Small Bites: bb.q Chicken, Layoffs, Frontera Sur, and More

Chicken dishes from bb.q Chicken on this edition of Small Bites.
Photo credit: bb.q Chicken.

bb.q Chicken celebrates 30 years. The folks from Korean fried chicken chain bb.q Chicken reached out to me to inform me that this September marks bb.q Chicken’s 30th anniversary. And not only that, it’s also the birthday of their beloved mascot, ChiBBoQ. To celebrate, they are rolling out a nationwide promotion: free delivery September 4 to 7 and free ddeok-bokki (one of the best street foods ever) September 8 to 12. 2850 SE 82nd Avenue #2 and 917 SW Alder Street, Portland

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Small Bites: Off The Griddle, Wellspent Market, Pamana, and More

kick-fremont-fest-2021-portland-oregon
Scenes from a past Fremont Fest. This year it’s happening August 2, 2025.

Off The Griddle on Alberta has soft opened. A new vegan spot in the old Chilango space called Off The Griddle has opened their second location. They offer vegan brunch and lunch dishes, and a full bar (would love to see more NA cocktail action on it). Here’s the menu. They’re open 9am to 3pm, 7-days a week. And their grand opening down the line is going to be a big party. 2215 NE Alberta Street, Portland

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Small Bites: Update on Arrowood, Flock Food Hall, Cassoulet, and More

It’s a Bon Bánh Mì mystery.

Update on Arrowood. After I was asked if I had heard any updates from Arrowood (my emails remain unanswered), a neighbor indicated that they had seen a listing online for the Arrowood space. I checked it out, and found a listing on Crexi entitled, “For Lease: Turnkey Restaurant & Bar for Lease.” So, looks like we have the answer: They are done. Truly unfortunate for the neighborhood. 5846 NE Sandy Blvd, Portland

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Supermarket Alternatives in Portland

Safeway
There are other places to shop than Safeway

Many of you shop at Safeway, Albertsons, and QFC and are concerned about these stores’ futures in the wake of the recent merger talk. In the tradition of “plan for the worst, hope for the best,” I went ahead and looked at what my supermarket alternatives and options are in town, and have shared my research with you in this article.

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Four Things I Learned This Week (July 5)

I hope you had a nice Independence Day holiday yesterday! It was lazing around, a LOST marathon (“Don’t tell me what I can’t do!”), and eating hot dogs at Bridgetown Bites headquarters. 🌭 By the way, have you tried that Heinz pickle ketchup?

The Lents Hong Phat getting closer to opening. This new Hong Phat location there in Lents in the old Walmart space recently returned to my radar because their liquor license application popped-up. I’ve reached out to them to get a better idea of an opening date, and will share that will you when/if I ever get it. 4200 SE 82nd Avenue, Portland

Carnelian Coffee moved up the street. Looks like they moved Saturday, June 15, “just up the road 9 blocks at 79th & Foster.” I hear the space is lovely and look forward to more interesting things happening there aside from coffee (more on that next week). I hear the rocks displayed at the old spot are on display at the new space. 7950 SE Foster Road, Portland

APEX Bar lost their lease, is closing. Over on Brewpublic they wrote about 14-year-old craft beer bar APEX is closing at the end of August after losing their lease. “The end of August will be the end of our service at SE 12th & Division. We’re looking forward to seeing you over the next 2 months and hopefully beyond. It’s been an honor over 14+ years pouring 3,319 unique beers on tap and counting.” They are looking for some place new, preferably in their neighborhood (SE 12th and Division). Do you know something for them? I bet east Portland would welcome them. 216 SE Division Street, Portland

Portland Nacho Week starts Monday. From July 8 to 14, enjoy plates of nachos around town for $8. I saw that Steeplejack (NE Broadway) is participating, and last time I had them, I quite liked their nachos. More about the event plus a map, is here. Various


Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:

Thang Long Cuisine: Comforting, Tasty Vietnamese Food in Montavilla (Review)
Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, June 2024
Happy Birthday, Bridgetown Bites! You’re 7 Years Old!
Come To Summer Nights 2024 in Parkrose