Nevermind Bar Will Open in Old Apex Bar Space in Portland

What the front looks like in early May 2025. — What the front exterior looks like in early May 2025.

Nevermind, a new bar from Quinn Matthewstearn and David Hall, along with the Lightning Bar Collective, will open on SE Division Street in the old Apex Bar space. They are aiming for a July 2025 opening.

The Nevermind Backstory

Back in February when I was chatting with Quinn about Panther Club, we also talked about a new bar he was working on opening on SE Division, known then as “TBD Bar” (not to be confused with Cafe TBD). They hadn’t settled on a name yet then, but I pinged him last week and he revealed the name to me: Nevermind. I immediately heard Gilda Radner in my mind’s ear, but it also makes me think of Nirvana’s album, too.

Quinn told me that John Janulis was the main force from Lightning Bar Collective who brought them all together for this project. Janulis has a connection to this space—he and others who were working at the wood shop eventually created the Lightning Bar Collective. So this is a bit of a homecoming of sorts.

“John moved to Palm Springs and does restaurants and hotels there,” said Quinn. “This was his first wood shop when he moved to Portland. He’s a carpenter, so the space has nostalgia for him.”

He added, “This collaboration is a way for us to get to do something together, and in a space that’s very near and dear to John’s heart.”

Additionally, Quinn grew up nearby, so there’s a lot of personal connection going on at this location.

The Food and Drink

They will not be cooking or preparing much in the way of their own food at Nevermind. Los Gorditos, which is right there next door to Nevermind, is going to do their food. “I don’t want anybody to think that they’re getting booted out,” explained Quinn. “We’re working with them—we love Los Gorditos! They are a great taqueria.”

Los Gorditos in Portland, Oregon. — Los Gorditos.

TBH, I have never eaten there, but I like seeing that they have plenty of options for vegans, vegetarians, and meat eaters alike. Wikipedia told me what The Oregonian’s Michael Russell wrote in 2011 about their quesatacos: “gooey little quesadillas topped with meat and rolled into a taco …. Best eaten with Gorditos’ garlicky, neon orange hot sauce, they’re just about the greatest invention since grilled cheese and sliced bread.”

Anyway, basically you’ll order their food through Nevermind, and they’ll bring it over. Quinn compared this to how things work at Two Wrongs and Papi Chulo’s.

As for the drinks side of things, they’ll be doing the cocktails there, and will have a robust beer selection. Apex was a beer bar that closed in August 2024, and they wanted to have some continuity with that libation, hoping that those former fans of Apex will feel a level of comfort there with the amount of beer being offered.

Booze Without Food? What Gives?

I was curious how they were able to serve liquor without food (“Food service is a requirement of this [liquor] license“), and Quinn explained that because they are serving the food from Los Gorditos, that satisfies the OLCC. “There’s going to be a pass through window and everything,” explained Quinn.

A similar arrangement between food and alcohol exists at The Zipper—Paydirt serves alcohol and the food stalls serve the food. It’s considered a shared space.

The Space

Quinn highlighted the patio. “It is an incredible patio,” he said. “You’re going to see a really beautiful patio structure, with some really cool stylistic flair. I’ll say that it’s one of the best patios in the city.”

They are looking forward to having the patio up and running in the heart of summer, when Portlanders especially enjoy eating al fresco.

Concept

Expect Nevermind to be different from the others from Lightning Bar Collective (e.g., The Bye and Bye, Victoria, Thunderbird) and the others Quinn and David have been involved with (e.g, Side Eye, Panther Club) “You know, we try and have it be different every time,” said Quinn. “And this is going to be different from everything that we’ve done so far.”

He added, “But if I was going to have it be more comparable to anything, it would probably be Sugar Hill in regard to it being neighborhood-focused, but with a high energy and a sense of fun.”

The strip of Nevermind and Los Gorditos.

As I mentioned at the start of this piece, they are looking at opening in July. I’ll keep an eye on it. Best of luck to the team as they continue creating this fun new space in Southeast Portland.

Nevermind [projected opening July 2025]
1216 SE Division Street, Portland