looked at it pre-COVID and again last year," said Bill Seretta, executive director of Fork Food Lab, a shared commercial kitchen and business incubator in Portland that's currently planning a move to South Portland.

"It's a neat little building in a great location," Seretta said of the Castle-in-the-Park, "but it's basically a serving counter with a bathroom." He also noted running a business there would only make sense for a few months of the year at most when there are activities at the park, including a seasonal farmers' market.

"If it was bigger, it could be useable," he added. 

Deering Oaks Park, deeded to the city in 1879, is a 55-acre park located west of downtown Portland bordered by Deering Avenue on the west, Forest Avenue on the east, Park Avenue on the south and Interstate 295 on the north. 

The building has been vacant since 2020, and was most recently occupied by TIQA Café & Bakery, a spinoff of TIQA Mediterranean restaurant on Commercial Street in Portland. The nine-page request for proposals notes that the Castle's operations should start in spring 2022 depending on the weather, and that the initial contract period is to run through Nov. 30, 2022. The city also underscores that the quality of food and drinks sold "is a matter of highest concern."

Proposals are due by Tuesday, March 1, at 3 p.m.

The city did not specify what kind of vendor it is seeking, other than to say the goal is to offer food and beverages at a reasonable cost. 

Potential operators can get a glimpse of the inside of the Castle at a Feb. 15 pre-proposal meeting. Masks will be required for that meeting, which will take place two days before the repeal of the city's mask mandate is due to take effect following Monday's City Council vote.

More information 

Sealed proposals can be submitted via email,  with the name of the proposer, contract name and RFP number all in the subject line.

Proposals may also be submitted via USPS, UPS or FedEx to: City of Portland, Purchasing Room 103, 389 Congress St., Portland ME 04101. 

Copies of the RFP are available from the city’s Purchasing Office via email or via phone at 207-874-8654. 

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