Sweet & Salty PDX Opening in SE Portland

A new snack shop is coming to Portland’s Central Eastside district of the Buckman neighborhood in SE Portland: Sweet & Salty PDX. Their soft opening in pop-up form will take place tomorrow, Friday July 26. As their name indicates, they will be offering sweet and salty things to snack on, as well as a few more substantial items.

When I first heard about Sweet & Salty PDX, I envisioned something more akin to Goodies Snack Shop in NW Portland, which offers prepackaged snacks from around the world. But I was wrong about that—they will be making the snack foods themselves at their production facility in SE Portland. You’ll be able to purchase items they make onsite in their kitchen/bakery, in their retail space.

Earlier this week I spoke with two of the owners and the General Manager of Sweet & Salty PDX about the new business. elbe (AKA Laura Brannan) and Hovering Laplante are co-owners; Kathleen Culala is the GM. They were kind enough to share their time and tell me more about Sweet & Salty PDX.

Some Background: elbe’s and the OLCC

For about 14 years (since 2010), elbe and Hovering were involved in the cannabis edibles industry, and were behind a company called elbe’s. On the their website they make two key points in the elbe’s origin story:

• elbe originally developed edibles “to provide comfort to patients and chronic condition sufferers” (her best friend’s mother had cancer).
• She “started perfecting her craft in the 90s to avoid getting busted while getting high at Burning Man.”

Working in the medical cannabis edibles space was very satisfying and there was room for creativity. But when cannabis became legal, it caused a lot of issues for her. For instance, the OLCC imposed restrictions regarding what exactly could be made into an edible and especially what they could make in a cannabis bakery. elbe’s eventually chose to sell three kinds of edibles: cakeballs, cookies, and hard candy.

Costs kept going up, too, after cannabis became legal. For instance, lab testing and labels became very pricey.

elbe described the OLCC as “it’s like your stepdad gave you a car but no keys.”

So, last year she dropped the cannabis aspect of her food work, and decided to focus on a wider range of baked goods and other “munchies” foods—like what you want to eat after dinner, or after you get high. To be clear: there is no cannabis involved with any of the products created at Sweet & Salty PDX.

More About the Birth of Sweet & Salty PDX

In the end, they could not get support for producing the kinds of freshly baked real food cannabis edibles they wanted to—only packaged and processed items. So, they shut things down in December.

At first wanted to sell everything. But after a trip to Mexico that gave them some space to think things out, they made some new plans. “What should I do with my life?” elbe asked herself. “Open a cookie shop—a real one!” That planted the seed for Sweet & Salty PDX.

“I wanted to make all the things I didn’t get to make in cannabis,” she said. “So now I get to make all the sweet and savory foods I want, including the ones medical patients really liked. I figured, after all my years in the cannabis industry, I could make anything!”

Moving Forward + Paying It Forward

elbe sees Sweet & Salty PDX as the next step in the evolution of her work—getting back into the creative side of food, not compliance. Being in service to people through food, including artistic communities, is a key part of her ethos. Not to mention that over the years people have wanted her baked goods without weed because they were really good on their own. 

She also is not trying to compete with other bakeries and cake companies. “I want to fill a niche for people who want to grab a snack and take home. Our facility is in kind of a ‘food desert’ area, so I’m happy to contribute to improving that.”

She also wants to support small makers in Oregon and offer them space at her facility—those who can pop up 3 to 4 days a week. She knows that booths elsewhere are getting more expensive every day. “I have gotten so much support over the years from other small businesses, that I want to pay that back.”

Sweet & Salty PDX: The Space

They are keeping and operating out of their already established production facility, where they’ve been for the past nine years. They expect wholesale accounts (likely focusing on breads) will be a big part of the business. The retail side of things will operate four to five days a week—but there is no in-store eating, just takeaway.  

They love being in this warehouse district with a variety of businesses: there’s a Latino theater nearby (Milagro), some artists, and a mix of industrial, retail, art, and commerce. 

What’s Up With That Sign?

I asked about the BBM sign I could see affixed to their storefront.

“The sign is not accurate—we kept it up for safety,” explained elbe. This has to do with how cannabis shops/businesses are flush with cash and easy to rob (hopefully legislation will change that and these companies can use banks). That signage, therefore, was seen as protective. They look to change the sign by October but for now plan to have accurate signage posted in their windows.

So What Will Sweet & Salty PDX Make?

Look for cookies, cakes, focaccia, pretzel bites on the baked side; snack mixes (think like chex mix); they are also looking to make some Southeast Asian snacks (elbe and Kathleen will be developing those together). The hope to offer simple sandwiches, too: egg salad, chicken salad, and peanut butter & jelly.

I asked if they will have more salty than sweet, or more sweet than salty. “We hope for a balance but I know that at the beginning it will be a 70/30 ratio of sweet to salty,” remarked elbe. On the sweet side, she and Kathleen (who worked at a variety of places, including Saint Cupcake) are developing a new cupcake idea.

At first they will operate as a pop-up in this soft-opening phase. The grand opening is planned for Monday, August 26. You can visit them tomorrow and Saturday and check out what they have to offer. They’d like to get feedback during this time, so please share.

Favorites?

I also asked elbe about her favorites on the Sweet & Salty PDX menu. For savory, it’s the honey mustard snack mix. She’s also a big fan of their pretzel bites.

But she had the highest praise for her chocolate chip cookie. “It’s my favorite cookie I’ve ever made!” she exclaimed.

Stop By!

Stop by this weekend—Friday and Saturday—for their soft opening pop-up. On Friday they’ll be open from noon to 7pm. On Saturday they will be open from noon to 8pm, and overlap with the Big Break Block Party for four hours (Big Break takes place from 4pm to 10pm), as the party is right outside their doors. This event will also include street vendors, live music, and skate ramps; I’m told that the PSU Skatebord team will be around, too. 

Sweet & Salty will offer ice cream w/cookie crumbles, salty and sweet snacks, and lemonade at the pop-up. Chula Charmer will join them on Saturday.

Regular hours are still in development, but will probably be in afternoon and evening (“That’s when we always wanted our snacks!”).

Best of luck to elbe, Hovering, and Kathleen as they get set to open Sweet & Salty PDX.

Sweet & Salty PDX [soft opening July 26, 2024]
642 SE Stark Street, Portland
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