Portland food news and views
Portland runs on coffee. ☕️
There are over 200 roasters in the Portland area, including Extracto, Heart, Coava, Stumptown, Oblique, Rocky Butte, Futura, Water Avenue, and more.
For over a week now, the longtime owners of Juniors (and Guilder Cafe), Caryn and Mike Nelson, have released a multipart story about a major change coming the the business: There is new ownership at Junior’s Roasted Coffee—Ryan Wilbur and Laila Ghambari have purchased it and Guilder. Here’s a summary of what’s been going on.
Continue reading “New Ownership at Junior’s Roasted Coffee”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
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
Earlier this month I got an email from a reader:
“Looking to boost this to help out a local small business, a pillar of the community, and a damn fine coffee shop: buried on an Oblique Coffee Roasters’ March 7 Instagram post was a nonfunctioning link to a GoFundMe page. Looks Like they are going to need some assistance to quickly retire debt and save the business … I like Oblique Coffee, it’s a fun, funky space with a whale of a backstory and great music, and I hope this neighborhood gem will be spared from an uncertain fate.”
I reached out to John Chandler (aka Jack), the man behind Oblique, shortly after that and we met for a chat and a great cup of coffee on the topic of the needs behind this fundraiser.
Continue reading “Help Save the Landauer Mercantile Building, Home to Oblique Coffee Roasters”
Photo credit: Battle Grounds Gaming Cafe
A few weeks ago, I stopped in at the new Battle Grounds Gaming Cafe on NE Sandy in the Hollywood District. My husband is a big D&D fan and plays with multiple groups throughout the month, so this place was on his radar early on. It’s pretty great inside—there are games and related items to buy, games to rent, games to borrow, separate rooms in which to play, a chill vibe. And a very nice cafe!
Continue reading “Battle Grounds Gaming Cafe Has Coffee and More”