Located in Portland’s charming West End neighborhood sits a special kind of restaurant. Ruby’s West End has become a shining star in the community not only for it’s quality comfort food and charming environment, but because they have been an advocate for restaurants to implement a fair hourly wage. They were featured in the New York Times this past fall for being a trailblazer in wage reform. It is with great excitement that I’m able to share some of the special moments from a recent visit there for lunch.
They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In addition to being a full-service restaurant, Ruby’s West End also offers a hyper-local meal prep program where you can order healthy lunch and dinners to serve at home.
Learn more about it here
I originally learned of Ruby’s through Instagram and what drew me to them was not only their scrumptious-looking breakfast food but how personal their owners are. Husband and wife, Matt and Corrinna started Ruby’s West End after working in the restaurant industry for many years. During the pandemic, they packed up their entire life and moved to Maine on a whim to start Ruby’s and live out their dreams. I found their story to be so inspirational! Joining me at the table while I sipped this brilliant glass of white wine and delectable butternut squash soup, was Corrinna who shared more about her background and also the inspiration for Ruby’s: her grandmother.
Some of the furniture and wall accents are actual family mementos, which make you feel like you are right at home sitting inside the restaurant. I learned that most of the silverware and linens were actually donated to them by members of the community when they first opened. They were eager to keep start-up costs lean, but also it reflected their beautiful ethos: community is truly everything.
Embodying being the neighborhood restaurant they offer weekly specials from tastings and classes to half-price wine bottles to new food dishes. Plus they even host a weekly book club on Thursday evenings.
If you’re looking for a new brunch spot I highly suggest you visit Ruby’s West End. You can visit them at 64 Pine Street in Portland.
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