Early Assistance Phase: NW Portland Food Cart Pod

The current parking lot adjacent to the shuttered Meriwether’s Restaurant in NW Portland. Photo credit: Google

Looks like someone wants to see if a property in NW Portland can transition to a food cart pod. The location includes a parking lot and a bar/restaurant—that used to house the popular Meriwether’s Restaurant & Skyline Farm, which has been closed for several years.

Located at 2601 NW Vaughn Street, the bar/restaurant would remain for that use (perhaps a return of Meriwether’s?), but the 12,000 square foot parking lot would be the part repurposed into a food cart pod. 14 stalls would be available. There is a new structure being proposed, too, probably for covered seating.

This structure looks like it would be 22 feet high (so, two stories) and located in the middle of the lot. I say “looks like” because whatever text translator Portland Maps uses changed the category of measurement to an upside down question mark. I don’t think it’s going to be 22 inches high (how very Spinal Tap of them if it was), but you never know. The pavilion structure would be made of wood framing and polycarbonate panel roofing.

A roof-topped trash enclosure would be in the northeast corner of the site, accessible from NW 26th Avenue.

As for Meriwether’s, it doesn’t appear that the building was torn down, and, consequently, the five-story building the owners wanted to see built on that location also did not happen (Google Maps Street View shows the building as it was, dated 2019). Google also indicates the restaurant is permanently closed. The building, to me, is significant from a historical standpoint (though some may disagree). Here’s a little history from the Meriwether’s website:

“Meriwether’s Restaurant is situated on the site of Portland’s 1905 World’s Fair, the ‘Lewis and Clark Exposition.’ The historic building sits at the entrance to the fair, on the corner of NW 26th Avenue and Vaughn Street in Northwest Portland’s industrial area. Except for paint and landscaping, the exterior of the building has remained relatively unchanged since the late 1920’s.”

So, will the parking lot actually turn into a food cart pod? Good chance. I’ll keep an eye on it. And if you have any info about it, I am all ears.

This post was updated on February 10, 2023.