At 4 p.m. on March 13th, the Montavilla Station bar at 417 SE 80th Avenue will reopen after a repair and maintenance closure. The February 10th notice to customers indicated the business was undergoing deep cleaning and the repair of rotten floor sections. Subsequent posters placed around the neighborhood announced the “Grand Reopening” of the popular bar and entertainment venue on the 13th. For nearly two decades, people have visited the family-owned drinking establishment. However, its history as a central gathering point for Montavilla residents extends further back.
The century-old storefront opened in 1910 after a fire burned many buildings on the block. Early in its existence, Dickson Drugs operated from the space before that staple of Montavilla moved into the corner shop next door, currently home to Yaowarat restaurant. Dickson Drugs featured a soda fountain and served homemade ice cream to residents, ensuring it was a core meeting place. Decades later, a 1982 plumbing permit listed Rose Salvi as the owner of the building, and sometime after that, her daughter Rosalie Williams owned the property. In 2002, Rose Salvi’s son Raymond “Ray” Salvi and his wife Jean took over the property from Ray’s sister. Ray Salvi, longtime owner and president of Portland Disposal & Recycling, started working on a new business called Sassy Jack’s Pub around 2004. The business’s website lists the opening year as 2006, and around 2010, the owners renamed the location Montavilla Station. Raymond Salvi passed away on October 30th, 2018. His wife, Jean Salvi, still owns the building and bar.
Montavilla Station adopted its branding from the streetcar line that once stopped in front of its door. Until the 1940s, passenger rail tracks ran up NE Glisan Street from downtown Portland, terminating on NE 91st Avenue near the Mount Hood Railway and Power Company station. That railway line opened in 1911, connecting Montavilla residents with the town of Bull Run. At NE 80th Avenue, the NE Glisan Montavilla streetcar followed a small spur track south until SE Stark Street. It stopped north of SE Stark Street and returned to the mainline on the same single-track along 80th. Segments of that rail line are still under the street.
Montavilla Station is open to people 21 or older from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. Patrons can enjoy 14 beers on tap, a full bar, and an assortment of pub food items on the menu. Entertainment options include Karaoke on Wednesday and Thursday nights, pool tables, video lottery games, and shuffleboard.
