Flour Market Cafe Reopens on NE 30th and Alberta in Portland

Good news: the Flour Market Cafe will reopen this month—and not too far away from its original location. They will take over the Dogwood wine bar space in the mornings and early afternoons, right there on NE Alberta and 30th Avenue.

A Reminder of What Happened to the Flour Market Cafe

Back in mid-December, Lisa Belt, the owner of Flour Market, announced she was closing down the Flour Market Cafe. At the time, we reported her saying that she’d tried many things to stay afloat, but “there’s just no getting around it”—it made no financial sense to stay open there. Since then, she has been doing some vendor markets and pre-orders at her production space.

She also wrote then, “If anybody has a brilliant location thought or secret idea, this is the time to send me a DM.” Well, it is clear that this exact thing happened.

Very Good News: Flour Market Cafe Returns

Last month, Lisa sent out an email about their return as a cafe with the sentence, “We have very good news.”

“This definitely bodes well,” I thought.

She went on to say that shortly after she announced she was closing down the cafe on NE 30th Ave at Killingsworth, she was contacted by Brant and Gabby from Dogwood Wine & Flowers. They have been a wholesale customer of Flour Market since 2022. Turns out, they were looking to implement what a number of places around town have successfully done—have a business use their space when their business is not open.

A Twofer

We’ve seen this double-duty scenario in other parts of Portland: In Montavilla, LoRo Coffee operates in the space in the morning and Ranch Pizza in the afternoon; in Roseway/Cully, Guilder (FKA Junior’s Roasted Coffee) operates in the morning, with Upright Beer Station opening their taproom in the afternoon and into the evening; in University Park, Living Room Coffee uses the space in the morning and it becomes Living Room Wines in the afternoon. Also—interesting to see that in all these cases, the mornings are all about coffee.

That said, flip that over and we saw Broder in the morning/afternoon and Estes in the evenings. Now, of course, Estes has opened their own spot next door to where Flour Market Cafe used to be. And at the writing of this article, Broder is looking for its next evening partner.

Eating and Drinking at the New Flour Market Cafe

Flour Market will be serving drip coffee as they did before before, which is great news. I continue to hear from more and more people about how they just want to find a place that serves a good cup of drip coffee, so Flour Market will continue to be a reliable source for that.

On the food side, Lisa will be selling bread, pastries, crackers, etc. like she did before at the old location. More on the bread side: “We will always have the sandwich loaves, Rugbrød, and plain ciabatta, but things like olive ciabatta and other specialty breads will be one or two days a week.” She will post a schedule for the special breads, so you’ll know when to expect them. And any substantial additions to the menu will be developed over time.

One of the things that is different is that she’s now working in a smaller space at Dogwood, but it has the potential to be wonderfully collaborative. “Space is very limited, so we will work together to offer items that can cross utilize prep, etc,” she explained. “Things that will work for me in the mornings/lunch and things that will move into evenings with wine service. I’ll start out slow and figure out how to expand as we go.”

She added, “Part of the reason Dogwood was doing the remodel in the first place was to expand their own menu.” So that’s also very exciting!

The New vs. the Old Location

I was curious to learn how different this new location feels to her compared to the old area. “One of the really nice things about the location is that it’s close enough to the old one that I will maintain relationships with so many of my regulars,” said Lisa. “We’re basically still on the same dog walking circuit.”

She continued, “One thing missing from the new location will be the public seating space of Concordia Commons, which I will miss. It was always a great view to look out there and watch families and neighbors enjoying that space. But like the old space, Dogwood is just off the main drag of Alberta and there is a sort of old world charm to that which I enjoy.”

And as far as having this break between cafe operation goes, she has appreciated having the time—but also missed the cafe. “I’m not one to be bored,” she said. “It has been great to catch up on things that fell by the wayside when I was never home. But I love having the relationships with people who come to the cafe, so I’m looking forward to being back.”

About Dogwood Wine & Flowers

She wrote a bit about Dogwood, which has offered wine, beer, and drinking snacks (but as I said earlier, the food menu is expanding), along with the flowers side of things.

“If you’re familiar with Dogwood, you already know that it’s a space where Flour Market regulars will feel very comfortable. If you’re not familiar with Dogwood, prepare yourself for a treat. Brant is the wine guy and, obviously there’s nothing better than that. Actually, there is. It’s a wine guy married to a flower gal.

“Gabby creates magic with flora—most of which is grown on their own property. On the occasions when I do our wholesale delivery, it’s always such a treat to open the door to Dogwood and be hit with the visuals and the scents of their gorgeous little shop. You’ll see.

“With Gabby‘s design talent and Brant’s carpentry skills, they are making the space even more delightful now. We are so lucky.”

She added, “Knowing them, their operation, their ethics, and their space, it was an absolute no-brainer.”

Lisa is also excited about the remodel at Dogwood. “[It] has always been a beautiful space and their recent remodel has made it more conducive to the cafe crowd, so I’m looking forward to sharing company with those folks again. And even though it’s close to the old cafe, I know there will be lots of new faces, which will be fun.”

More Seating

Dogwood looks to open officially today, Tuesday, March 3 with some added seating, which will benefit both the wine bar and Flour Market Cafe. There are now approximately 15 seats inside—including new banquettes—and 30 on the covered/heated outdoor patio.

Flour Market Cafe Reopening Schedule

Look for Flour Market Cafe to have a soft reopening on Sunday, March 15. She’ll start the new schedule on Wednesday, March 18, and the cafe hours will be Wednesday to Sunday, 9am to 1pm. These are reduced hours compared to the old cafe, but she believes that along with the sharing of resources with Dogwood it will create a much better balance in her life, for which she is happy.

I look forward to the return of Flour Market Cafe, and getting to know Dogwood a little better, too. Congratulations to all involved in this impending reopening!

Flour Market Cafe [reopening March 15, 2026]
4932 NE 30th Avenue, Portland
Flour Market website | Instagram