Pomalo Bar Will Open in the old Sundown Pub in Portland

A new bar is opening in the old Sundown Pub space in North Portland’s Portsmouth neighborhood. Called Pomalo, they’ll offer a relaxed, low-key vibe, food and drink, all in a location that is familiar and beloved. I spoke with Pomalo’s owner Mary Caballero and her GM Haley to learn more.

First, the Sundown Pub

The Sundown Pub made it onto a number of Portland dive bar lists over the years. By the time they closed this past fall, they had been around for about 20 years there on the corner of North Lombard Street and North McKenna Avenue. During that time, they had gone through multiple ownership changes.

From what I can tell, it was a chill spot to drink, unpretentious, and not far from the University of Portland, making it a convenient spot for students of legal age. Willamette Week wrote a nice summary about them back in 2008.

Mary Caballero, the Most Recent Owner

Mary told me that she bought the building a little over a year ago, which included the Sundown Pub. “The bar came with it, so I owned Sundown Pub for that time,” she explained.

She spent time getting to know the neighborhood as it was during that year—because neighborhoods are constantly changing, and she had known it many years in the past—before starting the transition to Pomalo. “I used to live in the neighborhood, but I hadn’t been there there in a while,” she explained. “I wanted to feel it out, understand what the neighborhood might be missing, wanting, or yearning for before I launched Pomalo. So we did that, which was a big exercise in patience.”

Eventually, she left her daytime corporate job (an employee benefits consulting firm that she sold that to a large national brokerage house,) brought Haley along, and started making Pomalo a reality.

Mary’s Hospitality Background

Mary worked in the service industry in her early adult life. “I’ve done bartending, waitressing, been in the kitchen,” she said. ‘Kind of all facets of hotels and restaurants.”

She added, “And I’ve never felt the same since I left that—the camaraderie and the family and the work environment and hospitality—-it’s not something you can find anywhere else.”

Pomalo: What’s in a Name?

I asked Mary what “pomalo” means and she replied, “It’s a coastal Croatian way of life, really.”

She continued, “My father’s family is Croatian. We still have family homes there and go back in the summers. It’s an approach to life that I really appreciate and I think we need more of here in the U.S. And that is, just take your time with life.”

She further explained with an example: “So if you go to coffee, you get to work when you’re done having coffee. There’s no real time.” She likened it to “going with the flow,” a concept Americans are familiar with.

“It’s kind of like going with the the waves, going where they take you,” she added

The coast she referred to earlier is the beautiful Dalmatian coast, which is mostly along Croatia but also goes down to Montenegro, Croatia’s southern neighbor on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. I’ve spent a little time in Montenegro, and I remember seeing what she’s talking about—the relaxed pace, being present with the people you’re with, and enjoying time together.

Mary says that she is not opening a Croatian bar per se, but a place to slow down, relax, have some good food and drink, and hang out for a while—a common pastime in Croatia.

Designing the Pomalo Space

Mary said she worked with Casework early on, and they handled some of the big things like materials and layout. Mary has been doing the rest of the design herself.

So how does she describe the inside of Pomalo? “I joke with people and say it really kind of feels like a speakeasy crashed into Mount Hood.” Along with the bar in front, they’ll have a lounge in the back. The back of their booths are covered with rich velvet corduroy, there’s lots of dark blues, wallpapers, and heavy curtains. They’re keeping the wood walls, too.

They’ve also decided to hang on to some very vintage paintings that a woman in the neighborhood did in the 1980s, as well as some stained glass—things that are saturated with history. They designed around some of these vintage things, as they considered them to be “non-negotiables,” in the design.

But even though Sundown Pub was a divey kind of dark, they are not outright rejecting it. They are keeping some of that vibe, but lightening things up a bit. “When you walk in, you feel like you’ve left the other side,” said Mary. The aim is for you to feel transported to place of respite and good times, with food and drink to soothe your soul.

As far as the usability of the entirety of the space, the interior with have a bar, seating, and the aforementioned lounge area in the back, but they also plan to make good use of the back patio space.

Food at Pomalo

I asked what kind of food and drink they’ll serve, and Mary replied, “We’re calling it ‘elevated comfort food: Southern soul, Italian fusion.'” There are nods to Croatia in the menu, too. As an aside: Croatia and Italy, along with Slovenia, have territory located on the Istrian peninsula, which has had Italian influences for many years. Italian American celebrity chef Lidia Bastianich was born in Pula on the Istrian peninsula.

Mary has hired Portland chef Caleb Rose to run the kitchen at Pomalo. “He has opened Mediterranean restaurants, and has done a lot of Mediterranean cooking, so he’s very familiar with that area of the world,” explained Mary. “He also lived in Tel Aviv and cooked in Tel Aviv. He’s working alongside us to develop the menu and get it off the ground.” You may have experienced his work at the now-shuttered Zula.

She added, “We definitely want to be the kind of place where we are a bar, but you can also have a great dinner here.” To quote a phrase, “Expect the unexpected.” Hayley said, “You’re going in for drinks and everything, but you have some unexpectedly good options.”

They are planning to offer small plates and some entrees/larger plates. Most items will be made from scratch.

And while they are still working on the menu details, there are a few things they are looking forward to: house-pickled vegetables, for one, and a smoked brisket po’ boy. “I think the thing I’m most excited about, is that I don’t know that I’ve been anywhere seeing anyone do soul food and Italian fusion,” Mary remarked. “So it’s going to be very interesting that way.”

Drinks

They will have a rotating house menu of craft cocktails, mocktails, beer, and wine. “We definitely want to up our NA game and not just make a simple lime and soda water,” remarked Mary. “We want to have drinks that are interesting, where you’re not feeling left out if you’re not drinking that night. That you’re getting something fun!”

Entertainment

They plan to offer live music, and will have a DJ on the weekends. In their lounge area, a place for people to really relax and unwind, they’ll also have a record player for listening to vinyl, and there will be a pool table, too.

On the covered back patio they are hoping to set up a protector and possibly have old movies playing. They will have heaters to make the patio into a four-season space. “It’s an extension of the comfort inside,” said Mary.

They also plan to have an educational and learning element at Pomalo. “We’re going to start with doing a monthly lecture series where we bring in experts on really interesting and timely topics and talk about what they’re doing with them,” said Mary. One of the topics will be gardening and climate change and how that’s affecting things. There would also be a Q&A afterward.

Next summer they want to do a “farm to cocktail” event, using what they will be growing in the backyard garden. Crafting events are also on their mind.

A Night Out at Pomalo Is Special

I often like to ask what sets a place apart form its peers. “I want it to be a place where you, if you live in North Portland, can go in with your partner or with friends and feel like you had a night out,” said Mary. “You can feel like you went into inner Southeast, or downtown, or some of the other places where it’s really happening and get that same vibe. Because there just isn’t a lot of that in North Portland.”

Focus on the Neighborhood

The neighborhood is their first concern, and they really want to cater to those living in Portsmouth—though they would be happy for people to drive up the peninsula to see them, too.

“But right now, it’s kind of a one-step-at-a-time thing, and we really are trying to focus on our neighborhood and bring something special to it,” said Mary. “Because the neighborhood has a special spot in my heart—I bought my first house there. I used to go to the Sundown Pub all the time.”

She added, “And I want to give something back to the people again. So that’s kind of what I’m thinking about when I’ll be serving them.”

As for when they are opening, they are aiming for Monday, November 17, but it may end up being closer to Monday, December 1. We’ll keep an eye on it.

All the best to Mary, Hayley, and the Pomalo team as they get ready to open in North Portland!

Pomalo Bar [projected opening late November/early December 2025]
5903 N Lombard Street, Portland
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