Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96 Page 97 Page 98 Page 99 Page 100 Page 101 Page 102 Page 103 Page 104 Page 105 Page 106 Page 107 Page 108Insights 34 p o r t l a n d monthly magazine Staff Photo so many people here now!” “That building wasn’t here last month!” And the thorough- ly unexplored “There is so much going on here!” Y es, but what exactly? ‘It’ can be shown in photos (imagine a be- fore and after of the old Joe’s Smoke Shop–transformed today as Joe’s Variety, topped by four floors of soon-to-be residen- tial living space), even suggested by the effer- vescence of First Friday Art Walk, but that’s a national phenomenon. What is peculiar to ‘us,’ right now? And who do the numbers say ‘we’ are, exactly? Here’s a clue for you all. We’re younger than the rest of Maine–quite dazzlingly, actually. The median age for a Camden resident is 54.7 years. Lubec is 54.3, Eastport 56.1. Our median age in Portland is 36.1.* The difference seems even be more stark now that Portland’s sign is ascending. Since we’re so young, maybe we’re thirst- ier, too. According to the vodka scholars at Drizly (think Deliveroo or 2 Dine in, with intoxicants), who chose Portland as their beachhead in Maine when they opened in April 2016, the statistical “we” may have been drinking Moscow Mules in December of 2015, but this second, we’re guzzling Rasp- berry Mules. But then, consumer numbers can be such a reproachful mirror. Portland’s “thirstiest” neighborhood, ac- cording to Drizly order data, is zip code 04101, which includes Downtown, the East End, and Parkside. Following 04101 are 04102, 04103 and 04106. Portland’s favorite items to have de- livered by Drizly, and certainly subject to its inventory, are Tito’s Handmade Vodka, La Marca Prosecco, Pinnacle Vodka Original, Corona Extra and Bieler Pere et Fils Rosé. To give you an idea of how this differs from the national average, Drizly’s top prod- ucts overall are: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Stella Artois, Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc, and Coors Light. In the Drizly universe, liquor makes up 37 percent of purchases in Portland compared to 24 percent on average across all Drizly markets nationwide. driving the engine For more subtle inquiries, there’s Portland Research Group, with offices on 1 Union Wharf. Here, Bruce Lockwood looks be- low the surface of demographics for clients like IDEXX and Unum, both of whom need to know what makes this city tick in order to match future employees to the area. He’s quick to point to craft-beer manufacturers as a key to Portland’s calculus of cool. “The whole craft brewery situation in Portland may have begun in Bos- ton with Sam Adams, but something about the independence of Portland drew people like David Geary to set up shop here,” and he has numbers to prove that. Asked what he means by ‘independence,’ he says what the new micro-brewery startups were looking for here, and have so strikingly discovered, is a statistical hiccup: Portland’s near reverence for small businesses is etched into our subculture. “When you look, we have more micro …And we’re really thirsty: “Liquor makes up 37 percent of purchases in Portland compared to 24 percent nationwide.”–Drizly