Hollywood Bar & Carts To Open This Summer in Portland

Across the street from the Hollywood Trader Joe’s, a new project called Hollywood Bar & Carts has been in process since last year. It’s a mix of indoor and outdoor spaces, food carts, a bar, and more. And they are looking to open their doors this summer.

When I lived in the Hollywood District from 2016 to 2019, this block of NE 41st Avenue between NE Broadway and NE Halsey was mostly occupied by single family homes turned into businesses—primarily law offices. But there was Mother & Child, who is still there, as well as a community acupuncture office that is now gone. A multi-story housing building had recently been built—Alcove Portland, which offers micro-studios of 150sf to 200sf.

Today there are multiple multistory buildings on that little street: The aforementioned Alcove Hollywood, along with 41 Central (studio and one-bedroom apartments between 329sf and 427sf); and Belong Art Community, offering more standard-sized apartments.

Belong is the building right next to the Hollywood Bar & Carts.

Hollywood Bar & Carts: The Location

This property was the location of one of the aforementioned single family homes that had been converted into a collection of offices for attorneys. It had a relatively big parking lot, which will be used as the space for up to nine food carts. The house has been renovated and will be serve as the bar space, offering up cocktails and local beer.

From the street, the property would look deceptively small, but that really was an illusion. 10,000 square feet is a really good size and will make for a nice pod tucked right in there.

Hollywood Bar & Carts Owners and Concept

Trevor Salas and Shane Ebberts are the primary owners and operators of the project. Additionally, some folks behind the Brooklyn Carreta pod are minority owners in this project. Trevor and Shane also brought on some individuals that have quite a bit of extensive experience with the food cart pods. 

When I spoke to them early in the project’s lifespan, Trevor told me, “What we’re doing is we’re taking that 10,000 square foot lot over by the Trader Joe’s. And we are completely renovating what is currently the attorney’s office into an amazing bar and tap room with a semi-enclosed patio, and then a courtyard of nine food trucks.”

They aim to avoid duplicating cuisines among the carts—something we also have seen with Brooklyn Carreta and Fremont Garage. I think that’s smart, as it promotes true diversity of cuisines.

They’ll have a communal space where you can relax and enjoy time there on your own, or with friends/family. “We’re trying to really separate our ourselves from what most people might think of when they think of a food cart pod,”said Trevor. “We’re being intentional from the ground up—it’s not going to feel like a parking lot with some food carts parked on it that’s attached to a bar. We’re going to have an amazing patio and courtyard.”

Along with the carts, community space, and bar, they look forward to hosting a variety of events like trivia, bingo, and more.

They hope that this will be a place that folks nearby in Hollywood, Grant Park, and Laurelhurst (just over the pedestrian walkway at the Hollywood Transit Center) will enjoy, as well as anyone who wants to stop by. Bonus: The Hollywood MAX station is just a few minutes walk away.

Working With Size Constraints

And while 10,000 square feet is a good amount of space—a little under a quarter of an acre—they have made efforts to maximize the space they do have. One of the ways to do that is to lower the main level. At the beginning, it sat a few feet off the ground. 

“We’re actually lowering it to grade so that we could get rid of any sort of staircases and ramps and things like that to really maximize the indoor and outdoor space for the people that are going to be there enjoying themselves,” explained Trevor.

The Timing of Hollywood Bar & Carts

Over the past year, it has become clear that the Hollywood District is home to a number of revitalization plans. It’s a time of change, and this pod comes along right at the time when people are open to changes in the neighborhood.

There’s the Hollywood Q, currently in its soft opening phase, and offering a new taphouse (Spotlight Brewing) and food hall on the ground floor, with flexible workspaces above them.

There’s the whole Hollywood Film District project, “… Rare movie screenings, festivals, gathering spaces for classes, social spaces for movie lovers to connect with each other. In short, the film district will be a film lover’s dream neighborhood.” This, according to Doug Whyte, executive director of the Hollywood Theatre, who was quoted in a Willamette Week article by Rachel Saslow last year.

The Planet Fitness has opened in the old Rite-Aid (FKA Fred Meyer). I walk in the lobby and it is unrecognizable as the drugstore where I purchased many items for my apartment and filled many prescriptions during my breast cancer treatment.

And on top of all this, there’s the Hollywood Hub project currently being built atop the Hollywood Transit Center property. It is a “12-story, 224-unit transit-oriented development” in a “mixed-use, mixed-income building.”

And Hollywood Bar and Carts is pretty much in the middle of it all.

A lot of people already live in the Hollywood District; there’s a lot of apartment buildings in it already. The Hollywood Hub will only add to that. This is a great amenity for the neighborhood.

Hollywood Bar & Carts Design

They worked with an architectural and engineering firm for this project. They also contemplated hiring a designer for some of the fininshing touches. “We’re trying to create almost like a ‘Cheers’ TV show type of atmosphere—like a neighborhood spot,” said Trevor.

As for the look and feel, here are some renderings (click to enlarge)

Family-Friendly for All

This will definitely be a family-friendly kind of place, with a comfortable and usable patio space for everyone to relax in. And it will offer that flexibility that many of Portland’s pods offer—choices upon choices of delicious food. Trevor described a scenario for his own family—himself, his wife, their daughter, and a dog.

“Sometimes we just need to get out of the house,” he explained “And, you know, this is a perfect place for that. I can walk down there with a stroller. My wife and I can sit there—she can have a glass of wine and I can have a beer. We might split some tacos or something. And everyone can just be there and enjoy themselves.”

He continued, “And on the flip side of that, if you’re a single person or someone who’s just looking for a drink, you want to go sit at the bar or sit inside where it’s more of a bar feel, then there’s that option for you, as well. So we’re really trying to be all inclusive to any type of demographic that might find our place appealing in that area.”

Four Seasons

Because of the way it’s constructed, the outdoor space consists of three walls and a roof and can be climate controlled. “So whether it’s rainy or windy or whatever, people can feel comfortable,” said Trevor.

Also, they’ll have the indoor space and a basement for bingo, trivia, and movies. “We hope to bring the community together and open it up and make it fun,” said Trevor.

Thoughts From Shane

Shane shared his thoughts and feelings about the project—he has especially enjoyed the cultivation and relationships side of the business. “My favorite part of the process has been all of the upfront work, the study, the demographics, chatting with people, trying to create it,” said Shane. “It’s just such an amazing spot and a great great location. I mean, Trader Joe’s is just across the street!

“And we’re really trying to make this not only an amazing experience for our customers, but also an amazing experience for our vendors. I think there’s this misconception that food carts are self-contained—that you just park it anywhere and produce amazing food. And that’s not necessarily the case, right?

“We’re going to have every cart have natural gas run to it, water, electricity—everything stepped out perfectly for them—and underground, so it looks really clean and nice. And we’re going to have on-site storage for our vendors. 

“We’re really trying to make it a premium experience for everyone involved, on the front end and the back end. At the end of the day, their success is our success. We need to put them in a position to succeed. So it’s really a partnership in a way with our vendors.”

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Trevor, Shane, and their team are working hard to get Hollywood Bar & Carts open to offer a great food cart pod experience—a variety of carts, a bar, myriad types of seating and a comfortable place to spend some time. Wishing them all the best in the process!

Hollywood Bar & Carts [projected opening summer 2026]
1607 NE 41st Avenue, Portland
Hollywood Bar & Carts website