Tiqa Restaurant in Portland, Maine, to Reopen After Closing Last Year

The owners of Tiqa, the pan-Mediterranean restaurant in Portland, Maine, decided to give it another go.

Portland Food Map has shared the good news that the owners of Tiqa, Deen Haleem and his wife Carol Mitchell, are going to to reopen!

The beautiful restaurant on Commercial Street opened in 2015 in the heart of Portland and closed in April of 2023, but it was never permanent. As they said on Facebook,

Over the past three years, since COVID started, we have faced an exhausting ever changing set of dynamics that we have yet to figure out how best to handle - because of this - we have decided to close TIQA and consider all possible future options. We will continue to be closed until a new direction is determined and we do not know how long that will take.

The temporary close gave Deen and Carol a "year of contemplation and self-reflection", according to Portland Food Map. They will try again with a new chef, Philip Sokowlski. The pan-Mediterranean theme will still be their guide, but the menu will have some changes. Philip comes from Annapolis to Maine, where he was the chef at Libations Tavern.

When will Tiqa Restaurant reopen in Portland, Maine?

There is no set date for the reopening of Tiqa, but they are hoping it will be in the next few weeks. There's still plenty of summer left in Maine, and with such a central location on Commercial Street, they would be very busy.

They originally opened in 2015, and I have been at least half a dozen times. I'm a big fan of Mediterranean food, and loved the old place. I had been there for a quiet dinner for two, a raucous bachelorette party, and even a work event. I am very excited for Deen and Carol to come back to the Portland, Maine, food scene.