Portland food news and views
Bridgetown is a nickname for Portland because of all the bridges that span the Willamette River – 12 in all (of those, one is dedicated to rail and one prohibits private cars and trucks).
About a month after temporarily closing for its highly anticipated move, Gumba Pasta Parlor is gearing up for its next chapter. While fans and locals await their reopening, the Bridgetown Bites team got a sneak peek of Gumba’s new space and wanted to share a preview. It’s still under construction, but here’s a glimpse at what’s taking shape ahead of Gumba’s exciting reopening later this month.
Continue reading “Sneak Peek: Inside Gumba’s New Space”
A relatively new spot called Novel Book Bar has opened in Old Town Chinatown in the former Mingle Lounge space. First opening their doors last December, they offer a chill vibe in a space where you can have something to drink, eat, and relax by yourself or with friends. I had a chance to stop by and check it out, and was able to chat with Novel Book Bar’s Rolando Mingledoff—here’s what I learned.
Continue reading “Novel Book Bar Is Open in Northwest Portland”
The other day a Bridgetown Bites tipster messaged me about something called “Eyesore” that I should know about: “So this opened right by me and it’s so cute and perfect.” Color me curious. So I reached out to Eyesore’s owner and barista, Beck, to learn more about this little coffee cart she runs out of her Irvington sunroom.
Continue reading “Eyesore Coffee Is Planted In a Sunroom in Northeast Portland”
Chris Pfeifer, who you may know from The 1905 in North Portland and Original Dream Pizza in Northeast Portland, has opened Dick’s Pizza, a new pizzeria in the Sellwood-Moreland section of Southeast Portland. It’s in the former location of Sunny’s Pizza, and is located between a Cena and its private dining space Festa. Update 3/16/26: Thanks to a friend of the blog, I’ve learned that they are in soft opening pop-up mode until mid-April, when they will fully open.
Continue reading “Dick’s Pizza Has Opened in the Old Sunny’s Pizza Space in Sellwood”
Painful and tragic: The flagship Elephants Deli burns. There’s plenty of news outlets reporting on this, but I’ll share the news releases (first, second) produced by Portland Fire & Rescue. Essentially:
“At 1am on the morning of March 10, 2026, Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a commercial fire at the Elephant’s Deli at 115 NW 22nd Avenue in NW Portland. This was a fire that was human caused on the exterior of the structure that extended to the interior of the building and into the elevated roof structure resulting in significant fire damage.”
Continue reading “Small Bites: Elephants Deli Burns, Mikado, Brunch, and More”