WESTBROOK – If you love homemade ice cream, chocolate or curry, you might want to pay attention to the 800 block of Main Street through the next month or so.

Two new Westbrook businesses will soon open in the heart of downtown, and both represent the goals of two people who have already made names for themselves on the Portland culinary scene.

“For a long time, I had a dream to open my own business,” said Iqubol Hossain, who is planning to open The Dancing Elephant, an Indian restaurant and lounge, at 855 Main St. Hossain said he hopes the restaurant will open before Christmas, offering what he calls traditional Indian cuisine. Soon after opening, Hossain said, he expects to get a liquor license, as well.

Hossain, 31, said he emigrated to the United States from his native India in 1992, and worked as the manager and head chef at Portland’s Passage to India from 2007-2009.

After leaving the restaurant, he worked in construction while looking for the right opportunity to follow his dream. He said he found it in Westbrook, as lower rents in larger spaces will give him the freedom to decorate the restaurant any way he likes. There is also less competition, as Hossain has the only Indian restaurant in town.

“I want something different than another restaurant,” he said this week.

The restaurant will occupy the space once held by Tranchemontagne’s, the eatery run by restaurateur James Tranchemontagne, who closed the Main Street location in June of this year.

Almost directly across the street, at 846 Main St., the husband-and-wife team of Andrew Warren and Corey DiGirolamo are opening Catbird Creamery, which will offer homemade ice cream and chocolates.

Warren, like Hossain, also has a background in cooking. He has worked as a pastry chef in several Portland restaurants, most notably at the upscale 555 on Congress Street. Like Hossain, Warren said he left in order to be his own boss.

“I love making ice cream and chocolates, and I’ve always wanted to start my own business,” he said.

DiGirolamo said she offers the business sense, while her husband offers the cooking talent. She is a business student at Southern Maine Community College, nearly finished with her associate’s degree.

The couple started their business a year ago, out of a rented section of Fit to Eat Sandwich Shop in Portland, but have lived in Westbrook for the past five years, and DiGirolamo said they are excited about relocating to a newer, larger space in their home town.

“I think there’s a lot of opportunities for business owners in Westbrook,” she said.

The creamery will offer at least 13 flavors, and probably a lot more with the room they have to expand in Westbrook, DiGirolamo said. They will sell directly to stores and restaurants, but they also will offer an ice cream parlor-style setting for walk-in customers.

“People need more things to do on Main Street,” DiGirolamo said.

Warren said he is aiming for a Jan. 1 opening. He admitted this week that the middle of winter is not the ideal time for an ice cream parlor to open, but he thinks the chocolates will be popular any time of the year.

“Those we actually sell quite a lot of all winter long,” he said.