JJ’s Bar Will Open on SE Hawthorne and 46th Ave in Portland

Over the weekend I ran across an Instagram account for a place called JJ’s Bar. The address seemed familiar and when I looked at it, I knew exactly what the space was—home to The Cavern for six years, for one. Here’s what we know.

4601 SE Hawthorne: JJ’s Bar, Trail’s End, The Cavern, Tattoos

This address has been home to many places. Google Street View indicates it was once a tattoo studio and school called Captain Jack’s Tattoo (the website now goes to Captain Jack’s Tattoo School, which is now located on SE 82nd Avenue near SE Woodstock Blvd). And then in 2017 it became Hawthorne Public House; its location was described then by a person on Yelp as “seedier end of Hawthorne.”

In 2018, The Cavern opened in “the abandoned Hawthorne Public House space,” according to the Mercury. Bartender Jason Rocksmore opened this “whiskey-centric cocktail bar”—more at the Merc. They said goodbye in July 2024.

In November 2024, Trails End opened, a project by the folks behind The Standard and the Bottle Rocket Burgers food cart. It closed in May 2025. Last Call Saloon was to go in there shortly after, but its history is dim; it may have never gotten off the ground. I had emailed the owner but never heard back.

And that brings us to JJ’s.

JJ’s Bar: What’s in a Name?

I reached out to the JJ’s Bar folks on Instagram and the person monitoring the account, Jaret Ferratusco, told me this “JJ’s is primarily Jessica’s vision, in collaboration with a second person, Jaret,” he said. “Jessica’s first and middle initials are also JJ, while some people just happen to refer to me that way as a nickname. So, ‘Jessica & Jaret’ make up JJ’s.”

This Jessica is Jessica Grimmer, who has been part of a handful of other local projects over the years that you may recognize, including Barlow, The Picnic House, and High Noon.

JJ’s Bar: What They Offer

A Break From the World

Life is full of challenges and pitfalls, and JJ’s wants to be a place where you can hang out, bring your friends, and peace out from the worries of the world in a way that boosts your mood. From their Google listing:

“JJ’s is a new neighborhood bar on the corner of SE 46th & Hawthorne, where you can come in and say hi, people will say hi back, you can bring your friends, and things are okay in the world for a little bit.”

Sounds like they want foster a kinder, gentler reality.

Food

There are some interesting things on the menu, and a nice variety—“Chef-created small kitchen fare,” is how they describe the menu online. Jaret said, “The food menu is fun, cheeky, and scrumptious.”

They offer both savory and sweet options. That includes what they call an “Adult Happy Meal” consisting of a fish filet sandwich, fries, and a martini.

They also have a selection of skewers—two vegetarian, three meat. The Coconut Thai Chicken skewer (chicken, cilantro, toasted peanuts, and coconut) sounds great but the Mortadella (pistachio basil pesto and hot honey with the cured meat) sounds intriguing.

Along with that, they have a Nosh section—fries, a warm soft pretzel, elaborate chips and tots dishes, a wedge salad, a burger (beef or Impossible), and a few other things.

Down at the bottom of the menu is a selection of snacky things, from house pickles to “Skittle Diddles.”

And they have warm cookies, and a peanut buster parfait with vanilla gelato, toasted peanuts, and hot fudge. I hope you can get those warm cookies with an add-on of vanilla gelato, too.

Drinks

They describe their drink offerings as “cocktail forward,” but they have six zero-proof cocktails, which is a pretty healthy number, comparatively speaking. Looking at the drink menu, on the cocktail side, the Staten Long Island name gave me a good-natured chuckle, and there’s plenty of booze in this: vodka, rum, gin, tequila, cointreau, lemon and cola.

On the NA side, the Bambini Spritz calls to me, with NA prosecco, orange, rhubarb, and rosemary.

They also have a rotating selection of beer—there’s six beer taps along with canned options— and wine.

“Jessica created the food and drink programs,” said Jaret. “She’s good at that stuff. It’s a lot of fun.”

Inside JJ’s Bar

They can seat around 40 people at a time. “There’s a few private booths, one sizeable wrap-around booth bathed in gorgeous natural light that sits several parties comfortably, and we’ve sprinkled in some high-top tables around the place for adventurous types who enjoy taking in the whole room,” explained Jaret. “All anchored by a fun, fancy-free L-shaped counter top for those of us who prefer to sit at the bar. I myself am just that type of person, so I’m looking forward to seeing who gravitates up front for ours.”

He continued. “JJ’s is also a corner bar, sitting pretty right on the corner of SE 46th and Hawthorne, for which we’ve got three cute little picnic tables to line the sidewalk. Really, both Jessica and I are aficionados of the social drinking experience, so we enjoy a variety of seating options, and we hope our guests will, too.”

Their plan is to open Wednesday, July 8. Days open are Wednesday to Sunday, 2pm to midnight, except on Friday, when they’ll close at 2am.

“Above all we want it to be your Happy Place,” said Jaret. “Friendly, familiar, open to you. Jessica and I are 80s/90s kids, and we’ve built up the vibe with things we loved then and now.”

I’m excited for Jessica and Jaret as they put the finishing touches on this project. I look forward to stopping in when they are open.

JJ’s Bar [opening July 8, 2026]
4601 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
JJ’s Bar website | Instagram