June 30, 2021
Brewbound
Freeport Crossing & Mast Landing Brewing Company Announce Nighthawk’s Kitchen As Their Culinary Partner
Freeport, ME – WS Development’s Freeport Crossing and Mast Landing Brewing Company, the award-winning Maine brewery set to open its exciting new 11,000 square foot brewery and tasting room next month on property, are thrilled to announce that Nighthawk’s Kitchen will be their culinary partner. Nighthawk’s Kitchen at the new Mast Landing Brewing at Freeport Crossing will feature original and approachable menus of American and international comfort foods utilizing the freshest locally sourced ingredients available throughout the region. Both indoor and outdoor seating will be available for guests.
At the helm of Nighthawk’s Kitchen is chef and owner, Christian “Nighthawk” Noe, a veteran culinary powerhouse who spent much of his career catering for some of the biggest names in food and entertainment, including Bobby Flay and Spike Lee. When Mast Landing Brewing at Freeport Crossing opens next month, Nighthawk’s Kitchen will first open as a food truck and later expand into a full service dine-in restaurant within the tasting room, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, along with a catering menu for private events hosted in the facility’s second floor 4,000 square foot private event space, one of the largest in the area.
Nighthawk’s Kitchen will debut a summer food truck menu at the brewery and tasting room that showcases Nighthawk’s prowess and complements Mast Landing Brewing’s impressive lineup of craft brews. Foodies and beer lovers alike can discover what made Nighthawk such a sensation. The opening menu will include several different signature burgers including the BBQ Burger with smoked bacon and melted cheddar cheese drizzled with Nighthawk’s award-winning Grafton Gold BBQ sauce and topped with crispy onions straws, and the Green Chile Cheeseburger with fire roasted hatch green chilis and melted cheese. The opening menu will also feature a number of mouth-watering Melts, Sandwiches and Plates, including the Meatball Melt with homemade beef and pork meatballs covered with Sunday sauce and fresh mozzarella pressed between two slices of grilled garlic bread; and the Brat Burger, a housemade bratwurst patty topped with beer braised peppers and onions and house mustard on a pretzel bun; and Nighthawk’s award-winning Buffalo Mac N Blue Cheese. A Dino Kale Salad with crisp dinosaur kale and imported parmesan tossed in Nighthawk’s own crushed chili lemon and garlic vinaigrette is also on the menu, along with several sides such as Roasted Corn Salad, Hand Cut Fries, Onion Straws and Cool Ranch Cole Slaw. With an eye for the entire family, children’s “Bento” Boxes will also be offered.
Later this year, Nighthawk’s Kitchen’s dine-in restaurant at the tasting room will feature a wide array of dishes on its breakfast, lunch and dinner menus. Items will include both crowd pleasers and several of Nighthawk’s originals, such as Nashville Hot Turkey Schnitzel Egg and Cheese served on a breakfast roll; Miso Soy Salmon Rice Bowl with beer braised collard greens; Popcorn Lobster, tender Maine lobster lightly breaded and fried to perfection and served with a Calabrianchili sauce; and a vegan Jackfruit Pulled “Pork”, slow smoked jackfruit pulled and tossed in Nighthawk’s own tangy Grafton Gold BBQ Sauce, piled high and topped with cool ranch cole slaw and pickles.
Christian “Nighthawk” Noe now calls Maine home. Upon moving to Yarmouth in 2020 with his family, Noe was looking for a brick and mortar space and fortuitously met the team from Mast Landing Brewing. Noe’s career took off in New York City in 2013, where he found a new home for Nighthawk’s Kitchen at the popular LIC Flea and Food, as well as Rockaway Brewing Company in Long Island City. Word of Nighthawk’s popularity quickly spread throughout NYC and he founded the popular film and catering company, Film Eats. Shortly after, he was hired by Netflix’s, She’s Gotta Have It, which led to him providing food for the cast and crew of several of Spike’s Lee’s subsequent productions as well as the Oscar nominated film, Black Klansman. His journey into film and television included projects from everyone from Bobby Flay, Martha Stewart, and Kelsey Grammer to Tracey Morgan, Seth Rogen, Mindy Kaling and Kristen Bell. Over the years, Nighthawk and his team have catered for countless private events including wrap parties, weddings, and celebrity studded Emmy Awards parties in Los Angeles.
Mast Landing Brewing looks forward to partnering with Nighthawk’s Kitchen when it opens its new two-story home at Freeport Crossing next month and is eager to serve as a year-round destination, showcasing small-batch recipes made and offered exclusively at the Freeport location, as well as its lineup of flagship beers. The new space will feature Freeport Crossing’s signature all-glass curtain wall, allowing for tremendous natural light, as well as a spacious outdoor area accessible from a garage door style entrance. The tasting room will prioritize a warm, family-friendly atmosphere, and will accommodate guests with high top tables, comfortable lounge seating, and bar service. The on-site brewing facility will give the Mast Landing production team a chance to experiment and innovate, producing small batch beers exclusively for the Freeport taps, and testing ideas that might be developed into wider-reaching production.
“It’s such a joy to be opening my restaurant within a world-class brewery and to utilize the freshest of local Maine ingredients for recipes that are meant to complement Mast Landing Brewing’s all-star lineup of craft brews. I am excited to bring my classic crowd favorite recipes to Freeport. My collaboration with the Mast Landing team has been so enjoyable and we’re so excited to welcome all the fantastic food lovers out there!” says Christian “Nighthawk” Noe, Chef and Owner of Nighthawk’s Kitchen.
“Working with Christian has already been a great source of inspiration for the Mast Landing team. Everything that we have tasted from his kitchen has been absolutely delicious, and his combination of professionalism & creativity is a perfect fit for the way we approach our work. Nighthawk’s Kitchen is going to make an excellent addition to the space in Freeport, and we’re excited to create something really special with our two brands,” says Ian Dorsey, President & CEO of Mast Landing Brewing Company.
“With Nighthawk’s Kitchen, we found a culinary partner and operator that mirrors Mast Landing Brewing Company’s creativity and aspiration for developing an exciting new craft beer and food experience for guests. We are beyond excited to see these two businesses come together to combine their talents and represent the very best of what they do. We look forward to building upon this momentum with more like-minded businesses to serve Freeport and the surrounding communities,” adds Nick Margitza, Director of Leasing, WS Development.
Freeport Crossing plays an integral role in the retail landscape of historic Freeport, Maine, which attracts millions of tourists and shoppers who seek out the historic, coastal town as they visit L.L.Bean’s flagship store and a myriad of outlet shops and local boutiques. Freeport Crossing is located one mile from downtown Freeport. With immediate access from RT1 and I-295, it is just 20 minutes north of Portland and two hours north of Boston. Freeport Crossing is located at 200 Lower Main St, Freeport, ME 04032.