4915 NE Fremont has been home to Stanich’s for decades. Photo credit: Google Maps
Looks like the building in the Cully neighborhood that was home to Stanich’s for many years will become something new. A new watering hole, currently called The Mule Bar, is looking to open up at 4915 NE Fremont.
Right now there is little, aside from filed city documents, about The Mule Bar online—social media presence is nil at this point in time. But from what I can tell, this new bar is one in a line of bars named after animals, all run by the same people/family. The person behind The Mule Bar is Paula Hylland, whose family has owned and operated Mousetrap Tavern since the mid-1980s. On the tavern’s About page she writes, “My two brothers and I were teenagers at the time, so we were assigned cleaning duties on weekends before opening, and my parents handled the business end of the business.” Unfortunately, her mother Carol passed away in October 2022.
So, there’s the first animal (mouse); the next animal is the goat, spelled G.O.A.T., as in the G.O.A.T. Bar on NE Sandy near 52nd, not far from Laurelwood Brewery Co’s pub. Side note: The building between these two businesses, designated as a “storage and grain facility,” may become a dispensary, if their Early Assistance request is approved. Anyway, Paula and her husband Mark own the G.O.A.T. Bar.
That brings us to the third animal, the mule. The Mule Bar, which on ORSOS documents lists just Paula as the owner, is slated to operate between 11am and midnight, both inside and outdoors (shutting things down at 9:30pm). They have applied for their liquor license.
As for Stanich’s—if you remember, they got major accolades in 2017 from Thrillist, proclaiming them “best burger in America.” It then closed in 2018, planed to reopen, and in 2019 it did just that … sort of. The Merc published this detail about a handwritten note on the front door reading, “Open for Stanich Patrons, AKA ‘Regular Customers.’ All Welcome.” Then by March 2020, it was closed again; I’m sure COVID did not help. However, more was learned about bad behavior by Steven Stanich, which did Stanich’s no favors. Yelp has indicated that it is closed, too.
So what will The Mule Bar bring to this lovely commercial space in Cully? Hopefully some life and good times to this old mid-century building. I’ll keep an eye on it.
The Mule Bar [opening TBD]
4915 NE Fremont Street, Portland
Meg Cotner
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Stanich’s is in the Beaumont Neighborhood not Cully – get it right please!
As someone who has made her share of salty comments online over they years, I get your annoyance. However, according to all my sources – Cully Association of Neighbors and Google Maps, for starters – Stanich’s is in that little chunk of Cully that dips down through the cemetery to Fremont. I’ll give it to you, though, that this part of Fremont (NE 47th Ave to NE 62nd Ave) may have been considered to be in Beaumont/Beaumont-Wilshire in the past, before my time (though the 1992 Cully Neighborhood Plan, 31 years ago, indicates that is still Cully).
The corner of Prescott and NE 72nd is in a similar situation: is it Roseway? Is it Cully? Technically it’s Cully (north side of Prescott is the border), but also shares identity with Roseway. In this case of Stanich’s, it’s on the north side of Fremont, bordering Rose City Park, so in a parallel situation, RCP would have a dog in this race about defending the neighborhood identity of Stanich’s!
All this to say, technical borders are funny things, and can sometimes violate a neighborhood cultural boundary. I appreciate your comment and insistence that Stanich’s is part of Beaumont, but I suspect Cully has something to say about that.
Don’t remember any bad behavior from Steve stanich just insanely great burgers and fries from 1975 to 2021 !
Steve has always been a standup guy ready to help anybody in need. He is one great guy ! Dave p. Ins agent