By Kiely Callahan

Mitchell and Lisa Kaldrovich opened MK Kitchen four and a half years ago. “The process was long, took a lot of planning, and seemed a big risk to open fine dining in a small place like Gorham” Lisa said. “It was totally worth it. I knew the community would step in,” she continued. Lisa’s first job was as a host and although she went to school to be a teacher, she never pursued teaching. To this day, she has always worked in restaurants. For a period, she worked in California as a manager, which is where she met and fell in love with Mitchell. From the time Mitchell was a little boy in Argentina, he always wanted to be a chef. Lisa was born and raised here in Maine, and she always knew she would come back to her home state. Lisa and Mitchell worked together to open their own restaurant with a community feel, which took 8 to 9 years. 

When COVID hit, the deciding factor to temporarily close was the mandatory shut down. They closed inside dining, but they never completely shut down. Takeout began the same day and they felt very fortunate to be able to stay open. Financially, at the beginning, take out helped significantly. Due to less businesses being open, so business was steady. The amount of takeout kept them above water, but after some time, there was a need to open to get finances back in order.

MK Kitchen is still unable to fit full capacity, so takeout is greatly appreciated. For people not ready to come inside, they can stay outside. The outside dining environment is very mellow, with several two top tables.

The hope is to get more people to feel safe enough to come in and get the numbers up. Their current income is less than half it was at this time last year. The community can help by visiting or getting takeout. Lisa says to trust that they are doing the things they need to do to stay safe, such as enforcing masks, practicing social distancing, sanitation, etc. Helping out by spreading the word about your safe experience is very much appreciated, Lisa said.

MK Kitchen is located at  2 School St, Gorham. For more information visit https://mkkitchen.net/ or call (207) 222-2588.