Tag: closings

Restaurant, bar, cafe, and food truck closings are the subject some of the most read Portland food news on Bridgetown Bites.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (May 24)

Help Fresh Love feed anyone. This week I learned about Fresh Love‘s project to help people access good food. They keep a gift card that can be used to pay for meals: “When someone comes in who cannot pay, no questions asked, we use this gift card to cover the cost of the bill.” Staff refills the card but you can, too—meaning, you can add to the card as part of your bill when you purchase something at Fresh Love. I think it’s a wonderful thing to do, and so simple. “Thanks so much for your help and let’s keep paying it forward!” 7434 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Adult ice cream social planned at Cafe Rowan. They announced on Instagram their plans to do an “adult ice cream social” in a couple of weeks. Saturday evenings 7pm to 11pm (more or less). “5 ridiculous sundaes, 5 ridiculous cocktails, 5 ridiculous glasses of wine… its gonna be a ridiculously fun time.” 4437 SE Cesar Chavez Blvd, Portland

Jacqueline is rumored to be moving. A Bridgetown Bites tipster sent me this inside tip: “Jacqueline will be moving into the former La Moule/Bakers place at 25th and Clinton, probably around the September timeframe.” I reached out to Jacqueline early this week for more info; I will share anything that I learn from them. You may remember that La Moule closed last July and Baker’s, a “bar with fun food,” took over that space in November 2023, then closed in early 2024. 2500 SE Clinton Street, Portland

Toki will shutter on Sunday, May 26. Right after Sunday brunch service Toki, a downtown Portland restaurant from the Cho family (Han Oak, Jeju), will close. They announced it on Instagram. And while it’s goodbye Toki, they will continue to hone their work at their other restaurants—both in experimenting with new dishes/concepts and returning to things the work for them: “As a collective team at HAN OAK and JEJU we’ll try some new ideas, bring classics back like the KOREAN FRIED CHICKEN with ‘essence of instant ramen’, the CRUNCHWRAP SUPREME, the HANOKONOMIYAKI, and the BAO! We’ll do our best to keep growing, intentionally.” 580 SW 12th Avenue, Portland

Bonus: As you’ve probably heard, Red Lobster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. I was listening to an NPR story about it and the best thing that came out of the entire piece, IMO, is that Red Lobster put together a playlist of AI-generated music called “Cheddar Bay-I.” I love a good pun (and I love those Cheddar Bay Biscuits, ngl). My first experience with Red Lobster was years ago in Beaumont TX, where when I said I didn’t know what a hush puppy was, they gave me a half dozen on the house, “so you can say you’ve had them.” In the Portland metro area, there are Red Lobsters in Gresham, Tigard, and Vancouver, WA; there does not seem to be any Red Lobsters in Portland proper.

Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Zaiqa To Open in Old Bambuza Space
Bobacat Teahouse Will Open in Irvington
Good News: PSU’s Library Food Carts Will Remain Open

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Four Things I Learned This Week (May 3)

CSA Demystified. Head to Vivienne on Monday, May 6 for a free, informal CSA-centric event from the PNWCSA called “CSA Demystified.” It’s all “about the benefits of Community Supported Agriculture as well as the learning curve. Sip on wine while we have a lively conversation and Q&A with local farmers and CSA veterans.” As someone who ran a CSA for a decade, I can tell that these types of events are really informative and fun. You can RSVP here. 2724 NE Alberta Street, Portland

The Sudra is closing. This one hits hard, as I love their food: The Sudra, serving up vegan Indian-inspired food, is, as they say, calling it quits. They explain on Instagram: “This winter was the worst we’ve had in years. We were hoping things would pick up with the nicer weather but unfortunately that hasn’t been the case. We’ll be around until the end of May so please come through to eat, drink, and say good bye.” Another reminder that if there’s a place you’ve been meaning to check out, do it. 28 NE 28th Avenue, Portland

Oh mah gaw, The Deck returns next week! I love this floating restaurant on the Columbia River, with its classic American and pub fare (favorites include the steak bites, bay shrimp salad, and cheese curds), good beer, plus soothing views on the water. They reopen on Wednesday, May 8 and then 11am to sunset, daily (until they close back up again in the fall). New this season: a dessert menu and Sunday brunch. It’s dog-friendly, too. 2901 NE Marine Drive, Portland

Portland Cider Co wins big. From their PR folks: “Portland Cider Company’s Original Gold Cider took home the top award at this year’s International Brewing and Cider Awards held in Manchester and London, United Kingdom. Original Gold, the company’s most-awarded cider, earned its 12th gold medal at this year’s competition, then received the best-in-class trophy at the awards ceremony. This is the first time in the competition’s 136-year history that a U.S. cidery has brought home this trophy.” Congrats, Portland Cider Co! 8925 SE Jannsen Road, Clackamas

Bonus: 503 Day. There’s been a campaign going on this year to make May 3, “503 Day” in Portland. Best snark about it comes from Reddit: “503 day is a holiday made up by phone companies to sell more area codes.” City Cast Portland is behind the push. I kind of like it. Throughout the City of Portland

Here are some of the stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Benditos Latin Fusion Has Opened in the Old Blossoming Lotus Space
There Be Monsters Is Closing This Weekend
Tikka Taco Rito To Open in the Pearl This Summer
The Willamette Wine Spa Will Open in Irvington Later This Year

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Four Things I Learned This Week (April 19)

Stumptown Coffee’s grand opening downtown is tomorrow. Stumptown is leaving the Ace Hotel and relocating around the corner at SW 11th and Washington. They are pulling out all the stops, starting with an 8am opening where the first 50 guests get a Stumptown swag bag and a free drink. Other fun stuff includes a donut pop-up from Heyday (10am to noon); DJ Lev spinning tunes starting at 10am; and a chocolate and coffee tasting from Woodblock Chocolate (2pm to 3pm). There will be a raffle, too. 1140 SW Washington Street, Suite 103, Portland

The end is near for Cloud Pine Tea + Culture. I love this little tea house and dim sum spot in Milwaukie’s downtown, and am sorry to see it set to close. Sunday, June 23 will be its last day of service. “We have always set out to be a 3-year project,” they explain. So head on over there for some great food and tea! 10835 SE Main Street, Milwaukie

Snappy’s westside? Snappy’s, the beloved sandwich shop in SE PDX, looks like it’s going to open in NW Portland where the Little Big Burger was, according to documents filed with the city. Many thanks to the tipster who sent this, along with their musing, “I love their Italian sub, and having a location within walking distance would be excellent.” I bet there are a bunch of you who feel similarly. 930 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland

Hollywood Water Avenue Coffee location: FOR LEASE. It might sound like I’m beating a dead horse with this one, but I drove by this week and saw several “FOR LEASE” signs plastered on the exterior of the building. As “Detective Homer Simpson” said, “And that’s the end of that chapter.” Here’s hoping something good arrives there sooner than later. 4615 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

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Four Things I Learned This Week (March 29)

I may have been captured by doing my taxes this week (the reason behind my absence), but I still kept an ear to the ground on some of the goings-on in Portland. Let’s go!

Pacific Market burned. On Tuesday morning I got an email from Portland Fire & Rescue about the 3 alarm fire that consumed the building that held Pacific Market, a popular Asian market in the Madison South neighborhood of Northeast Portland. On Thursday the firefighters returned to the scene to put out any hotspots; 20-foot flames were visible during the fire. Thao Tu, president of the Vietnamese Community of Oregon, laments its destruction (the market had been around for over three decades), but said, “We hope that the owner will consider to rebuild the store so people in the community will come back.”

And remember The Snug? They are located next door to what was Pacific Market. They posted a really nice message on their Instagram (with some very sad photos) after the fire. “We are incredibly saddened by the loss of our next-door neighbors at Pacific Market. As we have built our business this last year, we have relied on them to feed us, and Pacific Market has always been a hub of the South Madison neighborhood. We will miss them terribly, and hope that all their employees, family members and neighbors in the area are recovering.” 6750 NE Broadway, Portland

Quiche Me If You Can opens this weekend. Check them out starting Saturday, March 30, in Montavilla (Sebastiano’s old location): “We’ve been working hard to get it ready and we plan to open the doors for the very first time THIS SATURDAY! We still don’t have tables or chairs but we will have quiche for you to take home, just in time for Easter.” 411 SE 81st Avenue, Portland

Espresso makes a return to Denizens Cafe. When Denizens (formerly Rocky Butte Espresso Bar, but reimagined with more food) first opened last June, they did not offer espresso drinks. I seem to remember them being concerned about space and where exactly to put and operate their machine (not that they disliked serving espresso). I’m happy to see that they found a way to incorporate their espresso machine into the cafe, and make the drinks so beloved by their community again. In their words, “Now, in addition to our all-day brunch menu, you can order a latte, mocha, croissant, sweet roll, and more! Don’t miss out!” 6912 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

McCormick & Schmick’s (Harborside and Pilsner Room) closes after this weekend. Chatter on Facebook sprouted up this week about the closing of the last Portland location of this seafood chain, and Willamette Week spread the story. Landry’s Inc. bought the chain in 2012; they still own Jake’s Famous Crawfish, which I hope they won’t close. The location of McCormick & Schmick’s is for sale—the listing was posted earlier in March. Another farewell to an “old Portland” business. 309 S Montgomery Street, Portland