Small Bites: Grits N’ Gravy, Farag’s, Sure Shot, and More

Breakfast at Grits and Gravy.
Breakfast at Grits N’ Gravy is no more. Photo credit: Grits N’ Gravy.

Grits N’ Gravy has closed. (Not to be confused with Gravy on N Mississippi.) This was a breakfast spot downtown next door to Souvlaki Queen. At first they thought they could do one more breakfast but they “have been given no leeway.” In their words, “Times have gotten hard and business has been declining since last August. We held on for as long as we could but we can’t keep going.”

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Massalia Books & Coffee Will Open on NE Glisan in Portland

Future home of Massalia Books & Coffee.

Last month I wrote about a commercial conversion going on at a house on NE Glisan Street in the Kerns neighborhood. Through my research I had learned that the business intended for that space is called Massalia Books & Coffee. Shortly after publishing the piece, I was contacted by the person behind the project. I meet up with him and his daughter at Domingo’s to chat about it, and here is what I’ve learned.

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Thunderbird Will Open on N Mississippi Ave in Portland

Thunderbird Bar Coming Soon!! sign.
I spotted this sign on a walk while my laundry was drying.

Thunderbird, a bar from the Lighting Bar Collective, will open in the former space of The Uncanny, which closed in May 2026. I first caught wind of all this through their liquor license application, then not long after that I saw the sign above as I was walking around the N Mississippi commercial strip.  Here is what we know.

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Small Bites: James Beard Awards Winners, Coffee, and More

Two of the three James Beard Awards Winners from Portland this year.
The team from Scotch Lodge, and Ryan Roadhouse of Nodoguro. Photo credit: Jack Li/Galdones Photography and Huge Galdones/Galdones Photography.

Portland’s James Beard Awards winners in 2026—not one, but two! No … three! On Monday night we learned who won the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards. Portland was represented by two of these awards—one for Scotch Lodge for Outstanding Bar and one for Ryan Roadhouse at Nodoguro for Best Chef: Northwest and Pacific (AK, HI, OR, WA).

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