Midtown Beer Garden Will Open in Downtown Portland Summer 2023

An artist rendering of the project. Photo credit: Midtown Beer Garden

The 5th Avenue Food Cart Pod which has been closed for a little while, is going to reopen as the Midtown Beer Garden later this summer (slated for July). Considered on of the city’s oldest and largest food cart pods, it is located at SW 5th Avenue between SW Harvey Milk & SW Oak Streets. Expensify along with ChefStable, are behind this project to revitalize this prime spot in downtown Portland.

The pod property is more or less empty and looks like a vacant lot, but there has been construction activity going on there for the past couple of weeks. Leases for the carts that were there previously ended on April 30, and Expensify was able to help all the carts get prepared to be towed to a storage lot during the period of construction. All carts were moved by Thursday, May 4; construction started on May 8.

Matt Allen, Expensify’s Marketing & Partners Manager, told me, “We’re working at a breakneck speed to get Midtown Beer Garden open because we displaced many vendors during their busy season. We’re offering a free month’s rent when they return, and it appears that all the old carts will be back, which we’re very excited about.”

I took a couple of snaps on Tuesday while downtown for some dental work and this is what I saw, but I don’t expect these impromptu gatherings to be happening for long.

The former food pod with no carts, but that will change; this is looking south on 5th Avenue. Click to enlarge.

As a local business owner, Expensify (a payments superapp) is deeply interested in doing its part to bring positive efforts to the neighborhood (their offices are kitty-corner to the pod), and are deeply committed to help improve the immediate area. The vandalism—which started before COVID—is a concern and nobody is happy with that. Remember, this is the location where a food cart exploded, too.

“The Expensify global headquarters are right next door to the food truck pod on 5th and Harvey Milk, and we go there every day,” said David Barrett, founder and CEO of Expensify. “It wasn’t doing great before COVID, and the quarantine sure didn’t help. Then, on top of everything, a cart blew up in the middle of the night, wiping out many of the few carts remaining, knocking out windows for a block around. It’s had a long string of bad luck, and we’re going to work with the rest of Midtown to turn that around.”

As I mentioned earlier, ChefStable is a partner in this project. They are very familiar with the ins and outs of getting a food business up and running in this town and have been a huge help to Expensify when it comes to obtaining permits, architect plans, and securing a general contractor, that being JE John. Overall, it’s been a good experience with them and their subcontractors.

What to Expect at Midtown Beer Garden

As for the pod, new features are coming. Before, you’d walk up and order and wander away. Get ready for:

28 to 30 carts (all previous carts will return)
Seating for over 300 people
Tents with heaters
A large bar cart in the center of the pod
Onsite security guard and security patrol during hours the pod is closed
Daily cleaning service
New asphalt
Electrical, water, natural gas, and direct-to-sewer connections for each cart
Events and music stage
Parking, plus the Trimet stop is close by

As for when Midtown Beer Garden will be open, that is still in the plans but it will likely be late morning to the evening, maybe even until 10pm in the summer. The pod is expected to be open 7 days a week.

As for the entertainment aspect, ticketed concerts are not in the plans because they want the pod to be open to everyone most all the time (though he adds, “Everyone should go to the concerts at Pioneer Courthouse Square this summer and prefunk at our pod!”). They’d like to have a mix of performers and styles, with most of them playing music that people can eat to (think a jazz trio, harp, guitar).

Christian Lee of the Korean Twist cart (which has been at this location since 2008) says, “We’re grateful Expensify is committed to creating a brighter future for the food carts on 5th Ave. Many cart owners here have felt uncertain about what the future holds and we’re excited about the improvements that will be made for enhanced security with a built-in fence and giving customers a place to sit to enjoy their lunch.”

David Barrett remarked, “It’s going to take a lot of sustained, creative effort from all of us to transform the community from its current status into a real mark of pride for the city. But we’re here for the long haul, and I can’t wait to relax with a beer in the sun at the new heart of a vibrant Midtown.”

On top of all this, Expensify has set up a referral program—anyone can earn $1,000 cash by referring a food/beverage cart that is accepted and signs a one-year lease at the Midtown Beer Garden. And if you are interested in becoming a vendor, contact Expensify at pdxcommunity@expensify.com. They also welcome collaborating with folks who are interested in downtown community improvement initiatives; you can reach out to them at pdxcommunity@expensify.com, too.

About “Midtown”

I had to ask about the “midtown” nomenclature—as a former NYC resident, that word has strong associations, so it is no surprise I was curious about its use here in Portland. I found his explanation makes sense from a place-making standpoint. “We completely made up Midtown,” explained Matt. “It’s weird that we have spots like Goose Hollow and Old Town but most-everything from Burnside to PSU is ‘downtown.’ It doesn’t make it the easiest to find someone if you plan to meet somewhere downtown for a drink. We love our hood, there are so many businesses we frequent within a few blocks of ours so we decided to dive in with naming it Midtown Beer Garden.”

He continues, “We’re in touch with other local businesses to continue helping clean up the area and to bring people to Midtown—locals, office workers, tourists, we welcome them all. I’m unsure if others are as big of a fan of ‘Midtown’ as we are, and my personal prerequisite was met with the inclusion of ‘garden.’ I want to make the spot as green as possible.”

For reference, their vision of Midtown is SW Broadway to the west, SW Naito Parkway to the east, SW Alder to the south, and to the north it kind of jogs—starting at Broadway go east along Burnside, then south on 3rd, then west on Pine to Naito Parkway.

This revamp of the Fifth Avenue Food Pod into Midtown Beer Garden is certainly going to elevate that little block. I look forward to seeing what Expensify, ChefStable, and Midtown Beer Garden bring to downtown Portland.

Midtown Beer Garden [opening July 2023]
SW 5th Avenue between SW Harvey Milk & SW Oak Streets, Portland
https://www.midtownbeergarden.com/