The Hollow Reed

The restaurant was opened on 334 Fore Street[3] in the Old Port on February 7, 1974, by Victoria Jahn, Bobbi Goodman and Frank LaTorre.[4] The restaurant was situated in a 1790 mariner's building. After a restoration the original brick walls and dark beams were left intact.[5] The Hollow Reed was not a strict vegetarian restaurant as they also served fish and lobster.[5] It closed in 1981.

In 2009, Maine writer Elizabeth Peavey wrote about Portland in the 1980s "when this was a cowboy town — unprettified, unsanitized, still a little dangerous" and said "a trip to the very groovy Hollow Reed in the Old Port was a must.".[6]

In 2011, the editor of Portland magazine, Colin Sargent, wrote about the past 25 years in the city and wrote that 25 years ago "a new wave of restaurants in Portland dazzled diners" and said The Hollow Reed was a "beloved vegetarian restaurant on Fore Street."[1]

In 2018, the chef and owner of Fore Street restaurant, Sam Hayward, told the Portland Press Herald that The Hollow Reed was one of four restaurants from the Old Port's early days that "deserve some of the credit for the city’s current reputation as a culinary destination."[2] In 2019, organic farmer Mort Mather recalled selling to the Hollow Reed, which he called "one of the first quality restaurants in Portland’s Old Port."[7]

43.6568°N 70.2518°W / 43.6568; -70.2518