Bennett’s Best Bites Will Open on Sandy Blvd in Portland

A new casual cafe called Bennett’s Best Bites is going to open later this spring on NE Sandy Blvd near 20th Ave, in the small shopping center than includes Phở Gia and Airlink. Offering sandwiches, salads, desserts, and more, owner Matt Bennett hopes to offer tasty homespun food in the heart of the Kerns neighborhood.

The Bennett’s Best Bites Origin Story

At this point, it is probably clear that Bennett’s Best Bites is named after the founder and owner, Matt Bennett.

I asked Matt how he got into this business and he told me he was influenced by a fellow parishioner at Saint Rose Catholic Church. A local businessman who supports his community, Joe helped out Matt’s family while they were going through a tough time—for example, he helped his parents give the Matt and his siblings Christmas gifts and warm blankets.

Matt didn’t find out about this until much later in life, and you can imagine the positive impact that kindness and generosity like that can have. Along with this very personal experience, he was impressed by his professional role in the community. “As a kid growing up, I saw the effect that he had as a businessman,” remarked Matt. “And I knew that wanted to have that same effect.”

So, he went into business himself. He helped start a bar—6th Street Station in The Dalles—with a friend and managed it. “It felt liberating,” Matt said. “I was doing what I wanted to do.”

However, it became clear that the bar scene was not for him—and he learned that he is more of a big city person than The Dalles could provide. These were enough for him to change his plans. So he left the bar business behind, and returned home to Portland.

He then started working other jobs; unfortunately, he found that those weren’t a good fit either. Feeling a continued draw to business and entrepreneurship, he moved in that direction. And when the time was right, he found a business opportunity and decided to go for it. That became Bennett’s Best Bites.

The Menu at Bennett’s Best Bites

Developing the menu has been a family affair when it came to recipe testing. “My family has helped me eat a lot,” remarked Matt. His friends have also helped with the menu and recipe testing.

Some of the recipes he is using come from his family, and some are from friends. He wanted to try a variety of dishes and desserts while developing the menu. “I asked anybody that had a recipe to try it out.” And that’s why he says the menu is full of “best bites”—he was able to separate out the really good recipes from the others and move forward with those.

Look for staples and rotating items—and the rotating aspect will be more frequent so he can get an idea of what his customers like. He also wants to be responsive to feedback he anticipated he will from customers. “Honestly, if people don’t like something enough, in my mind right now I’m going to stop making it,” he said.

One dish he’s pretty happy about is the Bennett’s Big Burger—a smash burger. The “big” part is that the serving size will be large—6 oz vs 4 oz. He’s also played around with a tofu Reuben. You’ll be able to get fries or tots as a side, but it’s the homemade potato chips they’ll make that Matt is really excited about—they will be available to accompany sandwiches and burgers.

Look for additional sandwiches and salads, and some hot dishes with various kinds of meats.. They expect to prepare things quickly in a fast casual style. “You order it, it’s ready in like five minutes, and then you can go,” explained Matt.

On the topic of eggs: Eggs are and continue to be expensive, and he wants to make his food affordable for the average person. So, egg dishes are on hold right now (that could change).

For drinks there will be coffee (drip and espresso drinks), tea, soda, and Italian sodas. No alcohol is planned for this establishment. Their final menu is still in flux, but I hope to update you with that soon.

Why Choose Bennett’s Best Bites?

I asked Matt why should people come to Bennett’s Best Bites for a meal.

“Well, I hope people feel when they come to our place is that it’s kinda like a little piece of home,” explained Matt. “I really love people and I hope that customers feel that it’s a nice place for them to go.”

He’d like his guests to feel like they are always welcome there. And when someone has guests from out of town, he hopes they feel like, “I gotta take you here. It’s a great spot!”

Essentially, Matt wants to deliver great food and drink in a comfortable place that will keep people coming back.

The Space

Prior to Matt taking over this location, this was a Subway. When he got this space, it was in great shape. “it was like they had left like just a couple weeks ago,” remarked Matt. “There were still some remnants here and there, but the inside was pretty clean.”

The exterior was another story. There was graffiti, the trash area was a disaster, and the parking lot was starting to get pretty bad. He had to pressure wash the parking lot and do some re-striping of the spaces. Now it’s in much better shape.

More on the Interior

While the interior was in good physical shape, they did tear out some things, like tile and a wall, and put new things in, like a new countertop that he and his dad built out of redwood sequoia. They also had to put in a hood system, which is no small feat (Subway does not have a hood system in their franchises).

They also needed to put in a flat top (another thing Subway does not use). And a fryer for the chips, etc.

As far as seating goes, they’ll have about 22, so it is a smaller space. There are 4 four-tops and 3 two-tops, which he got from a business that was closing in Camas . He’d also like to put bench seating by the window. He’s also looking at adding some hanging plants in that window area.

Hours

Matt is going to take the unconventional approach of starting out being open seven-days a week, 8am to 8pm for the first month, in order to understand what days are work best for them. However, he does recognize that staffing could be an issue. He may rely on friends and family for that during this initial time.

As for what you’ll be able to get during different times, the morning will be about coffee and pastries, but no breakfast plates. Lunch would start at 11am, and you could order anything on the menu until close.

They are looking at a late May opening, with possibly a soft opening a little prior to that. I’ll keep in touch with Matt on this. But best of luck to him and his team as they work to open Bennett’s Best Bites!

Bennett’s Best Bites [opening May 2025]
1926 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland
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