Sometimes Portland food news comes my way in the places I least expect. Through a folk music mailing list I subscribe to, I learned that the neighborhood pub There Be Monsters in the Buckman neighborhood is closing. Saturday, May 4 is their final day of service.
More on There Be Monster’s Farewell
I also checked their Instagram and there it was, their farewell announcement:
“Almost ten years ago we opened the doors to There Be Monsters—we really had no idea how it would go. It turns out the for the longest time it went great. We had (and still have) the best damn crew, a great product, and the best customers any establishment could ever ask for. We had it all and it felt great to be a part of the community we served. But, all parties must eventually come to an end and so, with sadness, we must announce that There Be Monsters is closing forever this coming weekend.”
Additional thoughts from the owner’s sister: “The space truly has been a labor of love that my brother Don took on nearly 10 years ago; as a working owner, he built and finished each of those tabletops himself, hand-selected each item of the decor, and taste-tested every item on the menu.”
They produced this feel-good video about the bar seven years ago. The message behind it: “I wanted to make a short video for There be Monsters that celebrates the best in us all when so much attention recently has been on the very worst. Love will always be welcome at TBM.”
The Menu, Their Long-Time Neighbor, and You Should Stop By
The pub offered a small but focused menu of pub grub, including some British treats: a sausage roll, a steak and stilton pasty, and some fish and chips. You’d find pasta and meat specials, and a variety of sweet tarts for dessert. Plus there was beer and some cocktails.
There Be Monsters is next to what was Zell’s, which closed on May 2, 2023, after 40 years in business. RX Coffee opened in its place (and they offer quite a range of plant milk options, even pistachio, which is rare). One wonders how long this storefront will be empty; hopefully not for an extended period of time.
Again on Instagram, “It’s been wild, it’s been tiring, it’s been really damn hard at times, but mostly it’s been wonderful. Farewell dear friends, colleagues and customers, we’ll miss you all more than you know.”
So stop on by to see them and say goodbye. They’d love to have you one last time.
There Be Monsters [closing May 2024]
1308 SE Morrison Street, Portland
tbmpdx.com | Instagram | Facebook
Meg Cotner
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Maybe the best burgers in Portland. They’ll truly be missed.
Folk music mailing list… Shape Note? Pub Sing? Shape note is having a farewell sing tonight at 6 by the way.
Shape Note!