Sophie Peel – Montavilla News

In the summer of 2021, REEF Technology expanded its network of mobile ghost kitchens across Portland, adding one cluster in Montavilla along SE 82nd Avenue. The Miami-based company bet big on delivery-only food service, a decision that seemed prophetic during the pandemic. However, that early success did not last and was particularly unsustainable in Portland. Now all locations are closed, with most former sites cleared of the brand’s equipment. Only one ghost kitchen cart remains at 1133 SE 82nd Avenue. It is locked up, and the NBRHD.com website that once solicited new clients is offline.

*REEF site at 1133 SE 82nd Avenue in 2021*

As reported by Sophie Peel in the Willamette Week, REEF Technology recently ceased most, if not all, operations in Portland. Several years ago, the company’s business model was seen as the future of food service thanks to the popularity of app-based delivery services like Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Postmates. The company leveraged a nationwide network of parking lots into delivery service hubs that offered low rent and easy access. Each food cart ghost kitchen could prepare food under various brands, cutting labor costs and flooding delivery apps with an onslaught of culinary options. The December 26th cover story in the Willamette Week detailed the troubled Portland rollout by REEF Technology. That article noted that many large brands had recently severed ties with the ghost kitchen prover, including Jack in the Box, Burger King, and Popeyes.

Ghost kitchens were not an invention of REEF Technology, nor are they likely to disappear entirely from the landscape of American dining due to this recent setback. A detailed analysis of this model will one day explain the rapid rise and fall of REEF Technology’s Neighborhood Kitchens brand. However, for now, most Portlanders selecting food for delivery will find they come from a brick-and-mortar restaurant.

Jacob Loeb

Internet Archive copy of nbrhd.com

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Three individuals suspected of committing arson in Mt. Tabor park last summer face charges related to fires started in Montavilla. Sophie Peel’s Willamette Week article outlines a series of offenses revealed by the Multnomah County grand jury indictment of the accused. In some cases, these incidents caused significant damage and loss of property.

Together, the three 18-year-olds face 14 charges, including three counts of arson in the first degree, six counts of arson in the second degree, four counts of reckless burning, and one count of unlawful possession of a destructive device. However, the sole Montavilla resident in the group of defendants received the brunt of the blame. He stands accused of all 14 charges, while his purported accomplices face only two counts.

*Shed fire at Harrison Park August 10th, 2022*

An infographic in the Willamette Week article lists ten incidents, with seven in Montavilla. It includes a Creative Science School mattress and vegetation fire, a box truck fire at SE Hawthorne and SE 85th Avenue, a dumpster fire near 8827 SE Division Street, and a fire next to 8316 SE Taylor Street. Also among the more severe damage listed is a shed fire inside Harrison Park and an abandoned structure fire at 2336 SE 92nd Avenue. The article did not include the portable toilet fire at Harrison Park, as it appears not to be part of the indictment. However, some area residents believe the fire is related, having occurred around the same time as the shed fire.

*Accessory structure fire at 2336 SE 92nd Avenue*

According to a September 12th, 2022, statement by Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt’s office, the accused individuals “each admitted to involvement in starting the fires” at Mt. Tabor Park during a Portland Police interview. These recent charges include only one criminal event from the initial questioning, with the majority of arson charges occurring in Montavilla. After the investigative focus on the three suspects, the number of malicious fires in the neighborhood dropped substantially, and residential angst about this issue subsided. This indictment should provide closure to several concerning incidents from last year.