Makin’ Groceries Will Open in June, Parish Will Follow, in Portland

The pay-what-you-can cafe known as Landing Paper Planes since late last year has made it to the finish line. With the new moniker of “Makin’ Groceries,” they will open their doors in later this week. Their fine dining restaurant, which will help support the efforts of the cafe, is called Parish. Both the cafe and the restaurant will serve a menu of Cajun food.

I wanted to catch up with the folks behind the projects, so I reached out to Jade Fenton for more information. Here is what I’ve learned.

Note: While Makin’ Groceries, the cafe, is ready to go and will open Friday June 6, Parish will operate as a fundraising pop-up for the next several weeks while they fine tune the restaurant.

The Names: Makin’ Groceries and Parish

I asked Jade about the origins of the names of the cafe and restaurant, and she told me they are “a nod to our Cajun inspiration.” She explains: “We really love the Cajun phrase ‘makin’ groceries.'” This phrase, commonly used in NOLA, was a phrase I was unfamiliar with—this video explains it a little more.

Along with the above reasons, they also thought the phrase had a little bit of a double meaning. “Often people in lower economic situations only get to eat groceries they prepare themselves,” said Jade. “In this case we are making the groceries for them. Everyone needs rest and a chance to be served and fed in a dignified manner!”

And as far as “Parish” goes, it’s a reference to how counties are called in Louisiana. “It felt subtle and classy,” added Jade.

The Makin’ Groceries Location

As for the location, this was their first choice of the properties they looked at. It’s the old Bee’s/Heim space right there in the heart of Roseway. “We were attracted to the space for many reasons,” explained Jade. “Location was the biggest factor; the layout of the building was the second factor that made us love this space. The building is laid out very nicely for both the cafe and the fine dining service.”

In order to set up shop there, they did have to make some concessions with regard to the usability of the space: “The space doesn’t have ventilation for frying and sauté, but we have been hard at work creating a menu that fits the space and is still dynamic and creative.”

Also, because they are Roseway residents they are happy and excited to be able to establish this place in their own neighborhood. “The majority of our Board of Directors live in Roseway and Rose City Park,” said Jade. Sandy Blvd was the primary street where we were looking for spaces.”

She continued, “The accessibility of the area for people who are in need of resources was very important to us, as well as being located in an area that would be attractive to people wanting to join us for our fine dining services. I think we found the perfect location in the right neighborhood.”

More on Parish

They’ve decided to take a different approach to bringing Parish to life. “In lieu of a traditional soft opening, we are going to run Friday night pop-ups all of June (starting the 13th),” explained Jade. “They will double as fundraising events for the cafe.”

“It will give us time to get staff trained and ready, as well as experiment with food concepts,” she further explained. “Currently we are looking at family-style prix fixe meals and are looking forward to seeing the community’s reception of that concept.”

They will run the pop-ups the same way they intend to run Parish: They’ll take reservations for the prix fixe meals in the upper space (just past the red couch) and leave the bottom space open to walk-ins, with a cocktail menu and an upscale bar snacks menu.

The Look and Feel

As I mentioned earlier, they’ll be offering a menu of Cajun food. “As a Cajun restaurant we are leaning heavily into New Orleans vibrancy balanced with a darker, more intimate jazz club feel,” said Jade.”

The cafe will be brightly lit, open and welcoming. They will have books and games available to encourage people to feel at home. “We hope it inspires the community to engage with each other and have a safe and comfortable ‘third space’ to be,” she said.

On the other hand, the fine dining restaurant will have a more intimate feel with lower lighting and softer music. Everything from table decorations to the napkins will be carefully chosen to give a classic and intimate (but still fun) vibe.

Also, they hope to have outside tables by the end of June/early July, depending on pace of securing the necessary permits.

The Makin’ Groceries Cafe Menu

While the Parish menu is not yet available for public consumption, the cafe menu is. You can check it out on Instagram, or look at it below.

During their grand opening on Friday, June 6, they will debut their bar snacks and release the prix fixe menu for their first Parish pop-up.

Continuing To Fundraise

I wondered if they were continuing to raise money for their efforts, as they are a nonprofit. “Currently we are looking for local businesses who would like to sponsor us monetarily or with in-kind donations,” said Jade. “Our sponsorship tiers are here.”

Events are also part of their plans. “Part of our community programming is holding events,” explained Jade. “Some of the events we are planning will be fundraisers, but many will be collaborative events with community members that benefit other organizations and groups.”

She added, “We will also have sliding scale space rental available in our off times, with menu packages available, as well.”

You can follow their social media pages (Instagram and Facebook) for info on their upcoming events and fundraisers.

Makin’ Groceries Opening Details

Again, the grand opening for Makin’ Groceries is June 6—they’ll be open from 11am to 10pm that day. They will run the pay-what-you-can menu from 11am to 4pm. And at 4pm they will switch to their bar snacks menu and drinks.

They’ll also have live music, door prizes, free snacks, and more.

As for their regular hours post-party (at least to start), Makin’ Groceries hours will be Tuesday to Thursday from 11am to 6pm, and Friday and Saturday from 11am to 3pm.

Parish pop-ups will be Fridays from 5pm to 11pm in June and they will add Saturday hours starting in July.

“We are so excited to give this a shot!” exclaimed Jade. “We hope it will be well received and that the love we have for our community and neighbors will shine through into all we do.”

Wishing Jade and the entire Makin’ Groceries and Parish team all the best as they get ready to open their pay-what-you-can cafe this Friday in Roseway!

Makin’ Groceries and Parish [opening June 6 and June 13, 2025, respectively]
7137 NE Fremont Street, Portland
Landing Paper Planes and Makin’ Groceries website | Instagram | Facebook