Tag: Futura Coffee Roasters

Food and Drink, New Business

Sleepover Pizza Replaces Pie Spot

In early February, Sleepover Pizza will open in the former Pie Spot storefront outside the Rocket Empire Machine food hall at 6935 NE Glisan Street. The new school pan pizza maker takes inspiration from Detroit and Sicilian styles, offering eight-by-ten-inch rectangular pies with classic flavors that aim to excite families and pizza lovers alike. The shop will expand into more adventurous menu offerings for its pizza Sunday brunch program.

Aaron Manter has called Montavilla his home for nearly a decade after relocating with his wife from Greenville, South Carolina, where they both ran a New American-style restaurant called The Owl. After closing that business, they eventually followed friends to Portland. Together, the couple managed the now-closed Fillmore coffee shop that Futura Coffee Roasters replaced in 2022. Aaron Manter went on to receive accolades for his following two positions: cooking at the 1905 Jazz Club and as executive chef for Scholar Restaurant on NE Broadway. Recently, Manter worked as a chef at Fressen Bakery down the street from this new location. Despite 25 years working in kitchens creating complex menus across various disciplines, pizza was where he started his culinary career, and it continually reemerged as a favorite dish. After experimenting with some popups hosted by Blank Slate Bar in June 2024, Aaron Manter was ready to become a restaurant owner again—however, this time in a smaller space with affordable rent and a more universally approachable menu.

Sleepover Pizza’s name and primary menu originate from Manter’s nostalgia for his time with friends growing up in South Florida. Some of his best memories stem from having people over while his parents were out, ordering a pan pizza, and staying up late watching a VHS tape of Predator. During that stage in life, he started cooking for Little Caesars at a time when the pizza chain made everything in the shop. Those foundational experiences linked cooking, friendship, and youth with pizza. Through this project, he wants to share that experience and those flavors with his community. “It’s really meant for people to grab a slice with the family and, like the name implies, bring it back home to eat while you watch a scary movie and hang out with kids,” said Manter.

When open, Sleepover Pizza will serve guests from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday from the standard menu, offering a classic cheese, pepperoni, or tomato pie with garlic and pecorino Romano. Manter plans to provide a rotating white sauce pie option, rounding out the main selection to four pizzas. All pies pull from the Detroit style, where the sauce is on top, and the cheese covers from edge to edge, giving it a pronounced caramelization where it meets the pan. To speed up the cooking process, he will pan-proof the crust to about an inch thick and then briefly bake it to set the dough ahead of a customer’s order. “I can’t ask people at a food pod to wait 20 minutes for a pizza. I just don’t feel like that’s realistic or right. Parbaking (partially cooking a bread product before fully baking it at a later time) lets us get that out in maybe ten minutes, and I didn’t find any decrease in quality,” said Manter.

Image by Audrey Willcox, courtesy Sleepover Pizza

People can order a whole pie or a half as the by-the-slice option, and they will have an assortment of sodas. “I plan on doing a slice and a drink for 10 bucks. I’ll offer Coke, Diet Coke, and some sort of root beer. I think root beer and pepperoni are a very underrated combo,” explained Manter. He also intends to expand his drink offerings to meet his customer’s tastes. However, with Gigantic Brewing’s Robot Room adjacent to his space, he will keep to non-alcoholic options. Sleepover Pizza will be on some food delivery apps, and its sidewalk-adjacent location will make quick pickups easy for to-go orders.

Pie Spot location closing sign directing people to visit them at 521 NE 24th Ave

Sleepover Pizza will also open on Sundays but targeting the brunch crowd, with hours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The menu will feature unique flavors inspired by traditionally un-pizza origins. Aaron Manter envisions a shakshuka pie made with Moroccan tomato sauce and a fried egg on top. Or, a lox bagel approach with cream cheese, smoked salmon, chives, capers, and pickled onions.

The small kitchen space that will become Sleepover Pizza

The small kitchen space, not much larger than a shipping container, is nearly ready to reopen. Manter is only waiting on Multnomah County to approve the commercial kitchen. He explained that he has worked at eight different pizzerias over the years, learning all the best techniques to bring to his creations without losing the core qualities that make pizza great. “I’ve learned everything I can from every place I’ve worked, and I’m just trying to do a good job without being too cheffy, as it’s meant to feed the people and the families of the neighborhood.” Future customers waiting to try Montavilla’s newest pizza location should watch the Sleepover Pizza Instagram account to learn about the official opening date or visit the company website when it launches at sleepoverpizza.com.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Updated January 22nd, 2025: Add Pie Spot closing note image.

Food and Drink, New Business

Evening Wine Bar at Futura

A new approach to wine service is taking root inside the Futura Cafe at 7201 NE Glisan Street. For the past six weekend evenings, Eno Wine has taken over the popular Montavilla coffee house and created a new experience in the neighborhood. Opening after the baristas head home on Fridays and Saturdays, Caroline and Matthew Tache swap out mugs for stemware. Each week features a new collection of wines, allowing patrons to experience a distinctive flight of six selections, wine by the glass, or a sharable bottle. Currently open from 5 to 10 p.m. on just two evenings, the owners will expand to Wednesday through Sunday later this year.

Matthew and Caroline Tache began Eno Wine inside the Collective Oregon Eateries (CORE) dining hall. That trial location failed to mature into a permanent shop. However, the hunt for a new space created an opportunity for a different style of wine bar that leveraged an existing space into a symbiotic cooperation between complementary businesses. “Brick and mortar is a big investment. Stocking a wine store with hundreds of different kinds of wine and thousands of bottles is expensive,” explained Caroline Tache. Rent of a whole storefront and inventory costs would require higher prices and change their vision for Eno Wine. The couple was aware of other coffee shop and wine bar combinations outside of Portland that worked well due to inverted schedules and overlapping clientele palates. “If you come here (Futura), you care about your coffee, so you’ll probably gonna care about your wine,” said Caroline Tache, detailing why the two shops work well together.

Owners Caroline and Matthew Tache. Image courtesy Eno Wine

Menu variety is an integral part of Eno Wine. Themes and special events will drive each week’s bottle selection, encouraging regular visitors who seek variety and attracting new groups. On June 23rd and 24th, the section offered all Eastern European sourced wines from Slovenia, Croatia, and Hungary. Previously they hosted a wine and food paring event for chef Hannah Che’s James Beard award-winning cookbook The Vegan Chinese Kitchen. They also plan future collaborations, including one with the neighboring Secret Pizza Society. They will select certified vegan wines to pair with vegan pizzas at that event. Future themes will post to the Eno Wine Instagram feed as details emerge.

Sharing Futura Coffee Roasters’ space on NE Glisan fits the Taches business goals for an accessible neighborhood wine bar and bottle shop. Futura’s owner was receptive to collaboration because the two businesses share a commitment to sustainable production and quality. The cafe’s layout and clean design works for Eno Wine’s image, but they hope to add minor enhancements to the shared space, primarily in a wine rack that will showcase popular bottles to customers of both shops.

Matthew and Caroline Tache are Montavilla residents who want to balance the beer-rich culture here with more wine options for their community. However, the seed of this new wine venture started across the country. “I worked in restaurants for a long time and then transitioned to food and wine writing. For about ten years, I wrote about food and wine for sites like Eater and Zagat, then as a food editor for the free weekly paper in Philadelphia. Obviously, it’s a subject I’m very passionate about,” said Caroline Tache. That enthusiasm for restaurant culture took a substantial hit during the pandemic, and she transitioned to sales, managing a boutique wine and spirits store outside of Philadelphia. In 2021, Caroline Tache moved to Portland to start her own business combining her review and sale careers. Matthew Tache is new to this business but brings a personal enthusiasm for wine to the shop.

Image courtesy Eno Wine

The group works with several local distributors, including Montavilla’s own Prufrock Wines, creating impressive selections of affordable options. Many of the bottles cost less than $28 but still represent high standards of wine production. “We’re looking for minimal intervention, natural, sustainable, just good quality small production lines,” explained Caroline Tache. People looking to try a creative array of wines should visit Eno Wine on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 10 p.m. Look for expanded days and hours over the coming months.

By

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author of this article received free tasting of six wines during the interview.

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Bar, Entertainment, Event, Food and Drink, Montavilla

Montavilla’s Saturday Winter Celebration

Two events will attract visitors to Montavilla’s commercial corridors this Saturday evening. Winter Wassail along NE Glisan Street features festive beverages, snacks, carolers, and holiday lighting. Participating stores and restaurants between 82nd and 68th Avenues will remain open for last-minute holiday gifts and festivities. People are invited to Wassail (Go from location to location caroling and/or drinking in merriment) on Glisan from 4 to 8 p.m. this December 17th.

Promotional image provide by event coordinators

That same night, SE Stark Street businesses will host the Montavilla Soiree & Pub Crawl from 6 to 9 p.m. The Montavilla East Tabor Business Association (METBA) organized this winter celebration in the historic downtown to support neighborhood businesses as they enjoy the best parts of the colder months.

Promotional image provide by event coordinators

Drinkers, shoppers, and anyone looking for a fun Saturday night can explore the collection of holiday-themed cocktails, food specials, live music, and late-night last-minute shopping in one big evening event. No matter where you reside, some part of Montavilla will have an activity to warm your spirit on a cold night.

These are some of the participating businesses on Glisan Street:

These are some of the participating businesses on Stark Street:

Rahabs Sisters will be collecting gloves, hats, jackets, blankets, and tents. Drop off locations will be Union Rose and Wink Vintage.

By

Jacob Loeb

Disclosure: The author if this article serves on the Montavilla/East Tabor Business Association (METBA) board. METBA sponsors some of these events.

Food and Drink, New Business, Restaurant

Futura Coffee Roasters Opening on NE Glisan

Update – January 30th 2022: Futura Coffee Roasters officially opened this weekend. The cafe hours are 7 AM to 5 PM weekdays, with weekend service from 8 AM to to 1 PM.

Next month, Futura Coffee Roasters will open at 7201 NE Glisan Street in the former Fillmore space. The creators of this new coffee producer and cafe believe sustainability is the future for the industry and have woven that value into every aspect of their business.

Futura Coffee Roasters is the vision of CJ Speelman and a group of coffee professionals who share a common perspective. For ten years, Speelman honed his skills in the industry, first working at the counter as a Barista and eventually creating the roasting company Tanager Coffee Roasters. Speelman owns The Arbor Lodge coffee shop in North Portland, making this NE Glisan location his second store. His partners in this new venture bring many years of retail coffee experience and respect for the art and delicate science of good coffee.

The group behind the cafe feels that flavor and brewing are only part of a perfect cup of coffee. Speelman explains that a simple morning ritual like drinking coffee can impact the environment. “As a company, Futura Coffee Roasters see regenerative agriculture, the rehabilitation of soil and increasing of biodiversity among many things, as one of the key forces in combating climate change.” The company is committed to building relationships with farmers and sourcing coffee as ethically and sustainably as possible. Additionally, food items on the menu include a mix of locally sourced pastries and bagels.

Since August, crews have reworked the corner coffee shop into a new space. The team took the same approach to the renovation as they have with their menu, making for a slightly prolonged process. “We took a lot of time making sure that we used as much sustainable materials as possible, from handmade tiles and eco-friendly wall plaster to fixtures and furniture. Because of these commitments to sustainability alongside the supply chain issues, it has taken a bit longer than we had hoped,” said Speelman.

Although the cafe will no longer resemble Fillmore, Speelman recognizes its role in the community and wants to welcome back those regular customers. “I have been a big fan of Fillmore and the special connection they had with the neighborhood. We hope to capture that same spirit and add our own unique vibe. I am extremely excited to share the space with the neighborhood. It is looking incredible and will look and feel like a whole new space.”

Expect Futura Coffee Roasters to launch midway through January, opening daily from 7 AM to 5 PM. Follow the cafe’s Instagram for updates and to learn more about the treats that will soon become available on NE Glisan.

By

Jacob Loeb

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