More on What Is DBA Altropino

summer-sausage-olympia-provisions-portland-oregon

My favorite product from Olympia Provisions, their summer sausage. Photo credit: Olympia Provisions

About a month ago I came across details of an application with the OLCC for something called/DBA “Altropino,” with the address of what is the Hotel Grand Stark in SE Portland’s Central Eastside District. The hotel has been without its original restaurant/cafe (Grand Stark Deli) since last year and Bar Chamberlain is no longer mentioned on the Hotel’s website. It has also become clear that Altropino is indeed a project from the folks behind Olympia Provisions. (NB: there is some speculation in this article.)

First, there’s a rumor that Altropino will open this month, but there’s no indication that they are hiring at this moment in time. Poached, Craigslist, and the Olympia Provisions websites turned up nil; perhaps they are doing 100% internal hiring. There is also no social media presence anywhere that I can find for Altropino—or “Olympia Provisions Sandwich Eatery,” which is another name associated with this project. So, I will be surprised if they are open in March; however, if they do open, that will be pretty great news! I will be happy to have been proven wrong on this point.

I took a look at the documents filed with ORSOS, and it appears that the LLC behind this arm of the business (OLYMPIA PROVISIONS SANDWICH EATERY, LLC) was originally behind the Melty & Meaty Sandwich Eatery/Food Truck that was located in Pioneer Courthouse Square (701 SW 6th Avenue) starting back in 2018. This year (2023) the Annual Report was amended in late February with the new address, of 509 SE Grand Avenue, the address for Hotel Grand Stark (the liquor license application was entered on January 14, 2023).

While during their time in SW Portland the Melty truck identified itself as “Fast Casual Restaurant Serving Awesome Sandwiches.” With this new venture they’ve toned it down to simply “Restaurant/Cafe.” They will offer alcohol, of course, and food—likely sausages and charcuterie at the very least. I suspect sandwiches and salads, too. This is speculation, of course; I have reached out to Olympia Provisions for more details, but nobody in the organization has responded.

I wanted to mention that two of the people behind Olympia Provisions have been featured in some interesting videos lately. Nate Tilden was one of the chefs featured in episode 2 of Bridge to Table. Bridge to Table is “a docuseries project about Portland’s incredible culinary culture.” Episode 2 dropped today. And Elias Cairo was on an episode of On the Road with Bryan Roof, released last November 9, talking about sausages and other things associated with the business.

As for the name, “Altropino,” I still don’t have a straight answer for its origin, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Olympia Provisions Public House Annex used to be in the Pine Street Market (133 SW Pine Street). I can think of a few things things that this could indicate for the future, but that level of speculation is beyond what I want to share here. OP folks or those in the know— shoot me an email if you want to talk more about Altropino.

Altropino [projected opening 2023]
509 SE Grand Avenue, Portland