Two local sisters aim to open a bar to be called Apéro in downtown Biddeford this fall.

Apéro will be located at 20 Alfred St., formerly the home of the Drift & Wander boutique. The space is less than 1,000 square feet and can seat about 40, including a 10-seat bar, according to co-owner Marie Grasser.

Apéro, a new bar on Alfred Street in Biddeford, is expected to open in October. Photo courtesy of Apéro

Formerly a wedding planner, Grasser launched Charcutemarie – a business offering custom charcuterie boards for weddings and other events – in late 2020. Her sister, Sophia Normantas, has managed bars in Massachusetts for the last few years, but recently moved back to Biddeford.

“With her moving home, we were like, ‘Let’s combine our talents and build a gathering place,’ ” Grasser explained. “Inside, we’re creating this sort of moody, sexy fun vibe. Apéro is French and literally means having a charcuterie board and a glass of wine with your friends prior to dinner. We see ourselves as either a pre-dinner spot, or post-dinner where you come in for a drink and perhaps a dessert as well.”

Grasser said the menu at Apéro will feature small-plates like charcuterie, crudités and cheese boards, in addition to cakes, cookies and rotating dessert pastries on offer from local bakeries.

Grasser said Normantas is to head up the bar program, with a full array of cocktails, mocktails, beer and wine. “She is creating such a gorgeous and fun menu,” Grasser said. “She’s so particular about not only wanting the drinks to taste good, but the whole presentation as well.”

Grasser and Normantas expect Apéro to be open Wednesday through Sunday from 3 to 11 p.m. They hope to launch the business in October.

SAPPORO MOVING TO FALMOUTH

Longstanding Japanese restaurant Sapporo recently announced on social media that it will move from Portland to a new location in Falmouth in the coming months.

The social media post is light on details, and owner Akira Matsumura could not immediately be reached for comment. But he wrote that Sapporo will be “transitioning our restaurant to a new location in Falmouth this winter.”

Matsumura also noted that the new location will offer free parking, in contrast to the current location along the waterfront at 230 Commercial St., a part of town where parking has become both scarce and expensive.

Sapporo has been in operation on the waterfront for nearly 40 years. Opened by Yoshi Hayashi in 1985, it was Portland’s first sushi restaurant.

TIKI BAR POP-UP AT CROWN JEWEL

Highly regarded Chicago tiki bar Three Dots and a Dash is making a pop-up appearance at tropical-style bistro Crown Jewel on Great Diamond Island this Saturday.

From 3 to 10 p.m., Crown Jewel will offer its regular dinner menu, along with three or four of the most popular tiki cocktails from Three Dots and a Dash.

The Chicago bar has been named to The World’s 50 best Bars list by Drinks International, and is known for crafting cocktails from fresh exotic fruits and spices, using a vast selection of rum from around the world.

Reservations for the special collaboration event are available online.

OYSTER TOURS AND TASTINGS

A new Phippsburg-based company featuring oyster farm tours and guided oyster tastings launched this summer.

Owner Virginia Shaffer said her business, Lady Oyster Tours & Tastings, is “all centered around oyster appreciation and tourism, and how we can really connect people more with the social, environmental and cultural sides of Maine through shellfish.”

Lady Oyster offers farm tours ($375) five days a week, in partnership with the charter boat company North East Salt Water.

The company also features a variety of tasting experiences, like a Rooftop Sunset Tasting ($85, including wine and food pairings). “We work through an oyster tasting wheel and I teach oyster etiquette, tell farm stories and a little local gossip – all sorts of fun things around aquaculture that people wouldn’t normally receive at the raw bar,” Shaffer said of the tastings. “I want people to leave with a more unique and special relationship to Maine seafood.”

RAGGED COAST LAUNCHES DESSERT SAUCES

Award-winning Westbrook chocolatiers Ragged Coast Chocolates has launched a new line of dessert sauces.

The new sauce roster features 9-ounce jars ($12.99-$13.99) in three flavors: Dark Chocolate Hot Fudge, Salted Honey Caramel and Rye Whiskey Caramel.

“They can be used as a filling or frosting, in hot chocolate and coffee drinks, and to top my favorite food in the world: ice cream,” said Kate Shaffer, who founded Ragged Coast Chocolates with her husband, Steve Shaffer. “As with all our products, we’re exceptionally choosy about our dessert sauce ingredients. We use local Maine butter and cream, real vanilla beans, organic sugar, no corn syrup, and as always, direct-trade dark chocolate from Latin America.”

The sauces are part of Ragged Coast’s expanding “Pantry Collection,” which includes its line of chocolate baking mixes, launched in 2022.

MAINE AQUACULTURE ASSOCIATION ADDS STAFFER

The Maine Aquaculture Association recently appointed Katherine Lipp to the newly created position of community engagement Coordinator.

Lipp has worked as a fisheries observer in Alaska, where she also set netting for sockeye salmon. She also completed an aquaculture apprenticeship, with more than 2,000 hours of hands-on training at Mere Point Oyster Co. in Brunswick.

According to spokespeople for the Maine Aquaculture Association, the new position was created in part to combat misinformation about local aquaculture projects. “Sea farmers should not have to debunk myths in order to gain community support,” said Trixie Betz, an outreach and development specialist with the association. “As aquaculture grows, Mainers deserve accurate information.”

Lipp will also focus on establishing a “coastal ambassador” network to enhance perceptions of aquaculture and boost social investment.

“I am thrilled to join the Maine Aquaculture Association team and provide further support to our hardworking network of farmers,” Lipp said in a news release. “I look forward to working closely with our coastal communities on a personal level to promote the responsible stewardship of our marine spaces.”

Reporter Paul Bagnall of The Times Record contributed to this story.