Small Bites: Elephants Deli Burns, Mikado, Brunch, and More

Elephant deli burns.
Photo credit: Portland Fire & Rescue.

Painful and tragic: The flagship Elephants Deli burns. There’s plenty of news outlets reporting on this, but I’ll share the news releases (first, second) produced by Portland Fire & Rescue. Essentially:

“At 1am on the morning of March 10, 2026, Portland Fire & Rescue responded to a commercial fire at the Elephant’s Deli at 115 NW 22nd Avenue in NW Portland. This was a fire that was human caused on the exterior of the structure that extended to the interior of the building and into the elevated roof structure resulting in significant fire damage.”

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Christmas, Solstice, and More Light in Portland 2025

This year’s Christmas Tree downtown.

“Christmastime is here, happiness and cheer, fun for all that children call their favorite time of year,” so the song goes. This year we thought we’d do a roundup of things to do and eat around the time the light starts to return—the Winter Solstice, of course, but also Christmas, and Hanukkah (here is this year’s roundup specific to the Festival of Lights). Here’s our hodgepodge roundup for this time of year. 

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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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The Wild Bunch Natural Wine Event Happens in March in Portland

The logo for The Wild Bunch, a natural wine fair in Portland, Oregon.

The Wild Bunch, a natural wine event that’s been around since 2020 and is held every March, is back this year. I’m not a wine drinker currently, but I gotta say—the lineup looks amazing. Tickets are going fast, according to the organizers and Eventbrite, so check out the details here, and get your ticket sooner than later if it’s something that appeals to you.

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Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, September 2024

Data Analytics Chart

Welcome to our (mostly) monthly roundup of top 5 posts on Bridgetown Bites. September’s top articles were an interesting mix of stories last month, and writing them involved my implementing both seasoned and new communications strategies. I’m grateful to those who shared information with me so readily.

September 2024 was the most successful month on Bridgetown Bites to date, from a traffic standpoint. Close to 22,000 unique visitors generated over 27,000 page views. Thanks to all of you for reading, sharing, and commenting—and extra thanks to my tipsters, who have quite the eagle-eyes in this town.

5. The Wooden Chicken Pub Returns

Wooden Chicken Pub sign in Portland, OR

As we reported in June, Argay favorite the Wooden Chicken Pub closed after over 40 years in business. But recent paperwork filed with the City of Portland gives indication that this popular watering hole could come back from the dead. In answer to that speculation, I heard confirmation on August 1 that this is indeed true—The Wooden Chicken is returning! Note: This article has major updates.

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