Small Bites: Javi's, YUI, 33 Cafe, Dear Santa, and More

Delicious food at Javi's. — A couple of things you can get at Javi’s: chilaquiles and eggs benedict with hashbrowns.

Javi’s will open in Vancouver. Their Sandy Blvd location is so popular that they’ll be opening a second location at The Mill shopping center, which is also home to another familiar Portland business: Parkrose Hardware. No indication of the timing of their opening yet, aside from “soon.” Good news for The Couve. 7900 E Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver

Los Bros Taco Shop will open in the old Phil’s Meat Market space. Phil’s opened in 1979 and closed in 2024 (they discussion on Reddit), and now it’s time for a new tenant. Los Bros Taco Shop hails from Vancouver and is family-owned. You can see their menu here—nice to see a selection of breakfast burritos, and it looks like they offer a lot of other familiar items. They’ll be open from 7am to 2am every day. Hat’s off to their late night hours. 17 NW 23rd Place, Portland

33 Cafe will open in the Hollywood District. Not much is known about this new cafe, which will open in the shuttered Starbucks location along Sandy Blvd and Cesar Chavez. Speculation has swirled over the months about what it could be—including a new location for Shandong (not realistic). The logo depicts fingers around a cup. My guess is that it’s going to be bubble tea, coffee (maybe a combination of both) and snacks.

Earlier research indicates an individual named Baixian Ma is the Authorized Representative for 33 Cafe on ORSOS docs, and they are the same for another familiar and nearby business: Shandong. 1633 Cesar E Chavez Blvd, Portland

It’s Small Business Saturday tomorrow. While today is Black Friday, the start of the holiday shopping season, Small Business Saturday is tomorrow (with Cyber Monday following next week). If you’re going downtown, there’s free parking on Saturday, thanks to PBOT. That’s for both on-street parking and all five SmartPark locations.

But there are a lot of small businesses outside of the downtown core: Multnomah Village, the Alberta Arts District, Montavilla, Mississippi Avenue, Parkrose, 82nd Avenue, the Lloyd Center, and more. Shop Small PDX has a listing of small businesses you can support with your dollars. Multiple locations

Not to mention, PDX (plus free parking there, too). PDX is running a special right now: “Spend $20 pre-security through 12/31, at any of our pre-security shops, and we’ll cover 2 hours of parking while you wander, snack, and shop your way through the new PDX. No boarding pass needed!” Nice. 7000 NE Airport Way, Portland

Update on Rogue: bankruptcy and debt. An update to this story, which started out as an abrupt closure of Rogue and all its businesses. They have filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and according to reports they owe a ton of money. From Willamette Week: “Overall, the brewery and its subsidiaries, Rogue River Brewing Company and Yaquina Bay Beverage Company, owe $17 million in liabilities and hold $5.6 million in assets. The liabilities include $10 million in unliquidated, contested debt relating to a legal claim, leaving $7 million in uncontested debt.”

FIKA will pop up at Stark Street Studios & Gallery. Head there this weekend, Friday and Saturday from 11am to 5pm, for Joe’s excellent baked goods: empanadas, custard cakes (2 kinds), bars, cookies, and truffles. You won’t be disappointed. 2809 SE Stark Street, Portland

YUI appears to be making a comeback. This beloved Thai restaurant will be opening in the space that Musashi’s Sushi and Teriyaki Grill recently left (they have a location in Hillsboro) on SE Belmont, according a recent liquor license application. They operated out of Bonne Chance on NE Alberta earlier this year and before that they were on NE 30th where Pleasure Mountain is right now (previous to them, Teote Tavern did the work to join their space to the adjacent one). I’m very much looking forward to seeing what Chalunthron “Yui” Schaeffer will bring us this time. 4246 SE Belmont Street, #2, Portland

Pomalo will open next week. They’ll be doing some soft openings for friends, family, and locals on Monday and Wednesday, December 1 and 3, with a grand opening on Thursday December 4, 2025. On grand opening day, Pomalo will be open from 4pm to midnight, featuring live music by Tour de Force at 7pm. 5903 N Lombard Street, Portland

Dear Sandy becomes Dear Santa for a month. They are throwing a pop-up from December 1 to 31. “All month long we’re running a holiday menu built around winter ingredients, nostalgic flavors, and cocktails that are warm, bright, and festive without going overboard. Dear Santa: a little festivity, a lot of flavor.” 2800 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Portland Cà Phê’s winter drinks drop today. They look like delicious and solid options: iced tiramisu latte, Vietnamese egg coffee, five spice latte, peppermint mocha, cookie butter latte, and salted maple latte. 2815 SE Holgate Blvd and 2601 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland

And Slow Haste’s winter drinks arrive this weekend. These guys make some interesting special drinks, and here is what they have planned for the season

Kabocha and Cardamom: The sweetness of Japanese kabocha squash mixed with cardamom. “Rich and nutty with a bright pop, this latte is smooth and comforting.”
Molé: Warm spices, chocolate, and a subtle smokey kick, inspired by molé (likely mirroring molé poblano).
Hot Rosemary and Brown Sugar Latte: Rosemary, hot agave and brown sugar.
Irish Coffee (NA): “Ginger, peppercorn, cinnamon, orange peel, black cask bourbon tea, whiskey barrel-aged bitters, whiskey extract, espresso, and hot water, topped with almond infused house-made whipped topping, shaved chocolate, and a pirouette.”

Lots of great flavor combos here. 2341 NE Glisan Street, Portland

Foodvilla has reopened. We spoke with them in September as they were working on renovating the market, and now it’s open! Stop on by and check out the beer cave, along with all their other offerings (preview on Instagram). 6316 NE 33rd Avenue, Portland

ROAM PDX will cease operations by the end of the year. They confirmed the rumors on Instagram: ‘We know many of you have heard whispers of this being the end of our time here in Portland and we just wanted to take a moment to let you all know that it is true.” Together David Propst and Elise Moore have provided private catering and a farmers market presence (PSU, Montavilla), as well as pop-ups for the past four years. You can see their final hurrah schedule here. Multiple locations

Tito’s Taquitos does brunch now. They launched their brunch program on Sunday, November 23. “On the menu: chilaquiles, steak & eggs, fluffy egg scrambles, avocado toast, molletes, corn-based pancakes (naturally gluten-free and made with freshly ground corn), coffee and mimosas,” Plus, you can have taquitos and tacos for brunch, too. Both locations are brunching on Sundays from 9am to 3pm. 7705 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland and 12406 SW Broadway Street, Beaverton

Fast Times grand opening weekend starts Friday. I got an update from the folks at Fast Times, a pizzeria that opened in the OG Sizzle Pie space this fall. Here’s the lineup of activities this weekend:

Friday, November 28: All-day Happy Hour prices, special cocktails, Wayfinder Beer + Alchemy Cider takeovers.
Saturday, November 29: Daytime pop-up market, free face painting, balloon animals, tinsel Hair + Jewelry from Earrings for Hot People, tooth gems from GEMMOM, and free rides for Kids on Ghostbusters Ride-On.
Sunday, November 30: Performance by DJ LU & Starcourt (80s synth duo) from 7pm to 10pm.
Hours are 11am to 2am daily, with hours extending to 4am on Fridays and Saturdays.

A quote from Matt Jacobson, founder of Fast Times: “Fast Times goes deeper—it’s 80s nostalgia, arcade cabinets, neon vibes, weird art, and great pizza … all the things that I loved before everything else.” 624 E Burnside Street, Portland

Scandinavian Christmas Goat Market is tomorrow. On Saturday, November 29 from 9am to 4pm, head to the Norse Hall to enjoy Scandi food and drink (Viking Soul food will be there), live music, singing, dancing, and plenty of vendors to shop from. 111 NE 11th Avenue, Portland

Fusion Shave Ice has a brick & mortar. A liquor license application filed by Fusion Shave Ice, a mobile food cart, indicates they will be moving into the space at 807 NE Couch. Capacity Social Club was in this building, but they closed down over the summer and are doing things at NOVA PDX. The No Q’ No truck is there; Baon Kainan was there but they closed and are now operating as Pamana. Matta also had this address.

Now Fusion Shave Ice will take the reins of this space. They launched a fundraiser back in June, and it appears it was a success. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say they’ll open in the new year. 807 NE Couch Street, Portland

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Nosh at The Noshpit in the Old Backyard Social Space in Portland
Shop Halo Halo Has Closed and Is Ready for What’s Next, in Portland
Reeva’s Extended Closure in Portland, Hope for Roberto’s Return

We hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday, and here’s to enjoying the start to the holiday season!