Frisbee’s 1828 Market

I was visiting a friend in Maine, and I stopped my this old time market. The owner was more than happy to help me find everything I needed, and made me feel at home even though I was a stranger to these parts. He told me to come back for one of his sandwiches, and I’m glad I did. Every time I come to Kittery, Im stopping here for lunch,

The guy who runs the shop is awesome and makes a mean sandwich, but he’s not a good sign maker

We stopped in last week, hungry and craving an Italian sandwich. We knew they did subs, but didn’t know how awesome they were.
I walked it, said I wanted an Italian, and instinctively asked for things like «no hots.» The owner gave me a look, and said «That’s not how I make them.» Instead, the sandwich had meats, provolone, basil, homemade garlic spread all toasted up.
It was fantastic, and I’ll go back just for that, Overall, prices were decent, selection of lots of odds and ends of foods and drinks and coffee was pretty good.

Coffee is not so good. Tastes like sanka. Not really an Italian store. Not really a wine store. Not really a provision store. Not sure what kind of store it is. Enoteca is a tinkerer of many master of none. They need a store consultant to fix what they are offering for sale. Not focused on the potential market near them or driving through.

A few months ago, when I drove by Enoteca and saw a «closed» sign on the door and boarded up windows, I instinctively began humming Dean Martin’s «Return To Me.» Somebody must have been listening, because this weekend, my mom told me she had a suprise for me, and she took me to the new Enoteca Italiana!
I live in Boston, but when I visit my mother in Portsmouth, we always stopped in whether we needed something specific for a recipe, or just to pick out a few snacks. Enoteca is THE place in Seacoast NH/​Southern Maine to buy top-​quality Italian deli meats and sausages, cheese, olives and antipasti, wine, and various other imports, such as dried pasta, olive oils, vinegars, and random necessities such as farro, porcini mushrooms, and walnut oil. Let us not forget the delicious cookies baked by North End North!
Excellent service — they’ll answer all of your questions, let you sample products before you buy (often, some featured product will be out for sampling, but you can always ask), and make sure you find what you are looking for. I am SO HAPPY that they’ve reopened!

Enoteca has recently opened where Frisbee’s Market has been for the last 182 years. Seriously, 182 years. The specialty shop that used to be Enoteca Italiana closed a few months ago and moved into this space and it’s now a cross between the two stores. All the wines are here, not so many cheeses, and much of the convenience store stuff from the old Frisbee’s. The signs on the outside are a mix of old and new, and it prepares you for what’s inside.
As you’d expect, they’re still getting it together but they have the important stuff right (food and wine). Their business cards have typos, the phone number in the newspaper doesn’t match the ones on the business cards, etc. But the food is here and the people are tired but smiling. As a resident of Portsmouth, I found the old location more convenient. But I’ll make the trip, especially if they get that handmade mozzarella and ricotta back. My lasagna hasn’t been the same since Enoteca Italiana closed, but now I’m hopeful.
Visit this store. Buy something. Tell your friends. Enoteca is back!