Time to eat your veggies

There wasn’t a lot of change on the restaurant scene in 2024-25 in terms of lots of openings and closings, but there were definitely some trends we saw pop up in our local dining scene.

The biggest may be the increase in vegetarian food in the area. Sure, you could always find healthy and tasty vegetarian options at FiaFia for a quick bite, or perennial vegetarian favorite Bandaloop, which has long led the field on this, but now good vegetarian options seem to be available just about everywhere.

And we aren’t just talking about Impossible burgers here. Thoughtfully prepared vegetarian meals are now integral parts of the menu at fine dining Chez Rosa as well as family-friendly Alisson’s and many other local eateries. Even Smoke, certainly known for its delicious meats, makes a killer homemade veggie burger.

So vegetarians take note: Your time has come in the Kennebunks.

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Restaurants here have always been about giving back. Many offer a portion of their proceeds from certain nights to local nonprofits and have done so for years.

But in 2024, one restaurant went even deeper with its support.

Musette, which has held the space once occupied by the old Wayfarer in Cape Porpoise, changed its name to Caring Community Cuisine. More importantly, it changed its mission from serving accessible, beautiful food to serving accessible, beautiful food for a good cause: to support people and families battling cancer.

To that end, founders Jonathan Cartwright, Selena Roy and Ben Fraser created CCC as a nonprofit and open the café to the public Monday to Wednesday as well as during special fundraising dinners.

As the founders themselves said on their Facebook page:

“The founders of CCC have been affected by cancer and wanted to help others going through such a difficult time. We often say ‘we can’t cure cancer but we can cook.’”