Proof Pizza, a Beaverton pizza cart, is opening a brick & mortar in Portland. They’ll be keeping the truck in Beaverton and expanding eastward to SE Portland, bringing their popular Chicago-style thin crust tavern pies with them. Look for them to be open initially the first week of September—a late night service window and pickup/delivery. Then in October they’ll have the full bar and restaurant up and running. The location? The old Pepper Box Cafe, which closed in 2023. 932 SE Morrison Street, Portland
NY Times 25 Best Restaurants in Portland. The New York Times updated their PDX 25 list (originally compiled last October), and it seemed like everywhere I looked on Instagram this week, the article was there. Congrats to all on the list, old and new! Multiple locations
Stop By Bakery will open in Beaverton. Presumably this is the same bakery/deli that was on SE Division, which has closed—Essa Bakery is now at that location (occupying both 8245 and 8243 SE Division Street addresses) and even though the sign has been up for a while, their social media only recently came alive. But back to Stop By Bakery—word on the street says they will be open in a few weeks, offering Arabic sweets and more. 8604 SW Hall Blvd, Beaverton
Portland’s first-ever Staycation Weekend is next month. Happening Friday, September 12 to Sunday, September 14, a number of local entities are putting on a promotional event to encourage Portlanders to come downtown, get a hotel room, and take advantage of the city—and some deals. Read more about the Staycation Weekend and the three-day celebration of downtown Portland. Multiple locations
Alma PDX has a new happy hour. Stop by at the bar between 5pm and 6pm Thursday through Monday for cocktails and some tasty bites: Balkan fish and chips, green tomato sandwich, vegeta wings and kababs. 5237 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland
Cascadia Taphouse has opened in the Timberview. Yesterday was the grand opening of Cascadia Taphouse’s new location at the Array at the Timberview. There’s also food at The Array in the form of Poke Delight and Thai Carnation; Taqueria Nuevo Camino is also there, last time I checked. 540 NE 99th Avenue, Portland
Lechon celebrates 10 years. Big congrats to the folks at South American restaurant Lechon for making it to 10 years—despite COVID, U.S. economic drama, and more. What an achievement! And they look forward to continuing their work: “Here’s to the next 10 years of good food, good drinks, and good company.” 113 SW Naito Pkwy, Portland
The Great Portland Grocery Store Doughnut Showdown. Bryan over at Stumptown Savings did another grocery store product taste test—and this time it was about donuts. And with Richard Osuna (Copper & Heat) and Bill Oakley (The Simpsons). They tried donuts from six places and the results surprised them (seems to be a trend). Read more here.
Do you like Raising Cane’s? More are coming to Portland (and Gresham). Reported in the Portland Business Journal, this fast food brand is looking to expand into our area, because apparently the PNW is a “vibrant and growing market” for potential locations. There’s currently one in Pioneer Place Mall and one in Vancouver. I have never eaten there but I know people rave about the “Cane Sauce,” which looks a lot like Thousand Island dressing.
And in related fast food news, the Ridgefield In-N-Out opened on Wednesday, and apparently Wienerschnitzel also wants to return to Portland (you can see a remnant of its presence at 5401 NE 82nd Avenue). Multiple locations
Stinkfest is coming! The 2025 Portland Fermentation Festival (previous coverage) is back again on Thursday, October 9 from 6pm to 9pm at the Ecotrust building. This is the premiere occasion to celebrate fermentation in is myriad forms. Tickets will be on sale by end of summer (keep an eye on this Eventbrite site) with $15 advance tickets, $20 day-of. 721 NW 9th Avenue, Portland
Sue Kesey has died. She died on Monday, August 18. As the founder and CEO of Springfield Creamery (sold under the Nancy’s Probiotic Foods brand), she apparently revolutionized the field by adding live probiotics to yogurt. Read more here.
Alchemy Cider opens tomorrow. This place for cider will open their new tavern and tasting room (“The Guild”) in SE Portland tomorrow. They’ll be open from 3pm until 10pm (minors welcome until 9pm; friendly dogs, too). They’ll have their own ciders on hand, as well as guest cider, beer, and wine, and probably some food. “Look forward to seeing you there, and Long Live the Spirit of Apples!” 818 SE Ankeny Street, Portland
Book swap and treats at Threshold. This Sunday, August 24 from 11am to 3pm, stop by Threshold Brewing in Montavilla for a book swap led by The Novel Nomad. Bring up to five gently-used books to swap, enjoy Threshold’s brews (did you know they specialize in Polish-style beers?), and visit the vendors that will be there, including Con Amor Bakery, a women-owned, LGBTQIA+ bakery making “vegan and gluten-free Mexican-inspired treats made with organic ingredients.” 403 SE 79th Avenue, Portland
Cafe Rowan will bring back table service. On Wednesday, October 1, Cafe Rowan will transition to table service, starting with weekdays. Then, adding weekends after their get their table service sea legs. “A guests experience begins when they walk through our doors. We want to make the overall dining experience with us more special, more personal, more memorable.”
Additionally, they have a few chef tasting dinners planned: Chef Diego and McKenna Palacios of Machetes; Chef Scott Iijima of Hiori and Chef Colin Yoshimoto of Toya Ramen; and Chef Joel Stocks of L’Orange. Links to those dinners can be found on the Cafe Rowan Linktree. 4437 SE Cesar E. Chavez Blvd, Portland
Bialy Bird’s soft opening is this weekend. Bialy Bird, offering bialys, schmears, and more will soft open on Saturday and Sunday, August 23 and 24, 9am to 2pm at The Pantry. The Pantry is a “collaborative production and retail space” created by Adam from Bialy Bird and Katy from Matcha Freak, and it’s right next door to the Bialy Bird cafe, which will open in September. 1414 SE Morrison Street, Portland
Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:
99 Ranch Market Has Opened in East Portland (Photos)
Now You Can Have Lunch at Migration Brewing on North Williams in Portland
Andiamo Pizzeria Will Open in South Waterfront in Portland
Good Neighbor Cà Phê Will Open in NW Portland
Updated August 24, 2025.
Meg Cotner
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Wait, is essa bakery where Stop By used to be? Or something else?
Yes, that is my understanding – looks like it’s taking spaces that are attached to both the 8243 SE Division (Google’s address info) and 8245 SE Division (former Stop By address).
Bummer. Stop By had the best pita anywhere. Although, that’s pretty much all they had so I guess moving makes sense.