Smoked Chicken Wings Restaurant Opening Second Location in Portland, Maine

For a couple of years now, there has been a sign on the message board of the former Maelily Ryleigh's on Forest Avenue in Portland that read "BINGA'S COMING SOON!"

Building permits were up and some construction was being done, but the process was slow until it came to a stop, yet the sign remained. This week, a new sign went up for a second location of Smoked, serving wings, burgers, BBQ, and of course, tasty adult beverages.

The announcement of the Smoked location in Portland was made on the Smoked Facebook page in March.

In December of 2023, the former Binga's in Windham announced that they were now called "Smoked." Things were mostly the same, including the staff. The name change came with the departure of one of the two owners, who now just owns Binga's in Yarmouth.

Now, the new Portland location is preparing to open, the "Binga's Coming Soon" sign is gone, and the work on the restaurant looks like it is nearing completion.

There are two great things about the sign on the building: there are chickens, and the sign reads, "Wings, burgers, BBQ, Ice Cold Beer, Cocktails and Questionable Staff."

No doubt that the humor on the signs is not going away. The sign is blank for now, but those clever messages are coming soon, I'm sure.

It makes me wonder though. Will the two locations coordinate their messages, or will we now have two Smoked locations to check out and see what's on the sign this time? I'm cool either way, since my commute is on Forest Avenue, so I'll never miss a sign.