Suckerpunch Pop-Up Is Closing at the End of August

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Photo credit: Suckerpunch

Mixed feelings accompany this writer on the end of the Suckerpunch pop-up in the Goat Blocks. The final day of service there will be Sunday, August 28. At first, when I got the email about their closing down, I thought, “How is it possible that they are closing?!? It seemed to be going so well.” But… SIKE! The good news: turns out they are taking a break and will be back with new pop-ups, events … and a permanent space.

If you haven’t been by yet in their current format, you can still enjoy their zero-proof drinks and tasty food Thursday to Sunday, 5pm to 9pm this week and next (make your reservations, here). As they mentioned on social media, “We anticipate being pretty busy these next few weeks, so be sure to make a reservation if you’re planning on coming by.”

As for what they’ll be doing while on break, they have plans. Resting, I suspect will be part of it (they’ve been working very hard), but new projects are in the works. Look for “short-term pop-ups, markets, dinners, and other events around Portland (and maybe even further afield!) throughout the fall and winter.”

A bottle shop pop-up is in the works, too. Eater has a few details on that: they plan to have it run during the holiday season and into dry January. According to owner Andy McMillan, “The hope would be that we’d do something like the other bottle shops in the US, like soft spirits in LA. The bottle shop would sort of invert what we were doing with the pop-up.”

I’m a big fan of the whole idea “soft spirits” (a new term to me for something I’ve known about for a while)—I’d like to see brands like Seedlip, Wilderton, Proxies (which is really a wine proxy), and that’s just to start. If you’re curious about soft spirits and what they are, there’s an Instagram for you.

The Suckerpunch folks will spend time building out and opening their permanent location, which they hope to open in 2023. Judging from the timeline of their interim activities and prep of their permanent space, I’d guess a spring opening at the earliest. I like the sound of that—“permanent.” I, unfortunately, am not in the know about where their new space is, but I will keep an eye out for details and share them when I get them.

It’s clear from their experience running the bar pop-up at the Goat Blocks that there is a hunger in Portland for inventive, creative, non-alcoholic cocktails. On Facebook, they posted, “We opened the first dedicated zero-proof bar on the west coast in the middle of a global pandemic. Through break-ins, heatwaves, torrential downpours, COVID surges, busted dishwashers, and broken bones, we have endured.”

I’m so glad they made it. Viva Suckerpunch! Congrats on all the success and good luck as you head to the end of this pop-up and plan for more amazing things for the zero-proof cocktail-lovin’ crowd.

Suckerpunch Pop-Up [closing August 28, 2022]
1030 SE Belmont Street, Portland
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