Small Bites: Next Level Veggie Grill, Soulful Sips, Cliff’s, and More

Next Level Burger relaunches as Next Level Veggie Grill. I saw this pass through an influencer email list I’m on, but saw that Rachel Saslow at Willamette Week covered the change. Basically, last year Next Level Burger acquired Veggie Grill, a fast-casual vegan competitor of theirs, and had a business baby. Now there’s burgers and bowls, and much, more. It kind of reminds me of Laughing Planet.

The first location to transform will be on SE Hawthorne and 42nd Avenue, with a grand opening party this Saturday, October 25 from 11am to 1pm. Read more on WW. 4121 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Portland Burger gets some love. The website Only In Alaska (!) gave Portland Burger some love in their 8 Burger Joints in the West Locals Can’t Stop Talking About listicle.

“With handcrafted burgers and housemade sauces, you can’t go wrong with anything you order at Portland Burger, one of the best burger joints in Oregon. The menu is filled with impressive options like the Classic Rock or the Magic Man, which is topped with portabella mushrooms marinated in a ginger-soy sauce. As someone who loves spice, the Angry Jalapeno is what you’ll see in front of me with fresh and crispy jalapenos, a housemade angry sauce, lettuce, onion, and American cheese.” 304 SW 2nd Avenue, Portland

On the topic of food assistance. Stumptown Savings has put together a list of resources on “how to leverage food assistance programs, shop strategically, and find the best senior discounts” during this time of financial insecurity. Check it out; we hope it helps you or someone you know. Multiple resources

Double Shackburger BOGO. I got a marketing email from Shake Shack recently, and while most of the messages are kind of ho-hum, this one sounds good. Until October 31, when you buy one Double ShackBurger, you can get another Double ShackBurger for free using the code SPOOKY. You can get this deal for qualifying orders placed at a kiosk in-Shack, or for delivery or pick-up via the Shake Shack Mobile App, or on the Shake Shack website. Multiple locations

Grand Central Bakery and immigrant rights nonprofits. Today at Portland and Seattle Grand Central Bakery locations they are donating 10% of sales to benefit two immigrant rights nonprofits: Northwest Immigrant Rights Project and Adelante Mujeres. These nonprofits provide critical services to PNW immigrants in Oregon and Washington. Multiple locations

Santo Domingo Taqueria and Domingo’s will also raise funds this weekend. On Sunday, October 26, sister restaurants Santo Domingo Taqueria and Domingo’s will donate a percentage of the day’s profit to PIRC, the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition. 5447 NE 42nd Avenue and 2935 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Goodbye Main Street Collectors Mall and soda fountain. I was sorry to miss the final weekend (October 8 and 9) of the last remaining soda fountain in Milwaukie. But this past weekend I was able to stop by the business that shares the space, the Main Street Collectors Mall. And I was able to see the soda fountain, which looks pretty good. (Did you know the JFK visited it back when he was campaigning?)

My understanding is that the new owners will do some remodeling and that there is a good chance the soda fountain will preserved. (They’ll need to find someone to run it—could that be you?) There are a bunch of permits filed—interior demolition, facade renovation, and new plumbing for a grease interceptor, among others. I’ll keep an eye on it. 10909 SE Main Street, Milwaukie

Ruthie’s has a new menu. I love Ruthie’s, and this new menu looks good. The Corn Dip and Tuna Crudo sound great, and I could go for that Pumpkin Spiced Gooey Butter Cake right about now. 3532 SE Division Street, Portland

Old Fashioned Syrup launch at Portland Syrups. This Saturday from 2pm to 6pm, head to Portland Syrups to get an exclusive sneak peek at their new Old Fashioned Syrup. They will use it to make an Old Fashioned flight, offering three unique variations. Also, there will be Freeland Spirits tastings + cocktails and 20% off everything in the store. 2025 SE 11th Avenue, Portland

Soulful Sips is open. I just caught wind of this Black-owned business over on NE MLK. They offer “coffee, calming teas, or refreshing pick-me-ups,” and a place for community. They are open Tuesday to Saturday, 6:30am to 3pm. They had their soft opening mid-September and a grand opening has been planned for October.

They want it to be a gathering place for small events, workshops, and meaningful connections, with a mission of “Restoring Souls One Sip at a Time.” 5261 NE MLK Jr Blvd, Portland

Tiffin Asha is shutting down the business. After 12 years, they are done. I first knew them as the occupants of the space at NE Killingsworth and 16th (current home of Mis Tacones), but they started as a food cart and ended their run as a farmers market vendor and producer of Indian pickles. Read their goodbye post on Instagram.

Shop Halo Halo pop-up tomorrow. From 3pm to 6pm, Shop Halo Halo will be popping up at Ice Queen. Everything they are preparing will be vegan. And all funds from the day will go toward their (Shop Halo Halo) relocation costs. 2012 SE 11th Avenue, Portland

Breakfast burrito and a latte special. At Harder Day’s Steeplejack Union on Hawthorne location, you can get a breakfast burrito and a latte for $8 on Mondays. They’re open 7am to 4pm. 3757 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland

Steeplejack Burgers & Beer will open in Manzanita. A little far afield from our normal coverage, but I wanted to mention that Steeplejack is expanding to the Oregon Coast with Steeplejack Burgers & Beer. It will be in the space that was home to the Neah-Kah-Nie Bistro (Steeplejack owns the building). New School Beer blog reported on this in July, saying “the menu will be focused on burgers as the name implies, but with a special chicken sandwich for variety, salads, and desserts, and everything made fresh daily.”

There will be a “Manzanita Lager” specific for this location. Read more on the New School Beer blog. 519 Laneda Avenue, Manzanita

Edan Pizza has soft opened. On October 18 they posted on Instagram that they had soft opened. Hours may be a little irregular to start but they look forward to making pizzas, sandwiches, and calzones for you downtown. Here’s our coverage from earlier this month. 204 SW Yamhill Street, Portland

New ice creams at Zuckercreme. They have some new autumn flavors: Strawberry Pretzel Pie; Pumpkin Spice; Honey Fig (uses figs and leaves from Brittany’s trees); Strawberry Circus; Pandan Jelly Donut, which is a collab with Salvie Donuts; and Caramel Apple Cider Crunch, using Kiyokawa Orchard’s cider. Read more about their flavors on Instagram. 414 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

The Bing Mi! cart is moving. They’ll be serving their delicious jianbings from their cart at the Midtown Beer Garden through the end of October and possibly into the beginning of November, then they will move to Pioneer Square with a new cart. 431 SW Harvey Milk Street to 701 SW 6th Avenue, Portland

Update on Taste of Sichuan in Beaverton: October opening. I heard from the folks at Taste of Sichuan in Beaverton with the news that they are aiming for an October 2025 opening. They wrote, “It has taken a lot longer than expected but we are finally getting ready to reopen by the end of the month. We can’t wait to open our doors again!” Here’s our article from earlier this year. This is very exciting news. 6261 NW Cornell Road, Beaverton

Cliff’s will close by the end of 2025. Katey Trnka at the Willamette Week reports that Cliff’s, the bar below the Wonder Ballroom, will close because Wonder Ballroom didn’t renew their lease. More details in the Willamette Week article. 128 NE Russell Street, Portland

Malpractice has a new chef, plus a daytime cafe in the works. Malpractice announced their new chef, Jake Edgar, this week. He has worked here in Portland at Verdigris and Corzetti (handmade pasta), as well as in Ireland at Library St and Meagher’s O’Connell Bridge. I also want to highlight this detail about their future plans:

“…He and his wife, Marisa, will also be opening a daytime cafe inside the Malpractice space, named Tish, next month, which will be centered around Jewish small bites and pastry.” 77 SE Yamhill Street, Portland

Pickle Back Tavern will take over the Misfits Bar & Lounge space. Misfits was unable to raise the money to keep the bar going, so they closed this past May. They mentioned that the property was for sale, but at the time of this roundup, there is no record of any sale in 2025. It’s located just down the street from The People’s Courts, where they play pickleball; I kind of though it would be poetic if Pickle Back Tavern was back behind The People’s Courts. But it no doubt refers the to popular drink.

Looking into the people behind it—Sam Watson and Michael Zirbes—they both appear to be on staff at Neon Cowboy Roadhouse + Hot Springs (here’s the Yelp page) in Lakeview in southern Oregon. They have a geyser there. I believe Michael is the owner of the new Pickle Back Tavern, too.

As for this spot on 82nd and Russell, this has the potential to be a nice upgrade to the immediate area—next to Phở Oregon, near The People’s Courts and the incoming Wildlife Hospital and Nature Sanctuary from the Bird Alliance. I’m glad to see these positive changes to 82nd Avenue. 2530 NE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Get your Pan de Muerto! From La Casa De Mama:

“A time to honor and celebrate loved ones who’ve passed, and to reconnect through flavors, traditions, and their memory. Our Pan de Muerto is baked fresh daily with anise, orange zest, and ajonjolí, available for pick-up from our Portland commissary kitchen from now through November 2nd.” You can place your order here. 5018 NE 22nd Avenue, Portland

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Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Milki Ethiopian Cafe Takes Over Old Yigebe Space in Portland
Sunday Sauce: Italian American Comfort Food Comes to Portland via New Jersey
Thanksgiving 2025 in Portland
Dream Deli Will Open in Southeast Portland