Panther Club, a New Bar, Is Open in Portland

A new bar called Panther Club has opened in the Buckman neighborhood in SE Portland. A concept by Nate “Theo” Theobald, it offers great cocktails, tasty food, and a cool interior, but also fills a space that has been home to a number of beloved businesses.

I spoke with Quinn Matthewstearn (who you may know from Side Eye, Sugar Hill, and Jackie’s, among others) about the new bar. He had mentioned it to me back in December, so I wanted to follow up with him and learn more about Panther Club. I’ve also added new details shared by Theo since this article first published.

First, the Location

This location has been home to a number of places over the years—including its pre-restaurant life as an auto body shop—but it’s usually referred to as “the old Trifecta space.” Dang, I loved Trifecta. The Oregonian described it as “baker Ken Forkish’s ambitious attempt to bring the cocktails, oysters and vibe of a big-city tavern to Portland.” Not surprisingly, there was a bakery adjacent to it.

It closed in late 2019. Bar King opened after that in March 2020, then the COVID pandemic hit, which shut down the restaurant, leaving takeout for it and the bakery. I remember standing in line to get my Bar King bakery box, eagerly anticipating the yums inside. The Bar King bakery shut down permanently in January 2021.

The ChefStable event space, The Mahonian, opened in October 2022 and closed in October 2023. And now, we have Panther Club. They opened on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

How Panther Club Found its Way to This Space

I was curious to learn how they chose this particualr space. “So this location was, previously, Kurt Huffman’s,” Quinn explained (NB: Kurt Huffman is an owner of ChefStable). “And so Kurt had called me and asked if we wanted to use the space and turn it into a bar. And so we that was kinda how that connection came to be.”

Huffman is still the lease-holder so this is a sub-lease, essentially.

Panther Club’s Owners and Concept

I learned a number of things in my conversation with Quinn (who at the time was in the midst of helping his pal Ricky move things from the old Palomar to the new Palomar location (the old Mermosa space). Nate “Theo” Theobald is Panther Club’s operating owner, along with having the original vision for Panther Club.

Theo has worked at a variety of well-known spots around town, including Palomar, where he was the bar manager and worked very closely there with Ricky doing events locally and on the road. He also spent time working at Kachka, Renata, and most recently bartending at Sandy Hut. Fun fact from Theo: “My background includes participating in high-level cocktail competitions such as World Class by Diageo where I competed alongside several folks who went on to compete in the show, Drink Masters.”

Quinn and David Hall are also owners but serve in a supportive role to Theo’s work and vision at Panther Club. “It’s Theo’s concept, his vibe,” Quinn emphasized. “I’m not sure of the name origins, but I know that the bar is vintage Vegas-inspired.” I asked, “Like when you had the $2.99 breakfast buffet all over town?” He responded, “That’s exactly right.”

He added, “David and I are helping him with bar operations and getting everything going.”

Food and Drink

There are some great names behind Panther Club’s eats and drinks: The kitchen will be run by Robert Baki (Ned Ludd), who collaborated on the menu with Aaron Barnett (Saint Jack). A detail from the Portland Business Journal indicates an in-house bakery is also in the works from Brad Kohler of Bread Fest PDX and Dana Carey, who is a master of laminated pastry work.

Theo is doing the cocktails, and has put together some classics and some signature mixed drinks.

Food

Just as the decor is inspired by 1970s Vegas, the food is, too.

“We have great great steak for $20, and on Mondays we’re going to run it for ten bucks,” said Quinn. “We’re doing the the pre-inflation thing that we do at Sugar Hill.” They call this steak “The Last $20 Steak in the West.”

They also offer shrimp cocktail, steak bites, and Scallops Casino. In fact, Quinn remarked that he really likes both the Scallops Casino and the steak. “It’s a classic kind of steak, with butter on top, a nice little 10oz cut.”

Also look for a patty melt on marbled rye on the menu. I sure love a good patty melt, so I am eager to try this.

They also have a happy hour menu—“bites, burger, fries, spuds, scallops”—and a late nite menu—“burger, frites, spuds, shrimp, dip, scallops.”

Drinks

Cocktails are the name of the game here, and as I mentioned earlier Theo is in charge of the cocktail menu. “He does an incredible take on a Painkiller, and, some of the best freezer martinis I’ve ever had,” Quinn said. “And he’s doing some really nice cocktails that I think people are really going to like that are really fun.”

He continued, “But I think the best item on the menu is a honeydew lemongrass gin highball.” That sounds pretty dang good, even to this NA-drinker.

They do serve NA cocktails, too; Quinn highlighted an Earl Grey tea-based NA highball as being particularly tasty.

Over on the Panther Club Instagram account they mentioned their three house cocktails:

• NW Oaxacan Old Fashioned—Mezcal, Tequila, poblano, cardamom, spruce
• The aforementioned Painkiller—Rums, Orange Magic, pistachio, coconut, pineapple, Chocolat
• Margarita—Tequila, Curacao, watermelon, lime, fennel oleo

Theo also told me about his love of wine. “I also have a tight and heavily curated wine list that I would love to showcase.” he said. “Wine was one of my first loves and a contributing factor in my move to Oregon in 2014.”

Quinn says they’ve been really busy there at Panther Club, so that’s good news! Especially with this space’s history of the turnover that has happened in recent memory. Big congrats to Theo, Quinn, David, and the rest of the team for opening another happy place in Portland.

Panther Club [opened January 18, 2025]
726 SE 6th Avenue, Portland
Instagram

Updated February 13, 2025.