Wendy’s restaurant at 232 NE 82nd Avenue plans to refresh the fast food location inside and out later this year. Some upgrades include modifications of interior walls along with the installation of new equipment and fixtures. Exterior work involves rearranging this location’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) parking spaces, adding bike parking, and new exterior lighting mounted on poles.
This 1981-era dine-in and drive-through building features the brand’s classic stylings and has outgrown its current configuration. Previous remodels included the creation of an exterior detached cooler that crews will demolish as part of this round of enhancements. Building permits show the planned addition of an attached cold food storage room to accommodate future kitchen capacity and replace the old detached unit.
Exterior detached cooler that crews will demolish
The Wendy’s fast food chain did not respond to requests for details regarding this remodel. However, the company has recently embraced its Global Next Gen design strategy for new and refreshed stores. That concept prioritizes higher order volume with streamlined buildings supporting increased digital orders and delivery customers. The square-patty burger maker says their modern restaurants can significantly upscale production compared to previous designs, increasing kitchen output capacity by nearly 50%.
The newer-designed stores include smaller dining rooms and offer dedicated windows for delivery drivers to collect food purchased through services like Doordash or Uber Eats. They often feature adjacent short-term delivery driver parking to streamline pickups and keep drive-through lanes clear for customers. The newer designs also incorporate building with a mixture of woodgrain and flat panel cladding over clean vertical lines that extend up to the parapet. The company no longer uses the decorative flared band that wraps the roofline of older Wendy’s locations, preferring a simple box shape to the building.
Work at this location will complement the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s plans to widen the sidewalk in front of this restaurant to 12 feet, adding room for possible street trees or a planting strip in the furnishing zone between the curb and sidewalk. The pedestrian zone widening is part of the 82nd Avenue Glisan and Davis Signal Improvements project developed in 2024, with an expected groundbreaking in 2025.
Image from 82nd Avenue Glisan and Davis May 2024 Draft Design. Courtesy PBOT
The NE 82nd Avenue store may only use some of Wendy’s Global Next Gen design principles in its remodel. However, it will likely incorporate many modern elements into this location to increase its functionality for customers and employees. The City of Portland is still reviewing building permits for this remodel. Work is likely months from starting and may require some disruption to regular business at this location during construction.
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.
The Rocket Empire Machine’s owners are seeking a buyer for the fully leased food hall building at 6935 NE Glisan Street. Commercial Black Real Estate recently listed the property for $2 million, offering a turnkey investment for the right operator. After extensive renovations by Guerrilla Development in 2020, the former 1950-era automotive repair building began hosting five food and beverage-related businesses. Since its opening, tenants have remained stable, with only one recent turnover caused by the closing of The Pie Spot.
The property’s asking price does not include the corner parking lot parcel at 6977 NE Glisan Street. The developer split the 2,363-square-foot property from the REM project during construction planning. Kevin Cavenaugh’s Guerrilla Development company intended to create a two-story, 11-unit, single-room occupancy (SRO) building called Jolene’s Second Cousin on the vacant lot. The COVID pandemic halted that project, and the paved lot has served as surface parking for REM customers since the food hall opened. The REM building’s real estate flyer indicates the parking lot property is also available for purchase separately.
Rendering of REM building and canceled Jolene’s Second Cousin SRO, courtesy Guerrilla Development
The REM food hall is a significant anchor point for Montavilla’s portion of NE Glisan Street. It provides an accessible third-place within walking distance for many area residents living north of E Burnside Street and keeps the street active into the evenings. Its shared indoor seating and a covered outdoor courtyard often host social and community gatherings alongside a consistent customer base. Gigantic Brewing’s Robot Room offers micro-brewery drinks at the site, rounding out the casual dining experience and cultivating an environment welcoming an extended stay on the property.
PortlandMaps view showing 6935 next to 6977 NE Glisan St, both for sale
Portland’s commercial real estate market has struggled to rebound fully post-pandemic, and Kevin Cavenaugh has subsequently experienced a few publicized setbacks in other developments. In a June 2024 City Cast Portland episode, he spoke candidly about his dire economic circumstances and how he remains optimistic about Portland’s development culture despite his own troubles. Cavenaugh explained that most of his projects would remain viable investments, but he knew he would not retain ownership of them when the dust settled.
Interested buyers should contact John Gibson by phone at 503-860-3267 or email john.gibson@commercialblack.com. The future owner of this property will gain a low-maintenance multi-tenant space with relatively new commercial kitchens and a built-in customer base. Any sale will likely have little immediate impact on Rocket Empire Machine or its tenants, but the future of the adjacent undeveloped lot is far less certain.
Portland Fire & Rescue responded to an early morning fire inside the shuttered Venue Gentlemen’s Club at 9950 SE Stark Street. The national chain chicken sandwich company, Chick-fil-A Inc., owns the approximately 7,012 square-foot building. Firefighters arrived just before 3 a.m. on January 4th, reportedly observing heavy smoke coming from the structure. Upon entering the building, crews found signs of a ceiling fire and called in a second alarm assignment. Within 20 minutes, crews had the fire under control and found no signs of injury within the building.
Firefighters working outside the shuttered Venue Gentlemen’s Club entrance. Photo by Dennis Weis, courtesy PF&R.
Chick-fil-A Inc. completed the purchase of this property in November 2024, less than a month after the adult entertainment company leasing the space ceased operations on October 26th. This building is located between SE Stark and SE Washington Streets on SE 99th Avenue, just across SE Washington Street from the Mall 205 complex that new investors purchased in January 2022. Several real estate and commercial property interests are investing in properties within this formerly bustling retail center in the Gateway District. Chick-fil-A joins other national chains like Chipotle Mexican Grill, which are continuing efforts to reestablish this area as a commercial corridor for East Portland. Despite the big-name brands moving into some storefronts in this area, the new owners of Plaza 205 are courting a cohort of Asian American owned businesses blocks east of the future Chick-fil-A location, offering more retail diversity to the area’s revival.
North side smoke damage and signs of firefighter efforts to cut power (Jacob Loeb)
Based on visible damage, the fire at 9950 SE Stark Street is unlikely to change plans for the Chick-fil-A project significantly. The building’s overhaul includes substantial renovations while maintaining the general shape of the 1984-era building. Motorists will maintain parking lot access from the two existing SE Washington Street and SE Stark Street driveways. However, guests will need to park their vehicles at this fast food location as the building will not offer a drive-through window. Crews will rework the facade and roof to incorporate a new entry vestibule. Sidewalk improvements around the site will join the parking lot and ramp additions to increase accessible entry to the restaurant. Workers will restructure the interior with all new restrooms, a play area, a sit-down dining room, and kitchen space to meet the Chick-fil-A standards. The existing free-standing sign by each entrance will lose its lower panel letter boards, and contractors will refresh them with Chick-fil-A branding. Illuminated channel letter signs spelling the restaurant’s name will adorn the sides of the building. Permit plans indicate this store will display a “Delivery Drivers” sign directing the app-based service providers to a designated area for pickup, perhaps signaling an anticipated elevated demand for that option.
Venue Gentlemen’s Club post closing October 2024 (Jacob Loeb)
Fire investigators are still working to determine what sparked the blaze. If Portland Permitting & Development approves plans currently under review, crews could begin construction at this property in 2025. However, fire damage could further complicate this project, which has taken years to develop.
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On December 14th, Montavilla businesses along NE Glisan Street are again hosting a special holiday event full of activities, discounts, and unique offerings. The Saturday Winter Wassail event spans the day during each location’s operating hours, with a street-wide celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. People should check the shops’ social media or the event page for specific extended hours and updates.
Some event highlights include Wreath Making Classes at Citrine Bloom, Wine Tasting at Replicant, and dried citrus ornament making at Sparrow Salon from 5 to 8 p.m. Event organizers describe it as a business celebration of the season when customers can feel comfortable walking NE Glisan with the added light from the storefronts open into the evening.
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The culinary training organization Stone Soup PDX recently relocated its operations from downtown Portland to the Beacon at Glisan Landing building on the corner of NE 74th Avenue and Glisan Street. Educational programs are currently underway inside the storefront space, and their publicly accessible cafe will open in March 2025, when they expect residents to move into the apartments above the shop. This location will provide people facing employment barriers with critical job skills through a 12-week program.
Stone Soup occupies three adjacent storefronts in the newly constructed NE Glisan Street building. The corner cafe will operate as a community-facing space, selling morning coffee, pastries, and cookies. Throughout the weekdays, they intend to have a more extensive menu in the cafe, offering soup and other meals prepared in the training kitchen next door or from the group’s production kitchen on SE Powell Boulevard.
The third Montavilla storefront serves as Stone Soup’s classroom. In the space, program participants receive basic instruction and engage in weekly “check-ins” with the support services coordinators who work to ensure students have the supplies needed to succeed in the program. According to Ellen Damaschino, Executive Director at the nonprofit, this can include help with transit, work-appropriate clothing, or USB cables needed to keep their phones charged. Damaschino explained that culinary skills are the central curriculum in the program. However, the instructors also teach workplace success tactics to help people find jobs and stay employed in various fields. “Some of our participants are also interested in using the skills we teach in resume building, getting to work on time, and working with others to maybe enter other fields, which is OK with us. Culinary is [just one] way for us to get people into work,” said Damaschino.
Stone Soup PDX opened in its original location on NW Everett and Broadway in 2019. They operated primarily as a cafe and training kitchen until COVID-19 forced a shift in the group’s operations. “So it slowed down a lot during the pandemic, and that is when we really kicked up the Community Meals program,” recalled Damaschino. “We make about 1,500 meals a week for the community. Those are for places like shelters, mental health facilities, and transitional housing. So exactly the places that our participants come from.” That shift allowed the organization to open a production kitchen on SE Powell Boulevard, where program participants spend their final four weeks cooking meals that volunteer drivers transport to Portland locations.
When Stone Soup backed away from serving walk-in customers downtown in favor of providing delivery meals, they expanded training operations wherever they could. However, that downtown space was not ideal for the growing program. “It was originally opened as a restaurant and a cafe, and they were making the basement downstairs into a school. So when Catholic Charities approached us about this space [on NE Glisan] that would have an externally facing cafe again, a brand new kitchen, and a classroom space, it was very enticing to take that space and jettison our old space, which wasn’t really working for us,” said Damaschino.
Classroom kitchen on NE Glisan courtesy Stone Soup PDX (Julia Granet)
The Beacon at Glisan Landing offers 41 Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) units above the ground-floor storefronts. Damaschino sees an opportunity for a symbiotic relationship with the building’s residents and the families living in the adjacent affordable housing complex. They want to create programs teaching home cooking to their neighbors and work to assist those around them with access to healthy foods. PSH program operators may also guide some residents into the program. “We mostly have a referral in program, you can join just by signing up, but we have found that it is better if people are in some kind of housing, whether it’s transitional or shelter. We have found that people who are housed have had better success in the program,” explained Damaschino.
Many students are recently houseless and need help finding employment that can secure stable housing. However, Stone Soup designed programs for anyone with employment barriers, including young people without any work experience, people who recently transitioned back into the workforce, or those looking to switch jobs but have limited resources. “We recently had a graduate in his 60s who wanted a career change. [He was] on a fixed income and felt worried about retirement. Now, he’s working at a retirement community as a chef. So that’s a success story for us,” remarked Damaschino. Program instructors segment the classes into three tiers, each lasting four weeks. All tiers currently have eight people learning culinary and workplace skills. Damaschino explained that they intend to grow the program’s 24-person capacity to 30 with this new location. The organization often has around 35 to 45 people waiting for a place in the program, providing a sustainable flow of participants.
The menu taught to students changes with each class and the season. “Our community meals vary in what we make. We also try to engage the participants and meet them where they’re at. In the first and second tiers, we ask what they want to learn, matching them with skills that are also going to get them jobs. Often, in the community kitchen, we’ll make lasagna or enchiladas. We always have salads, and we [make] nice soups and stews in the winter,” said Damaschino. “We tend to make meals that shelters respond to. We want to make things that kids are going to eat, and the parents are going to eat in the shelter. We want them to be nutritious and we follow the county’s guidelines, so we have a dietitian that we work with.”
As Stone Soup transitions into this new space, they hope to build the same level of community integration they developed in their years downtown. “We partner with our community. So, if we had too many onions, we would offer them to other nonprofits in the area. People were giving us food, and we were giving them food. We want to make ourselves visible and useful,” explained Damaschino. The group works to avoid food waste and shares practice meals when they have a surplus by allowing participants to take food back home to their communities.
In addition to a core group of instructors who came to the program from culinary or social services professions, Stone Soup relies on ten to 20 volunteers per week who distribute prepared meals to the customer organizations. Damaschino explained that they intend to keep growing their educational offering, filling the gaps in Portland’s food-related employment sector. “We want to see Stone Soup as the premier workforce training program. All the culinary schools are gone from the area,” remarked Damaschino. She feels Portland has a significant need for what this organization can offer the community. People can already see weekday activity in the storefront now and should expect to see the cafe open in March.
Starting this December, the Montavilla business community will launch into a month-long celebration of the Winter holidays. Businesses and organizations will offer a mix of giving opportunities while encouraging people to support their community through shopping locally. Even without spending money, people can participate through two free events offered on SE Stark Street to get into the seasonal mood with friends and neighbors.
Next Saturday, the Montavilla East Tabor Business Association (METBA) will host its Tree Lighting in the public plaza at SE 79th Avenue and Stark Street. The tree lighting ceremony will take place on December 7th from 4 to 6 p.m. Organizers will light up the Montavilla holiday tree at 5 p.m. and serve hot cocoa while supplies last. Participants can enjoy community cheer and seasonal music as they start the countdown to the new year.
A week later, on December 14th, people can gather for a free Santa picture event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Board Bard Games. The gaming shop at 7960 SE Stark Street will offer an opportunity to take a seasonal family picture with Santa. People waiting for their turn to pose with the jolly icon can partake in hot cocoa and other treats. The organizers remind people to bring their own cameras to capture the moment.
Shopping locally is essential to maintaining a strong community, and METBA wants to reward those who help keep Montavilla thriving. From December 1st through the 21st, people who eat, drink, shop, and recreate at participating businesses will earn raffle entries through completed passports. Every qualifying purchase of $5 or more from the list of locations earns a sticker to go inside a passport. Participating businesses will have passports to get people started, and collecting six stickers completes a passport. Each entry increases your odds of winning the raffle, and there is no limit to the number of passports a person can complete. To enter, drop off completed passports at Redwood at 7915 SE Stark Street or Arbor Hall at 7907 SE Stark Street by the close of business on December 21st.
Graphic courtesy METBA
As a bonus, purchases made during the Merry Montavilla Soiree on December 21st earn participants two stickers for their passports. The Soiree is a one-day event full of special offers and discounts to help last-minute shoppers and Portlanders looking for a special night out.
Many Montavilla shops are embracing the giving season with a donation drive. Participating businesses will collect Adult-sized jackets or coats, warm hats, gloves, scarves, hand warmers, and sleeping bags for Rahab’s Sisters. The organization’s beneficiaries will appreciate those new and gently used items during the cold weather. Rahab’s Sisters have a particular need for plus-size or extended-size donations. Participating locations are listed on the METBA website.
Montavilla Brew Works at 7805 SE Stark Street will host a special Giving Tuesday event on December 3rd, supporting Cultivate Initiatives. Giving Tuesday follows the busy seasonal shopping days and encourages people to support local organizations supporting positive change in their communities. Michael Kora from Montavilla Brew Works explained that his company has a long relationship with Cultivate Initiatives’ leadership, which has grown into the brewery’s expanded support of the group’s efforts. “Over the years, we’ve spearheaded a winter clothing donation drive in the neighborhood that directly supports the more marginalized people in our neighborhood and beyond. With its success during the winter season, we eventually just made it an all-year-long donation drive.”
Graphic courtesy Montavilla Brew Works
Montavilla Brew Works’ Giving Tuesday event runs from 5 to 8 p.m., and donators will receive $1 off their first beverage. People should bring new or gently used warm clothing. They will also accept new underwear, socks, pet food, and hygiene products. Briel’s Barbecue popup will sell food at the event, but Kora noted the BBQ food often sells out and recommends people stop by early. This event is limited to people 21 or older, and organizers hope people will have a good time while supporting a cause they care about.
Once again, Montavilla businesses are doing what they can to celebrate the winter through giving and creating a space for people to enjoy the company of their community.
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With recent updates at the Multnomah Campus of Jessup University, Montavilla residents now have access to a hidden coffee shop within the school’s grounds at 8435 NE Glisan Street. Roger’s Cafe opened in July 2010 after the faith-based school renovated its student cafe to provide an on-campus Portland coffee house experience. Named for Roger Porret, a longtime food service volunteer who passed away at the beginning of 2024, the shop serves as a social gathering point for the university’s community and now area residents.
Visitors can find the cafe on the west end of the JCA Student Center building, adjacent to the Student Lounge. Earlier this year, the campus food service provider Pioneer College Caterers began running Roger’s. Students can use flex credits included with their meal plan to purchase drinks or food, but anyone can pay cash or use a standard credit card to buy menu items. In addition to a wide range of caffeinated beverages, staff can prepare hot breakfast and lunch items at a reasonable price.
Portland Maps image with MV News illustrations
JCA Student Center
Roger’s Cafe offers guests several sections to enjoy their meal with counters, bar-hight tables, and group seating. A couch-adorned room next to the barista station offers living room-style seating with some separation from the main shop area. The cafe’s adjacent stage provides a venue for artists and performers to host poetry slams, speeches, and music shows. However, most days, the sound of conversations fills the air as students and guests talk about the topics of the day at this central meeting point.
The cafe’s namesake volunteered at the university for decades, earning the respect and adoration of students and staff. The coffee shop took his name in 2010, and he continued to work at Multnomah University until his retirement in October 2018. During its years of operation, Roger’s Cafe employed many students. Past versions of the cafe’s social media include views of the community that formed around this shop, including a goodbye video for longtime manager Jose David Lopez, who left in October 2023. This fall, university leadership unified the management of Roger’s and the student Dining hall under Pioneer College Caterers.
Roger Porret
Lisa Newbore with the Multnomah Campus of Jessup University hopes that more residents will see Roger’s Cafe as a community resource and encourages people to “drink, snack and hang out.” For many neighborhood residents, this is the most convenient coffee shop east of 82nd Avenue and north of SE Stark Street. Residents have walked around the university’s property for many years without venturing inside. Now, the administration invites people to sample the food and drinks available at Roger’s Cafe while meeting the students and faculty of this educational institution. Roger’s is open weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and they serve breakfast from 10:30 a.m. to noon on weekends.
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The Secret Pizza Society opened its vegan restaurant on NE Glisan Street in 2019. The owners recently reopened the shop after a week-long interior update that has become an annual event to refresh the front-of-house experience and give staff time off. As the team wraps up its fifth year serving customers from the Montavilla storefront, they also mark a decade of creating unconventional plant-based pizzas that don’t break the bank.
JR Holland and Bryce Hooper started this business as a pizza wholesale and catering company nearly a decade ago. They met as line cooks preparing brunch at the Road Runner Cafe and became friends. Holland has always worked in food service, starting at McDonald’s when he was 15. That career followed him to Portland, where he worked in bakeries and, eventually, pizza restaurants. “I worked at It’s A Beautiful Pizza, which is no longer there. That was on Belmont; I did dough for them. I worked at Apizza Scholls for three years, made dough for them,” recalled Holland. That experience and a desire to build a business that would support his friends and growing family led Holland and Hooper to take a risk on a new venture. “Apizza Scholls, for all its flaws, was a well-run business, so I just thought pizza was the logical conclusion,” said Holland when describing how they decided what they would cook.
The partners did not want to mimic the pizza options already available to Portlanders. While still planning their menu, they would work on recipes and try to find a standout approach. “Bryce and I, while making brunch, just sat there and crafted ideas. We would try and come up with a different way to do pizza because there’s a hundred pizza joints. They are all good to varying degrees and basically do the same thing. You know your meat supreme, your veggie supreme, this, that, and the other,” explained Holland. They both enjoyed a vegan diet with varying levels of commitment and wanted to rethink how a plant-based pizza could surpass its traditional counterpart. The foundation of that approach was not to just replace dairy cheese with a vegan version and find meat alternatives. They looked to other dishes and flavors to create a product that was not just pretending to be something else. “You know, it’s funny because at least two or three of our pizzas are [based on] scrambles that we used to make for the brunch joint,” remarked Holland.
They started small without a dedicated location. “We used to make take-and-bake pizzas for bars and venues. We did a few VegFests as a good way to get our name out there and build a customer base before we open the doors,” recalled Holland. “Revolution Hall was a big help to us. That was our first big account. We used to make tons of take-and-bake pizzas for them, allowing us to quit our jobs.” Needing kitchen space for the business, they found space in North Portland under the North Star Ballroom. Papa G’s Vegan Organics made tofu alongside Portland Fresh and Shoofly Vegan Bakery in that space. Holland recalled tight quarters in the subterranean commercial kitchen, but they made it work for each of these growing Portland brands until the building sold. JR Holland knew Michael Freeston, whose company, Grocery Getter Organic, was about to close its warehouse space at the 7201 NE Glisan Street storefront. The displaced vegan collective decided to relocate to Montavilla and share the former Grocery Getter space.
Holland and Hooper took over Papa G’s Vegan Organics, running the restaurant on SE Division Street and its tofu business. Eventually, Shoofly Vegan Bakery needed to expand into a bigger storefront, which opened up space for customers on NE Glisan. The partners had always wanted to grow the pizza business into a restaurant. They opened the Secret Pizza Society on March 31st, 2019. The name is an adaptation of their company’s original name, GSMP, which stands for Great & Secret Motion Pizza. It is an homage to Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show and a celebration of film. The name officially morphed when they had a small space below the Chapel Theatre in Milwaukie, Oregon. Holland recalled people referring to it as a little secret pizza shop in the basement of the theater, and the owners thought that the Secret Pizza Society would sound like a band or a vigilante unit of superheroes.”
Secret Pizza Society had its first anniversary at the start of COVID. They were able to make pizza takeout work with dining restrictions but ended up closing Papa G’s restaurant. They transferred the tofu business to one of their employees, who still makes it at the NE Glisan Street location. JR Holland gave Papa G’s deli case to another business owner who recently closed his location and offered to return the case. That prompted Holland and Hooper to close the shop this October and rework the front counter to include the deli case. They also replaced the mechanical system for their walk-in refrigerator, rearranged dining-room seating, and made other adjustments before reopening last week.
The small storefront still hosts Portland Fresh’s production kitchen, and Holland says having his friends working together is one of his favorite parts of running Secret Pizza Society. “When people say ‘don’t hire your friends,’ I say ‘balderdash.’ Everyone that works here is a longtime friend of mine.” He feels that this is what makes this such a great place for customers to visit. People enjoy coming to work there, and they reflect that joy in how they interact with people. JR Holland is proud of the food they make for people, noting that it is a destination spot for vegans and pizza fans across Portland. He attributes that to the fresh ingredients and their competitive pricing. “You don’t have to spend $30 for an organic vegan pizza. I’ve done the research and looked at every pizza shop not named Domino’s or Pizza Hut. Our pizzas are easily the cheapest ten-inch personal pizza,” said Holland. They are open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays. On weekends, they open from 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday. The plant-based menu offers unique flavors that please vegans and carnivores equally. You can also order their pizzas at the Replicant bar down the street.
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During weekends in October, the area’s only Samoan restaurant eased into opening at 6824 NE Glisan Street. However, enthusiastic customer response soon attracted attention from social media, and Tusi’s Deli Creation experienced its first back-to-back sellout days. The wife and husband team are enjoying the warm reception from the community, which has countered negative feelings caused by a pre-launch burglary that nearly stopped them from opening their doors.
Family tradition and cultural identity shape the Samoan menu served in Tusi’s Deli Creation. Restaurant owner Roshina Wilson-Kerisiano explained that her father’s passion for cooking propagated to her seven siblings. Tusigaigoa Wilson worked as a carpenter in American Samoa but honed his culinary skills by cooking for community events. Wilson-Kerisiano recalls he had high standards for what he would serve at his table, throwing out expensive food rather than dishing something of poor quality. “My dad always says, ‘If you can’t eat it, don’t serve it. If it doesn’t look pretty like you, don’t even give it out.'”
By the time Roshina Wilson-Kerisiano’s father, Tusigaigoa “Tusi” Wilson, passed away in 2020, most of the family had relocated to Washington State. Wilson-Kerisiano needed to take over catering her father’s funeral because COVID-19 closures prevented the family from finding a vendor for the extensive Samoan food service that is part of their traditional mourning process and funerals. After the community discovered that her father’s cooking skills were alive in Wilson-Kerisiano, she and some family members began receiving requests to cater other community events. That grew their cooking business, taking on several forms over the years, but things changed after another family loss. “Then our mother passed, and we kind of gave up on the dream.”
In February 2024, Roshina Wilson-Kerisiano, her husband Natanielu Kerisiano, and sister Christina Wilson-Pini moved down to the Portland area with the idea of restarting their food service ambitions. They found the affordable commercial space on NE Glisan Street and committed to the former juice bar storefront on a significant anniversary. “The lease was signed on May 18th, which was the date my father passed,” said Wilson-Kerisiano. They began earning money for the shop’s buildout by cooking items for resale at area stores with a focus on their baked goods and drinks.
Spam Musubi
Christina Wilson-Pini had become an accomplished baker, while her sister had focused on learning her father’s cooking style. The early opportunity for Wilson-Pini to practice baking came after a storm took away much of what the community had. “I remembered we grew up with one of those kerosene stoves; every Islander had one. Then, there was a hurricane, FEMA came in, and they funded the families. That’s when we bought our first oven, and then all the baking came alive during those times of our lives,” recalled Wilson-Kerisiano. Wilson-Pini developed a lengthy recipe book, and sales of her baked creations helped furnish the shop with the supplies they would need to open the restaurant. The extended family also chipped in to support the restaurant’s opening. “My siblings in Washington, my nieces, and nephew all helped during the summer months to fundraise for the shop,” said Wilson-Kerisiano.
With the storefront full of supplies and the team close to opening, things turned for the worse. “In August, we were busy vending and trying to earn money for the shop, and we were broken into,” said Wilson-Kerisiano. Then, on the Tuesday after the weekend burglary, Christina Wilson-Pini passed away. “I wanted to give it all up because we lost all of our life savings. They took everything that we needed,” recalled Wilson-Kerisiano. With another family death and needing to start over on the restaurant, it was almost too much to overcome.
Roshina Wilson-Kerisiano and Natanielu Kerisiano developed a solid connection to the Samoan community in Washington State, providing food at many celebrations and becoming central to numerous events. That integration into the community led to Wilson-Kerisiano publishing the State’s first Samoan newspaper, the Samoa Northern Star. They were fixtures at cricket matches and charity drives. After the setback in Portland, they found that strong community bonds had not dissolved after moving to Oregon. The support network mobilized and came to their aid, helping them fund the purchase of used equipment to replace the stolen items. Christina Wilson-Pini’s daughter gifted her mother’s cookbook to Roshina Wilson-Kerisiano so she could keep baking her sister’s pies and pastries at the shop, and the couple quietly opened Tusi’s Deli Creation.
Turkey-tail
Due to weekday obligations providing stores with packaged items, the restaurant is currently only open on weekends. On November 9th, they will begin regular service from Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The menu features traditional Polynesian island food with unique Samoan twists like green bananas and the popular turkey-tail. Selections change regularly, and they are open to hearing requests from customers. People who have experienced Hawaiian food will feel comfortable ordering at Tusi’s Deli Creation. However, most guests will encounter some items not often found in Portland. The shop owners encourage everyone to experience Samoan culture through food and family traditions. “My dream is [creating] a place where they have everything I ate growing up,” said Wilson-Kerisiano.
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