Tag: closings

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

Posted on

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

Posted on

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

Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (March 15)

Work for Ota Tofu. Over on Craigslist there’s a posting about a job in the early morning, making tofu. That means “operating our soy milk machines and cleaning machines after use” and “scooping and pressing tofu.” Starts at $17/hour. Ota Tofu is the oldest tofu companies in the U.S. and it is excellent. 812 SE Stark Street, Portland

Viking Soul Food is selling their cart at The Bite on Belmont. They’ll be keeping their restaurant in Woodstock, but the cart is for sale. Asking price: $20K. Their goal is to “focus on other opportunities” now that they have a brick and mortar, plus they are looking to do farmers markets, perhaps. As for when they are leaving Belmont, they said on Instagram, “Not entirely sure yet when the last day will be as that will be dependent on when the buyer wants to take over.” 4255 SE Belmont Street, Portland

Cow Bell Cheese Shop is helping the kids. Starting today and going until Sunday, March 17, head to Cow Bell Cheese Shop to participate in a fundraiser for Sunnyside Environmental School’s 8th grade Marine Biology trip to Catalina Island. I have to say, I love the Channel Islands and have great memories of visiting there in my youth—in fact, I played my first ever game of mini golf there on Catalina Island. I remember the water being incredibly clear just off-shore. Anyway, here’s more on the fundraiser:

“We will be donating 20% off our sales from those dates to the program—but more importantly, we are using this as an opportunity to “cheesify” the next generation of potential cheesemongers … We’ll be putting them to work every day of the fundraiser: cutting and wrapping cheese, handing out samples, making and serving fondue. If you enjoy discovering new cheeses at Cow Bell, but you’ve always been slightly disappointed by how tall the cheesemongers are, this is finally our chance to rectify that issue for you.” 231 SE Alder Street, Portland

Brains. BRAINS! Le Clown, which is “celebrating the modern bistronomy of France” there in the Dame Collective, is now offering cervelle: that’s poached brain, beurre citron, fried caper, and fine herbs. “Due to popular demand we’ve done it! We will be offering cervelle in limited quantities on Tuesdays only. Off menu, by request only. Come and get it!” If you like brains, this is a not-miss for you. 5425 NE 30th Avenue, Portland

Posted on

Four Things I Learned This Week (March 8)

Viking Pancake Breakfast this Sunday. Throughout the year—except during the pandemic—the Norse Hall in NE Portland would hold what they call a “Viking Pancake Breakfast.” My husband and I have loved going and really missed it during COVID. It started up again in the past year or so, and this month’s Breakfast is a fundraiser for the Portland Nordic Chorus (which I sang with, briefly). 20% of the proceeds from entry fees will go to them and their work.

From 8:30am to noon on Sunday, March 10, you’ll get all-you-can-eat pancakes, sausage links, fruit, scrambled eggs, orange juice, and coffee or tea. It’s open-seating, no reservations. $10 adults; $6 children age 3-10; under 3 eat free. Pay cash at the door. 111 NE 11th Avenue, Portland

Closings—Rusa, Bar Norman, Bee’s (early). Some closings are happening this month and I’m sorry to see them all go. In an email entitled “A Joyful Goodbye,” Bar Norman announced their closing: “Bar Norman is closing on April 6th. We’ve had a thrilling run on Clinton Street and while I wish we could continue on, this chapter of the bar has come to a close. We’re going to spend the next month celebrating this special place and we hope you’ll join us.” They also posted on Instagram. 2615 SE Clinton Street, Portland

Rusa, a food cart serving Eastern European+Latin American combinations, announced on social media, “When you have nothing left, it’s time to move forward. Rusa is permanently closing.” They may make it to the end of month, but the real end is when the food runs out. 1027 NE Alberta Street, Portland

Bee’s Cakes closed their doors earlier this year, with the decision to stay until May, but vandals did their thing one time too many, and Rebecca is closing things down by the end of the month. Most recently they dumped out garbage all over the little parking lot, tore down some outdoor lights, damaged the door, and cut the power, leading to a significant loss of product. It does not feel safe for her and her family any more. This breaks my heart and why the city tolerates this stuff is beyond me. 7137 NE Fremont Street, Portland

Bardo, a tea room, is open. I recently became aware of Bardo, a tea room on NE Killingsworth across the street from Extracto (where I get coffee semi-regularly). I’ve wondered about this little white building for years, and I’m so curious about the interior (which I can now check out—and have tea). The folks behind Bardo have given their mission a lot of thought: “Our aim at Bardo, is not simply to offer you high quality tea, but it is also to weave the story that connects the soil, to the farmer, to the tea, to the cup.” Their hours are here. 2926 NE Killingsworth Street, Portland

Anniversaries—Higgins and Du’s Grill. Higgins celebrates 30 years and in honor of that, Chef Greg Higgins and his team have prepared a special menu for the month of March, “both in honor of his mentor [Chef Joseph Matter of Ribeauvillé, Alsace, France] and as a nod to the dishes that his loyal guests have loved the best over the years.” The menus are accessible from the Higgins website. 1239 SW Broadway, Portland

And Du’s Grill celebrates 29 years! On social media, they said, “I can’t remember the exact date of Du’s Grill’s inception. But I know it’s sometime around when the cherry blossoms start showing n the trees … Thanks for keeping us going all these years!!!” 5365 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

Posted on

The Sad Story of the Closing of Pho Gabo

Vietnamese beef pho with spring rolls—some of the food you used to be able to get at Pho Gabo on NE Fremont. Photo credit: Pho Gabo

Over the weekend I learned about the closing of Pho Gabo via an article in Willamette Week. This modest, unassuming-looking Vietnamese restaurant has been there for the past six and a half years; the location has been home to restaurants serving Asian food for over 30 years. It’s a beloved spot in Roseway (a neighborhood restaurant, you might say), and there is much dismay among many neighbors.

Continue reading “The Sad Story of the Closing of Pho Gabo”