Downtown Portland News

[maccoinnich]

Downtown Portland food cart pod set for partial opening after permitting delays



After lengthy permitting delays, construction on a downtown Portland food cart pod is on track and developers have plans for a partial opening next month.

Called Sip & Forage, the pod at 1900 S.W. 5th Ave. is slated to open Aug. 15, said Steve Master, CEO of project developer Master Development.

The project has spots for 24 carts and about three-quarters of the spaces are leased, said Master. Originally, restaurant group ChefStable was on board to manage the pod but that group has since left the project.

The original plan also had a bar slated for the former bank branch building. However, the costs to renovate the building for a bar became too high, so that plan was scrapped, said Master. Instead, the team has converted an Airstream trailer into a bar that will serve as one of the pod's carts.

...continues at the Portland Business Journal.

[maccoinnich]

‘Portland’s patio’: Beer garden, boozy beverage cart settles into downtown



Portland’s living room has a new piece of furniture.

Several pieces, actually.

Visitors to Pioneer Courthouse Square may have noticed a few sets of umbrella-shaded tables and chairs pop up within the downtown Portland block — all leading to a forest green cart slinging beer, ciders, wine and slushies out of its post in the city’s core.

Square Bar — a beer garden and beverage cart — opened last month, bringing a needed refreshing, boozy presence to the plaza’s food truck lineup.

...continues at the Oregonian.

[dizflip]

That's great! They could probably add more tables

[downtownpdx]

Yeah great idea. Another article mentions that this will be in the square year round.

[PhillyPDX]

These pods have been hurting since Midtown opened as the better places moved to a better/safer place to set up. Still sucks and will further deaden these few blocks.

https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2026/07/...-will-close-two-downtown-food-cart-pods/

[downtownpdx]

Damn. Well if Mitch Green and others are actually concerned about downtown as they claim, they ought to get the city pay the up front costs of this requirement for all the pods. I don’t know how much extra burden it adds after the initial set up. But Goodmans aren’t exactly helping themselves by just giving up and closing these, do they think having less activity/foot traffic is going to improve property values downtown..?

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

Damn. Well if Mitch Green and others are actually concerned about downtown as they claim, they ought to get the city pay the up front costs of this requirement for all the pods. I don’t know how much extra burden it adds after the initial set up. But Goodmans aren’t exactly helping themselves by just giving up and closing these, do they think having less activity/foot traffic is going to improve property values downtown..?

I have no idea what the Goodman biz model is. Still can’t figure why they demo’d the historic building on 2nd. Sure maybe they are waiting for market to rebound…but that begs the question why they did nothing during the boom cycle up to 2020. And now the Goodman zone will be even more vacant.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

I have no idea what the Goodman biz model is. Still can’t figure why they demo’d the historic building on 2nd. Sure maybe they are waiting for market to rebound…but that begs the question why they did nothing during the boom cycle up to 2020. And now the Goodman zone will be even more vacant.

The Goodman family has no interest in doing any investing with their properties. They would rather sit on them forever collecting parking money until developers come along and are willing to rent the land to build buildings on their site. This is why they have sat on their hands during each building boom.

[PhillyPDX]

Not great:

https://www.wweek.com/news/2026/08/05/to...-owners-roll-out-rich-broker-incentives/

I’ve done some objective parametric numbers using AI (what a useful tool for data geeks), and it’s sad how bad downtown Portland is doing is vs pre pandemic compared to the top 30 largest cities. By far the biggest drop in BOTH commercial and real estate demand of all big cities. So it’s not like residential conversion works with almost zero demand. And it’s uniquely a Portland thing. Really not sure what gets Portland out of it.

[MoreAllowance]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Not great:

https://www.wweek.com/news/2026/08/05/to...-owners-roll-out-rich-broker-incentives/

I’ve done some objective parametric numbers using AI (what a useful tool for data geeks), and it’s sad how bad downtown Portland is doing is vs pre pandemic compared to the top 30 largest cities. By far the biggest drop in BOTH commercial and real estate demand of all big cities. So it’s not like residential conversion works with almost zero demand. And it’s uniquely a Portland thing. Really not sure what gets Portland out of it.

As a bleeding heart progressive, the issue is crime and homelessness. Nothing will change without those problems being resolved. Companies and residents are willing to swallow the taxes when the area is beautiful and vibrant. Portland would turn around in 6 months if these issues were addressed.

When I say crime, I mean enforcement of retail theft and general disorder. Community policing focused heavily on the central city. Until we can get a handle on the issue, I shouldn't be able to walk through a neighborhood without seeing a police presence on foot/bike.

When I say homelessness, I specifically mean immediate response teams to handle aggressive and disorderly behavior. I shouldn't be able to watch someone who is clearly experiencing a psychotic episode swing a wrench down an entire city block for 30 minutes without them being taken to a sobering center or some other facility for intervention.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by MoreAllowance

I shouldn't be able to walk through a neighborhood without seeing a police presence on foot/bike.

Fellow bleeding heart here. This is exactly what is missing in downtown. Not out there crackin' heads, just their presence and keeping things mellow, and taking care of the extreme cases.

[downtownpdx]

I agree, just the police's presence goes a long way in creating a safe feeling city. We have one of the lowest numbers of police per-capita in the nation and that needs to change.

There are tools at the public’s disposal - if you see someone having a mental breakdown dial 911 and they’ll either send police if there’s immediate danger, or Portland Street Response if the person just needs to be steered somewhere safe/helpful. Also Downtown Clean & Safe has their own security patrol that can be called for livability issues etc. In an ideal world we wouldn’t need to worry about these things but at least there are resources that engaged citizens can utilize.

Foot traffic continues to climb, and there are a number of positive things happening like the public market, the new Darcelle plaza, an expanded art museum, PDX Live concerts in pioneer square drawing thousands, etc. The city needs to market the positives aggressively and start turning public opinion if we’re going to truly see the momentum we need.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by downtownpdx

I agree, just the police's presence goes a long way in creating a safe feeling city. We have one of the lowest numbers of police per-capita in the nation and that needs to change.

There are tools at the public’s disposal - if you see someone having a mental breakdown dial 911 and they’ll either send police if there’s immediate danger, or Portland Street Response if the person just needs to be steered somewhere safe/helpful. Also Downtown Clean & Safe has their own security patrol that can be called for livability issues etc. In an ideal world we wouldn’t need to worry about these things but at least there are resources that engaged citizens can utilize.

Foot traffic continues to climb, and there are a number of positive things happening like the public market, the new Darcelle plaza, an expanded art museum, PDX Live concerts in pioneer square drawing thousands, etc. The city needs to market the positives aggressively and start turning public opinion if we’re going to truly see the momentum we need.

At this point I think it’s less perception, more just business climate. The city is probably the most hostile to business and real estate development (both in public statements, and enacted policies) in the country, and that shows in the performance. Last in office leasing and residential permits since pre pandemic. Damn.

Check out the Chris King President’s post on LinkedIn this week. Something is fundamentally structurally broken here right now.

A good friend of mine was in town last month, lives near downtown Philly (so not some anti city guy), stayed in a nice downtown hotel (he loved the hotel). His first time here since 2018. All he could say was “wtf happened here, where are all the people? It’s so different from last time, in a sad way”. All I could do was agree.

[downtownpdx]

Oh yeah I’d be very surprised if anyone didn’t notice a difference from 8 years ago, this city has gone through so many things that we’ve talked about ad nauseum. The perception is going to take a while to change from outside and until that happens it’ll be much quieter than pre covid. Much needs to be done to improve the biz climate for sure. Small biz for just get a tax break from the city, and apparently they’re working on streamlining the permitting process… otherwise we could make better use of some of these specified taxes which seem to rake in more money than anticipated while the general fund suffers. Voters ought to get a say (and they might this year) in if we should broaden the uses for the climate tax, for example.

[Derek]

I hate to be that guy because everybody has such strong opinions about it but people in Portland really need to get back to actually working downtown. Portland has the absolute worst “work from home” culture of anywhere I’ve ever been, and I travel quite a bit. Of course it’s easier said than done as many employers have vacated from their buildings but that might have been less of an issue if people hadn’t resisted returning to the office so much.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

At this point I think it’s less perception, more just business climate. The city is probably the most hostile to business and real estate development (both in public statements, and enacted policies) in the country, and that shows in the performance. Last in office leasing and residential permits since pre pandemic. Damn.

Check out the Chris King President’s post on LinkedIn this week. Something is fundamentally structurally broken here right now.

A good friend of mine was in town last month, lives near downtown Philly (so not some anti city guy), stayed in a nice downtown hotel (he loved the hotel). His first time here since 2018. All he could say was “wtf happened here, where are all the people? It’s so different from last time, in a sad way”. All I could do was agree.

It turns out that the people downtown back then were tourists and office workers. We need to treat the core of downtown the same way the Pearl District is treated if we ever want to see the downtown core to be that active again because I highly doubt we will see office workers return to the way it was.

[PhillyPDX]

Originally Posted by urbanlife

It turns out that the people downtown back then were tourists and office workers. We need to treat the core of downtown the same way the Pearl District is treated if we ever want to see the downtown core to be that active again because I highly doubt we will see office workers return to the way it was.

Out of curiosity (it’s not my world, so just wondering), what sort of impacts will AI have on the quantity of tech workers in Portland? It’s seems Portland is less exposed than maybe Seattle or SF, and the intel hardware side has is own separate thing going on. But I know lots of techie folks here as well (all WFH). Surely some will do very well with AI, but with how good AI is getting at more remedial tasks (entry level stuff), in rapid fashion. Makes me wonder how exposed Portland will be? Surely won’t be good for overall employment, right? And office space, to connect the conversation.

[mhays]

Everyone is anxiously awaiting that one, in every city. Jobs from software to accounting to truck driving to graphic arts seem to be at risk from AI.

There will never be a new normal. Instead there will be a continuum where AI will gradually get stronger in new areas, often ones most of us don't expect. The safe career of 2030 might disappear by 2040.

That makes me pessimistic about the office market. We might be demolishing a lot of office buildings in ten years, even more than the scattering today. A relative few can be converted to housing within reason.

[downtownpdx]

Global restaurateur Mina Group opening in downtown hotel

https://www.bizjournals.com/portland/news/2026/08/10/bar-sprezzatura-heathman-michael-mina.html

A chef with a Michelin star and a James Beard Award is opening one of his San Francisco concepts in downtown Portland.

Chef Michael Mina is opening a Bar Sprezzatura in the Heathman Hotel. Based on the bàcari, or wine bars, of Venice, the new restaurant is replacing The Tavern at The Heathman.

Bar Sprezzatura is expected to open this fall. It will be Mina’s only restaurant in the Pacific Northwest. The original Bar Sprezzatura is in San Francisco at One Maritime Place.
...

Bar Sprezzatura will offer all-day dining, but it is described as being “bar forward,” according to a press announcement. The beverage program is at the center of the experience with a menu of spritzes, negronis, martinis and classic cocktails. There will also be a selection of region-specific liqueurs and spirits.

The food menu will have locally sourced ingredients and highlight savory snacks typically served in Venetian bars. There will also be pasta, pizzettes, meat and seafood.

(continues/paywall)

[subterranean]

Originally Posted by PhillyPDX

Out of curiosity (it’s not my world, so just wondering), what sort of impacts will AI have on the quantity of tech workers in Portland? It’s seems Portland is less exposed than maybe Seattle or SF, and the intel hardware side has is own separate thing going on. But I know lots of techie folks here as well (all WFH). Surely some will do very well with AI, but with how good AI is getting at more remedial tasks (entry level stuff), in rapid fashion. Makes me wonder how exposed Portland will be? Surely won’t be good for overall employment, right? And office space, to connect the conversation.

I’d be more concerned about legal services, editing, accounting/finance, and advertising.