No Doubts Wine Bar Opens in St Johns in Portland

Back in October 2025, I made a brief mention here of the impending arrival of No Doubts Wine Bar in the St. Johns neighborhood. Recently I caught up with Hannah Doughty, one of No Doubts owners, to chat about this new project. Here’s what I learned.

Past Tenants in this Space

In that Small Bites article back in October, I mentioned that prior to No Doubts coming into this space it was home to The Groovy Floret, which originally started out as a food cart (they were at the Rose City Food Park). Their decor was full of color and fun, and their menu was vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free. Their final day of service was October 18, 2025.

Prior to that, the space was occupied by both food and non-food businesses. Before The Groovy Floret arrived, it was Bernstein’s Bagels, and before that it was Brass Tacks Deli, the sister spot to Brass Tacks Sandwiches (they served some vegan sandwiches). From what I can tell, the people behind Brass Tacks went on to create Maté Party, a line of canned maté drinks. I’ve purchased them at Fresh Love and liked them quite a bit.

Prior to Brass Tacks, the space was home to Geare Music, a recording studio and music shop started by Riley Geare and his dad. Riley was known for, among other things, his David Bowie tribute band called “Queen Bitch,” where he played Bowie. Before Geare Music was in there, the space was a barber shop.

Good Timing With The Groovy Floret

Hannah said that she was looking for a small space, and encountered a post from The Groovy Floret’s owner that indicated she was looking for someone to take over her lease. As they say, it was kismet.

“I’m so excited for anyone who has seen it as The Groovy Floret,” Hannah remarked. “It is going to look so different and I’m really excited to share the transformation pictures on this journey.” She’ll likely be posting them on their Instagram.

No Doubts Wine Bar: What’s in a Name?

During our conversation, Hannah referenced the band, “No Doubt,” but of course the wine bar is “No Doubts” with an S. I was curious to learn why she named the business “No Doubts,” and it has to do with her own name (not the band’s).

“It’s from my last name!” she exclaimed. “It’s Doughty, pronounced Dow-tee (or Dow-Dee depending on how you pronounce your T’s). When meeting people and they are trying to remember my last name, I’ve always said ‘Never doubt a Doughty’ as a phrase to remember my name by.”

She continued, “So the thought first came from my last name, then followed the path of supporting my dream. I am taking such a huge leap into something new, that I really have no true experience in. This process has been full of fears, anxieties, and many many doubts …” I am sure many of us reading this can relate.

She added, “But I wanted to speak confidence into my project and set the tone for both myself and my customers. No doubts that I can do this! No doubts that you will come into my bar and find a delicious glass of wine and an incredible meal! Cue many No Doubts phrases! That’s the energy I am putting behind this. That’s the story with the name.”

No Doubts Owners

Along with Hannah (who is the primary owner), Jesse Martinez is the other owner of No Doubts. Jesse is the chef and co-owner at Gumba—and they recently shared the news over there that they are moving to a new location (details TBD). Jesse will be creating and refining the No Doubts food menu.

The Partnership

To be clear, Hannah and Jesse are both partners in business and partners in life. That is not always an easy thing to navigate, but they’ve thought long and hard about how it will work between them.

“At the core of it, we have such a solid, strong friendship and mutual respect for each other,” explained Hannah. “And we’ve talked through the ‘what ifs’ so many times.” They are confident they will work well together during this project to make it a success.

Hannah, the Nurse

Hannah has been a nurse for the past 11 years. For the last nine years she’s been primarily in the ICU, and during the first two years she was on the med surg floor (where they handle a broad range of patient needs). She still plans to do her nursing work while running No Doubts. “I’m going to be figuring out how to balance these two because I feel so passionately about being a nurse,” she said. “It’s a career that I don’t want to fully give up.”

Despite her passion for nursing, she has reasons to dive into the entrepreneurial work that is the wine bar. “For so many reasons, I am looking to do something totally different—be able to be a little more creative and have a little bit more fun than in my primary job.”

She’s also really excited to bring the energy she has nurtured in nursing into a space where there’s not as many constraints as there are in healthcare. She wants to create an environment that feels caring and personal for their guests.

Size of the Space

I mentioned to Hannah that I had never been inside their space, so I wanted to get a sense of its size from her. “It’s probably the smallest space you will enter in Portland,” she remarked “It’s a very unique space.”

She explained some of the practical thinking she had when looking for a spot for No Doubts: “This has been a dream of mine for so long to do something like this—but I really had a specific list of requirements for it. I didn’t want to get myself in a really bad situation with having a rent I couldn’t afford, and a 2,000 square foot space that I can’t fill.”

This reminds me of something I read the other day about how so many commercial spaces being built today are so large. It’s hard for a small business to fill that large of a space, so they stay empty. And as I’ve said before, empty storefronts are no bueno.

Seating at No Doubts

They are still refining their final seating arrangements, but inside they will be able to seat around 10 people. The outdoor heated patio will allow for an additional 16 seats.

“There’s a huge patio,” Hannah added. “I’m so, so excited about the patio space, and we’re just about done with enclosing the first third of it. It’s going to feel like an indoor space.”

And on top of that is an additional patio space beyond what they are enclosing, which is around 900 square feet. “So for summer potential and outdoor potential—it’s a huge space,” she said.

No Doubts: The Look, the Feel, the Vibe

I asked Hannah how she would describe the vibe of the No Doubts space. “It is a really cute and cozy spot,” she explained. “We’re purposefully not sticking to any strong theme, too.” She mentioned that at one point she tried to come up with an all-encompassing word or theme for the place, and explained why it was a challenge.

“It’s been difficult for me to find one [word or theme] because it’s such a mix of our two personalities and what we’re passionate about. Overall, it’s more of an energy that I’m trying to create, which is warm, welcoming, comfortable, cozy neighborhood energy.”

She added, “This whole project feels fun and exciting to us.”

The Comfort of the Third Place

This led us to talk about the role of comfort in third places. Such a place is not home, not work/school, but a third location to spend meaningful time in. But I’ve noticed a move away from comfort in some places. That design offers things like uncomfortable furniture, which makes it less likely that you’ll stick around. Hannah said she loves spaces that are welcoming and wants No Doubts to be in that realm.

“I think about this when I want to bring people out with me,” explained Hannah. “If I have family visiting from out of town, or if I want to take my parents out, I can’t bring them to a spot where it’s concrete stools with no backs. I have wanted to create a space where any person is going to be able to walk into it and feel comfortable. That they’ll be able to sit for a long period of time and not have any pain or issues—and can find something on the menu they’re familiar with.”

And because space is so small—you walk in the door you can see right into the kitchen—she says that you feel like you’re walking into someone’s home.

To complete the look and feel, they’ll display some fun art; furnishing and objects were sourced via online marketplaces. “We’re on such a budget, and most of the decor, tables, and chairs—even some of the kitchen equipment—is all secondhand,” explained Hannah. This adds to the comfort level they are aiming for, with the hope that it will help make the place feel like home.

The Wines

I wondered if they were going to focus on a particular niche in the wine world. Will they do natural wines? European wines? Willamette Valley wines? Or something broader? Turns out, it’s going to be a mix of everything. Same goes for the food menu—variety is the spice of life.

Wine will be available by the glass or the bottle, and as for how they’ll choose what to stock, Hannah said, “We ask ourselves, what are we excited about this week? What’s tasting good, what’s really fun? We are going to have a mix of typical wines, as well as natural wines and some Pacific Northwest wines.” 

She continued, “I would love to get European and other countries in there too, but it’ll rotate somewhat regularly with the wine list. I just want my customers to be able to walk in and find something to love and feel comfortable with.”

And then there’s the person who comes with an open-ended scenario. “You know, maybe someone’s not that into wine, but they’ve had a Pinot Noir and they know what that is,” explained Hannah “And I also want someone to walk in and be like, ‘You know what? I’m wanting to branch out and be adventurous,’ and then I’ll have another option or two to talk to them about.”

We discussed non-alcoholic wines, and she hasn’t decided yet if they are going to offer any (“I am still in the process of tasting a few,” she said). But, they will have some NA beverages for sure. This includes some mocktails they are developing.

The Food

They plan to have about eight to ten menu items, which will be a mix of nibbles, small plates, and medium plates. As with the whole idea of the place, they are not sticking to an overly-defined theme.

“Jesse is such an incredibly creative chef,” explained Hannah. “He makes such delicious food that doesn’t always fall into a typical, ‘Oh, this is French, this is Italian, this is American’ kind of thing. And I just want to let him have total freedom with the fun dishes that he chooses to create.”

She explained further, “But we’ll have some typical offerings. We’ll definitely have charcuterie and some fun charcuterie pairings. A couple salads, and then bigger dishes. I know for sure that we’re going to have a Philly cheesesteak on the menu.” Makes me think of last year’s fall of Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks, RIP.

They are also working on what they call “papaya nachos” right now. Details TBD on this as they do some additional development and testing on this dish, but I, for one, am eager to see what this is all about.

They are also planning on accommodating those who want vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options.

No Doubt About No Doubts

It’s always interesting to hear from an owner or restaurateur as to what they think sets their place apart from others and/or their peers. First, she spoke about the risks she believes they are taking. “I think the fact that we are committed to serving things that we’re passionate about is a risk,” she said. “Jesse has worked in restaurants for years. He’s been his own business owner for nine years. It definitely is a risk to not have a theme.”

She continued, “But this project for both of us comes with such a passion, and we want to stick to that passion. By doing that, I think it’s going let our creativity shine so much. That will be the thing that sets us apart.”

“You might not always know what’s going to be on the menu,” she mused. “But you know that it’s going to be really good. I can guarantee that when you walk into our space, you’ll have a warm greeting, a comfortable place to sit in, and a really good drink and a plate of food. I really believe in our vision and commitment to that.”

Opening No Doubts

They are looking to open officially in the next couple of weeks, but did have a soft opening day over the weekend. As for when they’ll be open consistently, they’ll start with a four-days-a-week schedule of Wednesday to Saturday, 4pm to 9pm. They do want to expand their hours to be open seven days a week.

“We’re doing kind of a slow startup,” said Hannah. “As soon as we figure out the balance of life, we hope to open every day.” Note: No Doubts is 21+ only.

Wishing Hannah and Jesse all the best with No Doubts!

No Doubts Wine Bar [soft opening January 23, 2026]
8408 N Lombard Street, Portland
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