LB Mini-Mart, the convenience store offshoot of the eatery LB Kitchen, opened at 235 Vaughan St. in Portland’s West End.
It takes over space that was once the Vaughan Street Variety. Work in the space began in June with Mey & Co. Interior Design.
Bryna Gootkind and chef Lee Farrington own and operate the LB Kitchen Café, which opened in 2017 on Congress Street.
Last year, it moved a few doors away to its current location, at 255 Congress St. LB Kitchen opened its first convenience store brand location in Westbrook in March, at the Rock Row mixed-use development.
The convenience store offers salads, sandwiches, snacks, wellness products, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages. There will also be a coffee bar that serves espresso-based drinks as well as LB’s lattes, bone broth, smoothies and slushies.
“This location feels to us like completing a puzzle piece to an iconic neighborhood in Portland,” said Gootkind. “We designed this store and what we carry within it, for the West End neighborhood — from the Maine Medical campus to the residential full-time Portlanders who care about what they eat, what they buy and how they connect.”
The Vaughan Street will initially have hours from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.
In mid-2026, another location is expected to open at 251 Congress St., expanding into the space adjacent to the LB Kitchen cafe. Gootkind and Farrington plan to relocate the in-store market into the new storefront, which will allow for more seating inside the cafe.