Aimsel Ponti

Aimsel Ponti is a Content Producer at MaineToday.com and a music writer for MaineToday.com and the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with - and inspired by - music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town library when she was six years old. She bought her first Rolling Stones record at a flea market when she was in 7th grade and discovered David Bowie a year later. She's a HUGE fan of the local music scene and covers it along with national musical happenings in her "Face the Music" column and with artist interviews that appear in print in the Portland Press Herald and online at Mainetoday.com. You'll also find her out and about absorbing live music like a sponge and roaming around local record shops and flea markets. Aimsel is also the host of Music from 207 on 98.9 WCLZ and appears monthly on the WCHS TV show “207” to talk about...music of course.

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Posted: October 7, 2017

FIRST LOOK: Scratch Baking Co. opens Toast Bar in South Portland

Written by: Aimsel Ponti

Fans of Scratch Baking Co. in South Portland’s Willard Square have been waiting with wild anticipation for the opening of the Toast Bar in what used to be a car wash on 205 Broadway. A little over a year ago, Scratch opened a Bread Kitchen on 207 Broadway to do their baking in. On the same property as the former gas station, the retro-looking oli change place or maybe car wash at 205 Broadway has undergone a magical transformation into what is now Toast Bar. The doors opened on Friday, Oct. 6 and I paid a visit the next morning to what was already a bustling location. Coffee by Design cofffee was on the ready, the space is bright and airy and yep, there were plenty of bagels to be had with various toppings along with English muffins and entire loaves you could take home. The buzz has been strong about this opening because fans of Scratch finally have a place to plunk down and enjoy bagels. The space isn’t huge but it’s big enough. There are about 5 four-top tables and a high-top bar-like table you can park yourself at while you nosh. I ordered a sea salt bagel with herb cream cheese to go but ended up tearing into it while still on premise. It was perfect and although Toast Bar is brand new, it feels like it’s always been there. Bravo!

Toast Bar is on 205 Broadway in South Portland. Hours are 7 a.m. to Noon, Thursday to Sunday.

The brand new Toast Bar on Broadway in South Portland Photos by Aimsel Ponti
Toast Bar exterior
It's all about the details. The toast-shaped menus are held in a toaster and notice the toast-shaped air vent cover in the background.
The Toast Bar menu includes items like Nut-N-Honey (nut butter, Maine wildflower honey and sea salt) and the Toast-Acado (ripe avocado with lemon, cracked pepper and spiced pumpkin seeds.)
Soul Food is whipped creamed cheese (plain or herb) on a toasted bagel ($4.50)
Jam On It is Casco Bay Butter, Scratch Jam and Sea Salt ($4.50). The one pictured here is with blueberry jam on an English muffin.
There's plenty of bicycle parking behind Toast Bar