The operators of a Wendy’s restaurant at 232 NE 82nd Avenue have recently closed the location’s dining room for renovations, while maintaining drive-through access for customers. Upgrades underway 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 installing new exterior lighting mounted on poles.
Signs of construction are apparent as crews have removed one front window from the building and covered it with plywood. Guests on foot are greeted with a typewritten note on the restaurant’s door from Wendy’s management, stating that the dining room is closed for renovations. The sign provides no reopening date, but the work detailed in building permits is substantial, and it will likely take months to complete. Wendy’s placed a portable restroom trailer in the parking lot for staff to use during the interior renovations that will impact the location’s bathroom access.
Typewritten note on the restaurant’s door from Wendy’s management that the dinning[sic] room is closed for renovations
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 demolished as part of this round of enhancements. Building permits list the planned addition of an attached cold food storage room to accommodate future kitchen capacity and replace the old detached unit. Electricians will replace lights in the dining area and soffit, in addition to installing a new menu board. Plumbers intend to relocate two toilets and one hand sink as part of the interior reconfiguration.
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. This 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%. However, it is not certain that this location will embrace the new store design and may retain its classic appearance, with most renovation efforts focused on the interior and some parking lot reconfiguration.
Image from 82nd Avenue Glisan and Davis May 2024 Draft Design. Courtesy PBOT
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.
Wendy’s south parking lot show with a trash dumpster and construction storage shipping containers
Visitors to the Wendy’s restaurant on NE 82nd Avenue should anticipate using the drive-through window during much of the ongoing construction and exercise caution when traversing the south parking lot, which serves as a staging area for construction storage and equipment.
Update July 19, 2025: As crews peel away the layers of parapet cladding for the Wendy’s restaurant, passersby can see the outlines of the chain’s past branding designs. In the 1980s, the old-fashioned hamburger company decorated the top band of its buildings with diagonally aligned siding with raised rectangular trim featuring scooped corners. Later updates featured the base painted bright yellow and the raised detail in red. Contemporary stores use flat and box-ribbed metal panels in dark colors to decorate the top section of the restaurants.
Update August 23, 2025: Crews installed the new front parapet cladding and modern sign. Visitors can now see the old mansard roof style next to the contemporary design.
Tréla Greek Kitchen opened at 6000 NE Glisan Street on December 16th, 2024, and introduced weekend brunch service the following March. By summer, the restaurant owner’s parents will open Yiayia’s Greek Sweets shop in an adjacent space, serving the dessert items made for Tréla, along with Greek beverages and soft-serve ice cream. Since opening, people have flocked to the casual fine dining restaurant’s dinner service, in part due to built-up demand and generational Greek food traditions expressed with a mix of imported and local ingredients.
People first learned about Tréla in 2023 with a fundraising campaign and some early reporting. The group received substantial praise for the concept, with its proximity to the Greek Orthodox church 30 blocks west on NE Glisan Street and its revival of a cuisine disappearing from the Portland restaurant landscape. “One of the reasons there’s not a lot of Greek restaurants right now is because my father’s generation had restaurants, and none of the kids wanted to take over. So once they retired, they just shut down one by one,” explained Tréla owner Napoleon Tzakis. Although Tréla is new, its origin comes from the experience of family-run restaurant culture, with Napoleon’s parents having a long history of feeding the public. Now, their children have this new space, with Anthony Tzakis running the kitchen, Katerina Tzakis overseeing the front-of-house operations, and Napoleon leading the group. The road to opening this next generation of Tzakis-run restaurants started with working alongside their parents, but launching their own place took years of hands-on work and a supportive property owner.
Left to right: Anthony Tzakis, Katerina Tzakis, Napoleon Tzakis, Helen Tzakis, and Denny Tzakis
Napoleon Tzakis recalled signing the lease in November of 2019, with hopes to open in a reasonable timeframe dashed by the pandemic. The building needed substantial work to convert the location from decades of bar operations into the warm dining space that the team envisioned. The building owners took on initial updates as part of the lease agreement. However, the property management is out of state, and that caused delays in renovating the space. By the time they could step into the building, a significant amount of time had passed. “We took possession, and it was our turn to do work. I would say about 85% of the work here is DIY (do it yourself), me and my brother with a couple friends did it,” said Napoleon Tzakis. They next encountered delays from a contractor’s issue installing the commercial exhaust hood in the kitchen, which is a critical part of opening and is often part of fire suppression system certification. Despite the delays in opening, people packed the restaurant nightly from the onset. Napoleon Tzakis attributes some of that early success to the delayed opening. “When we opened, they were excited for us to finally be open. It wasn’t like we just showed up out of nowhere. They knew we were coming, and I think that really helped with the popularity of this place.”
The public support pleasantly surprised Napoleon Tzakis, but his brother Anthony Tzakis was not shocked at all, seeing as this area has such a strong Greek community. Thursday through Sunday dinner service remains well attended, and the restaurant recommends reservations after 5 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome whenever they can accommodate them, and they offer bar seating where people can order from the full menu. They are open for dinner starting at 4 p.m. every day except for Tuesday and may consider opening every day if demand remains high. Napoleon Tzakis explained that the new brunch service from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays is the only expansion he expects beyond dinner, not seeing a demand for lunch service in the area.
The Greek brunch service is still evolving and features items like traditional Greek Loukaniko sausage, Bougatsa Greek custard pie, Greek yogurt, and an assortment of other brunch items with a Greek touch. People are still learning about the new meal time at Tréla, making it an accessible drop-in option for people wanting to become familiar with the restaurant, as the 80 available seats fill up fast for dinner.
They also offer a bar with imported Greek spirits and a selection from Washington, Oregon, or Utah. “We try to have a Greek liqueur in all of our cocktails, and then our mocktails use Roots Divino, a Greek non-alcoholic liquor,” explained Napoleon Tzakis. “The reason we picked Utah is because me and my brother were born in Utah. We still have family there. Then Oregon and Washington, obviously, because we’re here in the Pacific Northwest.” The regional adherence to the bar’s assortment sometimes bewilders brand-loyal drinkers. However, it is part of the owner’s commitment to supporting other small businesses and sourcing locally whenever not importing from Greece.
Diners will find many traditional Greek dishes on the menu relying on fresh and lightly seasoned meats from local suppliers. They are also known for the fresh pita bread, and dips made in-house daily. They produce 150 to 200 pitas for dinner service, seasoned with local honey and dry oregano to give it a distinct Greek flavor. Visitors also appreciate their calamari due to its rigorous preparation. “We buy whole calamari, cleaning, cutting, and seasoning ourselves. That’s very time-consuming. We’ve tried buying the pre-clean stuff, and they’re just kind of rubbery; we don’t want to lose the quality of the calamari, so we’re continuing to clean our own,” said Napoleon Tzakis. “I think that’s something people should definitely try. I would say it’s one of the best things on the menu.”
For head chef Anthony Tzakis, traditional cooking methods are at the core of how he runs his kitchen. “We try to preserve the heritage here in Portland. Not only our family’s but all the Greek families that we grew up with,” explained Anthony Tzakis. “A lot of recipes my dad passed down, and my grandparents used to cook. We want to try to make it a rustic, old-world feel. Greek food is very simple. It’s more about the little details that make it unique, the preparation and the care you put into making a simple dish.” Two sous-chefs, Caleb and Emmet, support Anthony Tzakis in the kitchen with four line cooks, prep cooks, and a dishwasher rounding out the back-of-house staff. They have a solid starting menu but will work with seasonally available ingredients to keep the offering fresh and the staff passionate. “I want to bring new things, and I want to make the kitchen excited to cook,” remarked Anthony Tzakis.
Helen Tzakis married into the restaurant business but had already absorbed the cooking traditions handed down through her family traditions. “My mother taught me. We learned how to do bread, all the pastries, and the cookies,” recalled Helen Tzakis. Even after leaving the restaurant world, she continued in commercial food production, now running the cafeteria at Stoller Middle School in Beaverton. That is one of the reasons her bakery and sweet shop opening needs to wait until Summer break. Additionally, Yiayia’s Greek Sweets shop still needs updated electrical service to support all the equipment necessary to serve her menu. Helen Tzakis is quick to separate herself from Tréla Greek Kitchen, noting that her children are responsible for its success. She is just the producer of desserts served there. Her shop will have all those items and more based on a wide range of adapted recipes from her homeland.
Yiayia’s Greek Sweets shop can produce many Greek pastries as people have made them for generations. However, Helen Tzakis explained that other items need modifications for large batches or to expand on the base flavors. Her galaktoboureko custard wrapped in phyllo required a tweak to the recipe, making it less tedious to produce at scale. It took considerable effort for the modified galaktoboureko to pass the harshest food critic she knows, her husband and lifelong Greek chef, Denny Tzakis. Her menu will also expand on tradition with baklava cheesecake and a baklava sundae. People visiting Yiayia’s Greek Sweets can also order Greek Coffee and a special imported mountain tea made from a wild growing plant in Greece that everyone from the family home village drinks. Helen Tzakis hopes to open in May but has to contend with her other job. She is training Denny Tzakis to bake her recipes so that Yiayia’s Greek Sweets will run smoothly when the school year starts this fall. They hope to have complementary hours to the restaurant, but it has its own entrance and signage and can adjust hours independently.
The Tzakis family is no stranger to this neighborhood and is excited to establish roots in this corner space. They have a lease renewable for another 21 years and intend to become a fixture for the community. In the early pre-opening days, Napoleon Tzakis had concerns about how people would receive Tréla Greek Kitchen, but that has changed over these last few months. “I didn’t realize how big of a demand for Greek food there was in Portland until we opened up this place. The city actually knows about Greek food,” remarked Napoleon Tzakis. He is now looking forward to growth plans, including live music. After a successful Greek Independence Day celebration, he is considering hosting quarterly Greek nights to deepen the cultural experience. The team also has other unannounced ambitions to serve the community’s needs better, growing this family business for future generations of Greek Portlanders.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
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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.
Bar logo courtesy Montavilla Station
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.
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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Chipotle Mexican Grill will open its newest location at 10090 SE Washington Street on July 23rd. Located at the outer northern edge of Mall 205, this rapidly expanding chain restaurant is replacing another Mexican-themed fast-casual restaurant, Baja Fresh. This brand shuffle is part of a growing reinvestment in this area that includes redeveloping older mall properties and the return of headliner chain eateries like Chick-fil-A.
Chipotle Mexican Grill began in Colorado on July 13th, 1993. Over 30 years, it expanded to 3,200 locations, all featuring a simple menu specializing in assembled-to-order bowls, tacos, and Mission-style burritos. It has become a ubiquitous fast food destination across the country and remains popular while other chain restaurants struggle to stay relevant, particularly for the brand this SE Washington Street location replaces.
This store’s opening is directly representative of a fast-casual feud that started in 2002 when Wendy’s International purchased Baja Fresh to compete with the rising success of Chipotle. However, that purchase resulted in substantial losses due to either mismanagement or customer drift towards the competition. In 2006, Wendy’s sold its stake in the Baja Fresh chain for a fraction of what it paid four years prior. The new Baja Fresh owners kept the chain afloat, but the brand’s decline progressed across the company, with few locations surviving. Chipotle’s opening in a former Baja Fresh storefront indicates its dominance in the Mexican-themed fast-casual restaurant arena.
10090 SE Washington Street Suite 100 when it was Baja Fresh location
Chipotle fans will appreciate the company’s new interest in East Portland. Previously, customers had no options east of 82nd Avenue without crossing Portland city limits or going to the airport. At the same time as crews created the SE Washington Street store, other workers transformed a former Arby’s at 12035 NE Halsey Street into another Chipotle restaurant. These new locations opening this month are less than two miles apart but serve different business corridors. The NE Halsey Street store is adjacent to NE 122nd Avenue, and the SE Washington Street location is Interstate 205 accessible. By the end of the month, East Portlanders will have two new Chipotle options, where they had none before. For many, this will improve the lunch and dinner options in the area. Chipotle Mexican Grill locations open from 10:45 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.
Update: The 122nd and Halsey restaurant at 12035 NE Halsey Street will open on August 8th. That location features a drive-thru pickup lane for guests to collect orders placed online or through the Chipotle app without exiting their cars.
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On December 5th, 2023, Waseem Elaibi opened Stop By Bakery & Deli at 8245 SE Division Street near Portland Community College’s southeast campus. The owner and chief baker migrated from Iraq in 2016, bringing traditional baking skills first honed in his youth. The menu features halal-compliant foods and many freshly baked items, including samoon, an Iraqi bread enjoyed by many cultures throughout neighboring regions.
Stop By Bakery & Deli is Elaibi’s first restaurant, although he worked as a baker early in his career. Before moving to the United States with his family, he worked with electronics, repairing phones in Iraq. Elaibi explained that as technical jobs became more scarce, he saw an opportunity to rekindle his commercial cooking know-how. Finding affordable rent in a former Mexican restaurant on SE Division Street, he opened his bakery with what he believes are the town’s finest halal dishes made with the freshest ingredients, enhanced by his flavorful sauces. Stop By Bakery creates organic bread and other baked goods from this location, giving customers access to recipes developed before mass production altered the way people cook.
Since opening, Elaibi has updated the menu to accommodate customer requests. Although he enjoys cooking the gyros, kebabs, and other dishes, he hopes to hire more kitchen staff to bolster the offerings. For now, he is focusing on creating fresh bakery goods, including a well-reviewed baklava. People can also purchase dried goods at Stop By Bakery & Deli, and they accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food benefit cards. Waseem Elaibi invites people to come to try his signature bread from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. He thinks there is a good chance new customers will experience unique dishes that some guests may have never experienced before and perhaps find new favorites.
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Disclosure: this meal was comped but my opinions are my own.
Thang Long Cuisine, located in the former Thai Fresh space, opened in April of this year. They have been updating their menu recently, and I was invited to stop by and taste a few things on it. The publisher of the Montavilla News, Jacob Loeb, was my dining companion.
Some Background
As explained in a previous article on this site, “Thang Long Cuisine opened in the former Thai Fresh location at 8409 SE DivisionStreet in late April, replacing HÂP Fresh, which briefly occupied the space.” Minh Pham and his mother, Thuy Nguyen, run the place and are happy to feature Vietnamese dishes from the northern half of the country. We felt fortunate that Thuy was cooking for us this afternoon.
Minh met us in the dining room and offered us any seat in the house, as we were the sole diners there at the time. The dining room is simple yet spacious, and the decor is what I would call minimalist—a series of bamboo steamer basket layers affixed to the wall, some large windows in the front, and a color scheme of red, black, and white throughout.
Bamboo steamer basket (Meg Cotner)
Jacob and I come from different points on the eating spectrum (he is vegan, I am not) but there were options for both of us. The first thing that came out was an appetizer: A salmon cocktail salad for me, cucumber salad for him.
Thang Long Cuisine dragon logo (Jacob Loeb)
Appetizers
I really enjoyed the freshness of the salmon cocktail, which did not strike me as something I’d normally find in a Vietnamese restaurant. It was served in a large martini glass, with small, tender cubes of raw salmon accompanied by fresh fruit and vegetables—crunchy red bell pepper, sweet-tart pineapple bits, and what I believe was apple, though it could have been jicama (as is specified on the description), and some dill; cucumber was missing from the dish, though included in the dish’s description. Regardless, this was a great way to start the meal—the salmon was savory, set against the fruitiness of the other ingredients with a mix of textures, yielding a sweet, bright entry to our meal. I also loved its primary aroma of bell peppers.
Salmon cocktail (Meg Cotner)
We asked if salmon is something you’d see in traditional Vietnamese cuisine, and were assured that it wasn’t, but was a nod to the PNW and its bounty.
The cucumber salad consisted of a pile of cucumbers sliced into rounds with a fluted edge, and was flavored with scallions and cilantro, topped with sesame seeds and sat in a light sweet sauce. Cucumber and cilantro is such a winning combination, and the sauce pulled everything together; I also liked how the sauce did not impede the natural crunchy texture of the cucumber. If you love cucumber, this is for you.
Cucumber salad (Jacob Loeb)
They also served us a plate of vegan egg rolls, which were air-fried, not deep fried. Honestly, for me they were just ok; there was not much in the way of depth of flavor going on. However, I did really like their shape and size. That said, I would not order these again.
Vegan egg rolls (Meg Cotner)
At this point, the dining room started to feel a little warm. But we had these nice lime mojito mocktails to keep us cool. Note: the base is made with a mix, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not overly sweet or artificial tasting, which you get sometimes with premade mixers. The fresh mint packed a perfect herbal punch and added so much to the drink. I mean … mint and lime? Classic combination.
Lime mojito mocktail (Meg Cotner)
I’ll add that they have applied for a full on-premises liquor license, and will be serving cocktails and such when they have that in hand.
Square Crab Spring Roll
This spring roll is a specialty of Hai Phong city (a port city in northern Vietnam). Normally, you’ll see it served alongside Bun Cha. I love its square shape and how visually different it is from the more common tube shape.
Square crab springroll (Meg Cotner)
It was wonderfully crispy (the skin is made with a rice wrapper, not a wheat-based wrapper), and contained a filling of mostly-smooth ground crab (real crab, not surimi) that did not have any overly bright or herbal flavors in it (traditionally it includes shrimp, too). The filling flavor was warm and mellow, no spiciness, savory but not salty. It is very much a kind of comfort food.
I enjoyed the texture—both the filling and exterior. The crispness due to the rice paper fried in hot oil is super appealing, both texturally and aurally, especially when you first bite into it. The only drawback was that it was a little oily on the side sitting on the plate, but that did not stop me from eating both pieces, happily.
Bun Cha
Vermicelli noodles and herbs (Meg Cotner)
We were both served Bun Cha—vegan for Jacob, pork for me. The pork version is the traditional treatment. From the Thang Long menu: “Bun cha Hanoi is a quintessential Northern Vietnamese dish that brings together smoky, succulent meat patties and pork belly slices in an umami-rich dipping sauce with tender vermicelli noodles, vibrant herbs, and crunchy pickles for a comforting and satisfying meal.” But this is Portland, and vegan options are a real plus on any menu.
Carrots and papaya in broth (Meg Cotner)
The vegan version had beautiful thin slices of carrot and paper-thin shavings of papaya floating in the sauce. The pork version included the aforementioned ground pork patties and pork belly along with the pickled carrot and papaya.
Both of our dishes came with a plate containing a healthy mound of warm vermicelli noodles accompanied by a pile of fresh herbs, including mint, cilantro, basil, Thai basil, betel leaf, some lettuce, as well as slices of cucumber and hot peppers. The mix of noodles, herbs, sauce, and meat/veg is truly a mastery of flavors and textures. And while I find the basils and cilantro to be old friends as far as flavor goes, the betel leaf always surprises and delights me when I start to chew it. I know it’s considered bitter and spicy, but I find a kind of nuttiness in it, too. It’s really delicious.
And I think my favorite taste of the meal was the ground pork patty in the Bun Cha (actually, two of them). Their humble look belied major good taste—porky, warm, and rich with a kind of meatiness that is deeply satisfying. Frankly, I could eat them every day.
Bun Cha (Meg Cotner)
The above description of the sauce was right on target with the “umami-rich” description. A little sweetness was in there, too.
Tofu Salad Rolls
After the Bun Cha was served, we were offered these chunky salad rolls that featured a wide slice of fried tofu. Normally I see salad rolls containing raw tofu, so the fried tofu was new to me. Along with it was lettuce, vermicelli, jicama, and peanut dipping sauce.
Salad rolls with tofu and peanut dipping sauce (Jacob Loeb)
I loved the various kinds of crunch in the roll, especially the fried edges of the tofu, but the peanut sauce was not my cup of tea. It was too thick, like peanut butter rather than a sauce, no detectable sweetness (though a little spicy, which I liked), and tasted somewhat one-dimensional to me.
Dessert
We were served a small metal ramekin of creme brulee and a plate of red grapes on the stem. It was a really nice way to end the meal. I have never found a creme brulee I haven’t liked, so I was eager to try it.
And my streak of accessing tasty creme brulee continues. Very nice texture, a hint of ginger, and the small size was really appealing. There wasn’t a very thick caramelized sugar topping, but it was there, meaning it did not overwhelm the lightly sweet custard below.
Creme brulee (Meg Cotner)
Dumpling Regrets
I do regret not asking for any of their dumplings, as they are quite popular, so that will have to be for another day.
Overall, I enjoyed my meal and the comforting, easy-going flavors on their menu. This food is not “in your face” or aggressive. It’s very friendly, lighthearted, and comforting. Many thanks to Thuy and Minh for having us. Thang Long Cuisine can be found at 8409 SE Division Street in Portland.
Meg Cotner lives in NE Portland and is the editor and publisher of the independent Portland food news website Bridgetown Bites. She is also an active editor and writer, and the author of “Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens” (2023, Globe Pequot Press)
By the end of March, Quiche Me if You Can restaurant will open in the former Sebastiano‘s space at 411 SE 81st Avenue. Owner Christa Voytilla will take over the shop on March 1st and begin reshaping the space with an indoor service counter and quiche-focused kitchen. Since 2019, the farmers’ market chef has grown her business and is now expanding into the company’s first brick-and-mortar location. Although the new Montavilla storefront will become the central home for Quiche Me if You Can, they will retain their farmers market roots.
Christa Voytilla started selling her culinary creations while working as a full-time nanny during the day and a waitress in the evening. Having worked in the food service industry since age 16, she knows how to cook and developed a passion for baking quiches. That personal interest soon attracted attention and launched her current career. “I was bringing these little quiches to the Barrio at the Portland Mercado, spending time with the community there, and I got close with the owner, Chris Shimamoto,” recalled Voytilla. A regular Barrio customer noticed the baked goods and asked to sample one of her quiches, offering to pay. Seeing an interest and receiving an enthusiastic review of her food, Voytilla wondered if this personal passion could evolve into a business. Shimamoto encouraged her to explore it further and use the Portland Mercado’s resources for small businesses. “I wanted to stop waitressing and do something more for myself,” explained Voytilla, and this was the opening she needed. With the direction from a business advisor at the Portland Mercado and access to the Portland Mercado Commissary Kitchen, Quiche Me if You Can started selling food at a farmers market in November 2019.
Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can
For the last four years, people have found Quiche Me if You Can at farmers markets all over Portland, including Lloyd, South Waterfront, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Hollywood, PSU, Woodstock, Moreland, and the Montavilla Farmers Market. The markets are a place to sell to customers and also where this chef finds her ingredients. “We source all of our produce from the farmers market, explained Voytilla. She built lasting relationships with egg farmer Trent Family Farms and shiitake supplier Mindful Mushrooms during the early years working the markets. “I’m pretty loyal to our farmers, and they’re loyal back,” remarked Voytilla.
The mutually beneficial relationship with the market community is essential to Quiche Me if You Can’spast success and future operation. “I’m definitely still going to do farmers markets. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them, and I think there’s such an excellent opportunity to meet new customers and stay connected,” said Voytilla. However, the market-based business has limits, and after years of expansion, Quiche Me If You Can needed to adjust the model. “I’ve been looking for my own space because, as your business grows, it is easy to outgrow the commissary kitchen, and it becomes challenging to find enough time to produce your products. Sharing hours and space is possible, but it’s more of a challenge as your business grows,” explained Voytilla.
Quiche Me if You Can’s owner Christa Voytilla. Courtesy Quiche Me if You Can
After two years of looking for a dedicated kitchen, Christa Voytilla received a tip about the Sebastiano’s storefront and jumped at the opportunity. “I heard about it before they made the [move] announcement public, and I knew in my heart that the space was right for me,” said Voytilla. The small restaurant on SE 81st Avenue is perfectly sized for Quiche Me if You Can. They expect to cook all menu items in the shop, and although the restaurant will not offer indoor seating, they will make room for people to order and wait inside. “I am excited to open up the space for people to come in for the first time in -I don’t know how long- because it’s been strictly window service at Sebastiano’s,” explained Voytilla.
Quiche Me if You Can’s chef is still working on setting the menu and hours for the new location. However, Voytilla intends to emulate Sebastiano’s schedule so customers have a seamless experience eating at that location. Patrons can expect various quiches on the menu, changing seasonally and served in 4-inch petite versions, slices, or whole full-sized quiches. The menu will also offer gluten-free waffles, from-scratch soups, and sandwiches. Voytilla will not expand the menu drastically until they hire staff and settle into the new format. Since 2019, Christa Voytilla has worked the business alone with occasional help from her boyfriend, Jared Hacmac, who will increase his involvement at the new shop. Knowing that the store will require more support than the two can offer, Quiche Me if You Can is now looking to hire staff.
Courtesy Quiche Me if You CanCourtesy Quiche Me if You Can
This restaurant is a Portland Mercado success story. That group offers affordable retail space and a cultural platform for Latinx and other entrepreneurs to start or grow a business. The non-profit organization and Barrio recently suffered a fire on January 3rd, 2024. They have raised funds to rebuild, and the many food carts outside the main building are open. However, they can always use continued support from the community, and Barrio still has its fundraiser underway. Look for Quiche Me if You Can to open its first permanent location next month and watch the company’s Instagram for details about their grand opening.
By
Jacob Loeb
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A new Happy Lemon tea shop will open in the Fubonn Shopping Center within the next few months. The former insurance agency storefront at 2850 SE 82nd Avenue, Suite 8, will transform into a brightly colored tea and bubble waffle restaurant offering dine-in tables and counter service. When it opens, it will be the fourth store in the Portland Metro area and the only location on the east side of the Willamette River.
Rendering of Happy Lemon store courtesy Jian Xu
Happy Lemon franchise owner Jian Xu became a fan of the brand after discovering their Bridgeport Village location during a search for flavors from Xu’s childhood. “Lemon tea is one of the most popular drinks in China because it’s tasty and refreshing. Growing up in China, my friends and I would always grab a lemon tea after school. The drink would make us feel energized and cool us down in the hot weather. When I moved here, I couldn’t find good lemon tea until I found out about Happy Lemon,” explained Xu. In addition to its Fresh Lemon line of tea flavors, Happy Lemon is known for its Salted Cheese tea and hexagon-shaped bubble waffles. The company also features classic milk tea with boba variants.
Rendering of Happy Lemon store courtesy Jian Xu
Since 2006, Happy Lemon has grown its network of franchise locations across Taiwan, Mainland China, and Hong Kong. By 2014, they expanded globally with stores in 21 countries, including Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, Dubai, and the United States. Xu decided to open this new Happy Lemon at Fubonn because it is centrally located and well-known by the community. “I want to bring it closer and share it with everyone here in Portland,” remarked Xu.
The new Happy Lemon sits in an externally accessed storefront to the right of the main Fubonn entrance. Xu expects to open by late April. However, it is still under construction, and buildout delays could shift that date. When ready, the Fubonn Happy Lemon location will greet guests daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Expect to see updates about the official opening date in April.
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Ranch Pizza will open a new location in Montavilla’s downtown within the former Hungry Hearts storefront at 7940 SE Stark Street. This shop will be the seventh pizzeria for the local chain restaurant since owners Richard Corey and Eric Wood founded it in 2017. The menu honors the square Sicilian-style pizza, and most orders include a side serving of handmade ranch dressing.
Inside Ranch Pizza location at 2239 SE 11th Avenue
The restaurant’s name focuses on a polarizing topping for pizza aficionados. However, Ranch Pizza’s owners feel it enhances the flavors and deserves a spotlight. “The one argument for ranch on pizza, and what I tell most people if they’re confused about it, is that it makes each bite really balanced. Most pizzas have a really tangy red sauce. The tomatoes are really acidic, and it has salt and garlic or whatever. If you add ranch to that, the creamy and tangy, salty flavors are polar opposites, but when you combine them, it’s perfect,” said co-owner Richard Corey to Vice News in 2018. The combination has proven popular for the chain, earning a spot on Willamette Week’s 2018 The Greatest Things We Ate This Yearlist.
Ranch Pizza Quarter Pie of pepperoni and one vegan slice in the back.
The thick-crust pizza is reminiscent of focaccia bread, and the cheese spreads over the edges, making a toasted crust as it cooks in its pan. The menu offers vegan options, and most pizzas are available by the slice, which is a quarter of the whole pie. The company has stores all over the area, with locations as far out as Beaverton, Oregon City, North Portland, and Happy Valley. This new restaurant will fill an East Portland gap. People interested in sampling the Pizza can visit the inner SE location at 2239 SE 11th Avenue.
Ranch Pizza will join several other pizza locations in the neighborhood, with Flying Pie Pizzeria on the same block and two other pizzerias within walking distance. However, its Sicilian-style pizza and affinity for ranch dressing has successfully carved out a niche for the chain across the region. “We’re happy to join the Montavilla pizza community. We feel we’ll bring a welcome new option and style of pizza to the area, especially with Sebastiano’s relocating to Sellwood in March,” explained Eric Wood.
Ranch Pizza hopes to open the Montavilla Location in March. It will house both the pizzeria and a sister business, Loro Coffee. Loro will serve customers coffee, tea, and pastries in the mornings and early afternoons. The pizza shop will open daily at 11 a.m. and close between 9 and 11 p.m., depending on the day of the week and time of year. In addition to regular menu items, they will offer rotating quarterly special items specific to Montavilla and pastries supplied by Hungry Heart Bakery.
Article and photos by
Jacob Loeb
Update 2:45 p.m. December 30th, 2023: This article was updated with additional information regarding the timeline and format of the new restaurant.
Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay for a full year directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.
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