Flour Bloom, a cafe and plant shop, and also self-described community hub and event space, will close. They announced that their final day will be April 30, 2025.
They—possibly owner Bree Licata—posted the notice of the impending closure on the Flour Bloom Instagram:
More About the Closure of Flour Bloom
The caption explains more as to why they are closing, citing the following elements responsible for their decision to close.
- Their oven broke.
- A tortuously low season.
- The economy took a hit right after they opened (they opened November 2023).
- Labor issues: most months they ran at 75% to 85% of the staff they needed.
- Late-stage capitalism.
What They Loved
They also expressed the things they loved about running Flour Bloom:
- Their community.
- Hard working baristas.
- Hard working BOH team who developed a tasty menu.
- The talented staff making the space clean, inviting, and warm.
Bree said, “All I ever wanted was to give people a space where they can shine. Where they can be in the spotlight and showcased. Where people gathered and enjoyed local ingredients and local art.” She also added, “Unfortunately, capitalism isn’t built for empaths.”
The Rest of the Story?
Back in June 2024, we published an article called Flour Bloom Has Closed, but Just for a Month. We received a lot of comments—an outsized number compared to what is normally submitted. And emails. Some were heartbreaking.
The shop and ownership definitely has its fans and defenders, and that is their right. My exchanges with Bree were always very positive, and as someone who did not work there or patronize them, I do not have a personal dog in this race. However, I also heard from a number of people with experience in the hospitality and food industry who had valid criticism in their observations about the way this business was run and the way staff was treated. These assertions were troubling.
Still, they would have liked to have seen Flour Bloom succeed. They were not rooting for its downfall.
The Cost of Things at Flour Bloom
But on another topic, the idea of a BEC for $14.50 at the time (2024 before bird flu was rampaging through the US) was problematic for this former New Yorker. This is a simple sandwich that became exceedingly popular because it was economical, tasty, and filling—and easy to eat on the subway on the way to work. Sure, my memory of this sandwich at $3.25 is outdated, but $14.50 is hard to swallow.
It may be made with upscale ingredients, but the pricing just killed me. It has occurred to me that the cost of things (both for ingredients and then the costs passed on to consumer) may have been an element leading to the eventual demise of Flour Bloom.
At the writing of this article, Flour Bloom has turned off comments on their Instagram post, which is curious for a goodbye post. Usually comments are left open so that people can share their good wishes, farewells, and laments. Feel free to share your thoughts—regardless of the sentiment—here in the comments.
Although there are many things I have heard over the months, I still wish Bree only the best on whatever her next path is.
Flour Bloom [closing April 30, 2025]
103 NE Grand Avenue, Portland
Instagram | Facebook
Updated April 13, 2025.
Meg Cotner
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Similarly conflicted, Meg.
Egg prices have taken a toll, but a bacon, egg, and cheese back in Jersey is still $6 to $7. Maybe $8 on the high side. That said, the problem with that point of comparison is what you’ve always acknowledged it has been: Population density, volume, and ingredient expectations. Just about anywhere in the tri-state area, you’re going to see more bacon, egg, and cheese in a morning than most places here will sell in a month strictly because of the number of people around and their proximity to the local deli/convenience store/bodega/diner. Also, as you’ve noted, there’s little expectation to “elevate” the experience. Cheese is defined much differently in each place, rolls are baked in similarly high volume with far different ingredients, and few are asking for farm-fresh bacon.
I wanted Flour Bloom to work and stood in line to show support. I got my pink anoka of affogato in solidarity, and took whatever neopolitan cookies they’d offer. But “late stage capitalism” seems to cover a couple of ills here. I don’t know what went on with labor, and the on-again, off-again approach to the business left questions, but that was an enormous space in a pricey corridor (the neighbors were Pacific Standard and a lot of new builds).
Given the amount of residential that was going in there—and the amount of agencies that actually returned to office in the area—I’m kind of surprised there wasn’t more organic demand for bakery and coffee. But the integration of a botanical and gift shop seemed more targeted to the seasonal traffic that might go thrifting a few blocks down and get drinks at Hey Love or Jackie’s before flying home than a neighborhood that would sustain their business once the tourists and the social feeds disappeared.
An Italian-American bakery is already a difficult thing to replicate in a city where it hasn’t been a cornerstone of the culture. But I look at what Sebastiano’s and Montelupo have been able to accomplish and wonder if some tighter focus couldn’t have helped Flour Bloom. And I’m not critiquing the city’s more Insta-ready establishments, but if you look at all of the work Champagne Poetry did to integrate all of its various elements into the brand and then looked at Flour Bloom’s somewhat scattershot approach after similarly promising openings… I’m not surprised that one’s on two sides of the river and the other has me taking a box with red and white string through EWR security in a week.
P.S. Vin Picone’s BEC, even with eggflation, is $8: https://www.piconesqualitydeli.com/order-online-1
Yes, the BEC of my memory is made with mass-produced ingredients: American cheese, the kaiser roll baked in a non-boutique setting, probably factory-farmed eggs, and cheap bacon. On the point of the roll’s cost, I also have fond memories of getting a roll + butter and a cup of coffee for $1.10 – and the roll was made there at the bakery – at Rose & Joe’s. So there are some breakfast rolls that were cheap but still made locally. I do kind of think that the BEC and the bagel hold similar places in NYC: accessible all over the place, iconic, and tasty. Hence a cheaper price because there’s more demand there.
As for labor at FB, that’s a spicy topic. I heard so many stories from former employees, observations from readers, but also supportive words for what they were doing there. I can remember at least one person telling me that they had to get professional help after working there.
I think Sebastiano’s and Montelupo are doing great things with Italian-American baking; Bella’s Italian Bakery is also worth checking out. I think, though, transplanting iconic NYC food items brings with it a risk because New Yorkers (I’ll just stick to that) are extremely demanding when it comes to “their” foods. I once had a conversation with a New Yorker early on in my time in Astoria where I said I like other styles of pizza, including Chicago-style. The person metaphorically tried to rip off my head, as they were deeply offended that anything but NY-style pizza could be considered legit. Bagels are another food item that former NY’ers out here take issue with. I have a story publishing soon, though, about a bagelry out here that I think New Yorkers would be happy to eat.
Champagne Poetry really does have that “wow” factor when it comes to their desserts. Their pigment-rich colors and fun shapes make all the difference, along with being tasty. I hope they do well with the second location. And I would have loved to have seen Flour Bloom succeed – for the owner, the employees, and Portlanders.
Also, one block away, Crema has a BEC for $7 on housemade ciabatta.
Wow, thanks for the tip! Housemade ciabatta is definitely upscaling it (Kaiser roll is the OG), but looks like a good price nonetheless. I’ll have to check it out. I have also had the BEC from Dimo’s, when he ran it originally, and I think it was $9, so this is even less expensive a number of years later. I hope they have ketchup as an option. Thanks again, Andrea!
I would love it if this was the new flex in Portland: “Yeah, well our BEC is on a house potato kaiser for $6.50.” “Oh, well OURS is a collaboration with Franz right up the street on sourdough kaiser for $5.75!” “OK, oligarchs: House-made scratch roll, house-formulated cheese product, and Grocery Outlet bacon: $5.”