What used to be the Rocky Butte Pub.
On my drives up and down Sandy Blvd, I will pass what has been, for a number of years, the Rocky Butte Pub. A true dive bar (to put it lightly), it was a place that cherished its regulars, was a little intimidating to outsiders, and had the requisit pool tables, stiff drinks & standard bar food, and video lottery. But changes have been afoot, and my research gives me hope as to what could be opening up there.
The reason this place could even have a new owner is that the old owner died in 2020 and the property went into probate. Word on the street is that his son wanted $6 million for the property. It eventually sold in late 2021 for $510,000. Earlier this year the new owners had a giant dumpster set on the street outside the pub and piles and piles of stuff went in, presumably from an interior cleanup. The old Rocky Butte Pub signs came down; the new signs are yet to go up.
Looking westward along NE Sandy Blvd.
Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes for whatever was going to open there. But some research into the LLC that bought the place reveals that the people behind said LLC are Demetri Kassapakis (“registered agent”) and George Kasspakis (“individual with direct knowledge”). Demetri has been involved with a bunch of businesses in Portland over the years, including Pop Tavern and The Hilt. Personally, I’m more familiar with George’s business—he’s one of the owners of See See Motor Coffee Co.
So. Does this mean they are bringing something interesting to the neighborhood? Good chance, and boy do I hope so. And could I dream of something like The Hilt serving great drinks and Greek food? My little Astorian heart goes pitter-pat at the idea.
UPDATE 6/30/22: Thanks to a comment by maccoinnich, looks like it will be a new bar called My-O-My, opening this summer. More on that in this post.
This part of town has really changed over the years. Lots of young families have moved into the Sumner neighborhood; you see plenty of people walking around with their kids and dogs; people are working on fixing up the bungalows and other homes that populate this tiny neighborhood of mostly single-family homes. It’s also been one of the more affordable neighborhoods in Portland until recently (much of Portland is just plain expensive when it comes to housing).
But what Sumner does not have much of is restaurants. There are a few: Escape Bar & Grill (LGBTQ-friendly bar), Namaste (an Indian food steam table/buffet), and just over 82nd Ave and Sandy is the wonderful Cameo Cafe. Neighbors would love to see more choices in bars and restaurants.
I’ll reach out to the Kasspakis duo and see what I can find out.
The American flag flying at the fire station next door.
Mystery Bar (was Rocky Butte Pub)
8627 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
This post has been updated.
Meg Cotner
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It looks like it’s going to be called My-O-My (https://instagram.com/myomypdx?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=) and appears to be associated with White Owl Social Club (https://www.instagram.com/p/CdBp1v4vybg/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=)
Thank you so much, Iain! I really appreciate you sharing this. Looks like good news for the neighborhood – looking forward to seeing what My-O-My is like when they open. I’ll reach out to them, too, for more info. Thanks again!
I’m not sure who the ‘word on the street’ is, but knowing the past owners, in no way did they expect 7 figures six times over for the place. Especially when it’s been listed since 2020 for 500k (that’s absurd)
As far as turning that pub into an upscale & high-priced venue, they might be surprised to find most of their clientel after dark could barely afford the cheap beer when it was rocky butte. Blue collar, neighborhood regulars, cheap beer and video poker kept that place going for almost 20 years. That’s a gritty part of Sandy blvd, sounds like the business model is completely out of touch with the reality of Sandy blvd bars from Korner Pocket to Glass House.
I appreciate your insight and thanks for sharing your thoughts. Yes, it’s very blue collar there, but as we’ve seen, gentrification is real, and things change. I saw it happen in Queens, and it’s happening here. That said, the blue collar element is still going strong in 2022, from the titty city up the street, to the Ace Tavern, to the car-repair businesses, to the exterminators, to the wholesale hair products place. Working class options remain. However, in 20 years, who knows what will be there? Sandy Blvd will change; frankly, I’ve wondered if some developer wouldn’t buy up property on Sandy between 82nd and the Transit Center and redevelop it. There’s a lot of room for speculation, of course, and the beauty of it is that it doesn’t matter if you’re right or wrong, in the end. Sumner has seen a lot of change lately, especially during the pandemic, and judging what the changes I’ve seen, the neighborhood is ready for something less gritty. Only time will tell, though, and I’ll be curious to see how it all ends up.
The area was starting to slide pre-pandemic. Post pandemic it’s been a complete catastrophe. I don’t know if you caught a glimpse of that sidewalk outside the place post closure – the entire block was full of garbage and tents. Perhaps the worst I’ve seen on the entire boulevard. That element is still all around Sumner.
Then of course you have the violence. For example, Milton street isn’t far (couple blocks up 82nd and take a left) The tally of people gunned down on Milton the past two years is at least four or five. The grotto is also full of encampments back up in the trails. To be honest. many don’t feel safe who otherwise would just a few years ago driving down that stretch of Sandy at night, never mind walking into a bar anymore, which is a shame, because the neighborhood bar offered somewhat sense of a community in Sumner.
I’m not hoping failure on the investment, but the reality is Sumner seems to have been overlooked & abandoned by the city almost entirely. Ace has been robbed countless times, although now it’s lit up like daylight in an effort to curb that. Butte itself was spared that primarily because the doors faced Sandy and AMR is often parked across the street. Glasshouse has a literal body count spanning the past few years. One other drawback is there is limited parking aside from the street in front of the bar itself.
The business can only do so much if the city itself isn’t going to provide the basic elements to make it thrive (like a sense of security somewhat) Hopefully these new owners are privy to some kind of move to gentrification (or something) that the rest of us aren’t. Bringing the pool tables back vs a café type setting I think would draw in more of a regular audience as well.
I do remember that camp on Sandy/86th blocking large sections of the sidewalk (ADA laws be damned). I believe it was cleared out around the start of the 2021 Christmas lights event at the Grotto nearby. As for your statement about Sumner being overlooked/abandoned, it reminds me of what a friend living in Sumner calls it: the forgotten neighborhood.
But one of the good things that happened over the past few years was that the two beacon crosswalks were installed, which makes it a bit safer. That was due to the hard work of the SAN and its board, though. Some drug houses and other criminal elements (e.g., a camper dealing in stolen cars) over the years have been eliminated – again, thanks to persistent hard work by neighbors.
You are right about that intersection of Milton/82nd. Terrible tragic things have happened there and it does worry me. I sometimes work in a community garden not far from there – there’s a lot of good people in that northern chunk of Madison South, and the harvest from the garden goes on to feed folks using nearby Mainspring. The Rocky Butte Espresso Bar on Fremont is a great addition and owner James Helms is very community-oriented. BTW they offer these savory-tart slices that are out of this world delicious.
I think there is a desire to raise the quality of life in the Sumner neighborhood and commercial strip. It takes time, though, and people willing to take chances. The city of Portland is spread thin in a lot of ways, and Sumner suffers from similar neglect that most of east Portland has to confront. Twenty percent of Portland’s residents live east of 82nd Ave; that’s a lot of people. The city needs to do better by the homeowners, renters, and taxpayers in these neighborhoods.
I’ll add that a new 501(c)(3) has started up, the Friends of Rocky Butte (technically in Madison South but has a direct impact on Sumner and Maywood Park). One of their goals is to make the Butte accessible to a wider range of people. There are hopes to connect it to Gateway Green, too. I think good things could come of it, but again, it will take time and effort. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the My-O-My will bring to Sumner, and I think the demographic changes seen in Sumner, Madison South, Roseway, and Cully are sympathetic to something like what this new bar could potentially offer. Who knows, maybe a pool table will make a return.
Thanks again for sharing your perspective; I value hearing varying points of view on the topic of neighborhood change, especially those that straddle and/or border 82nd Avenue. P.S. I recently learned that in my old neighborhood in Queens that the plumber who had been there for decades up the street from my old apartment is no more… and a vintage clothing store has opened up in its place. Gentrification is really something.