1164 SE 82nd – Montavilla News

Three Montavilla car lots sit empty along 82nd Avenue at the end of 2025, marking a shift in an area known as Portland’s used car destination for budget-conscious buyers. It is not uncommon for locations to change tenants and for lots to relocate within the area. However, some auto industry businesses blame City-led changes to infrastructure and potential tax increases for adding to their operating pressures.

An empty car sales lot with a 'For Rent' sign prominently displayed, located at the intersection of SE 82nd Avenue and SE Stark Street in Portland, with a partially fenced area and flags overhead. — *_{Empty Hood To Coast Auto Sales lot at 428 SE 82nd Ave}*

Hood To Coast Auto Sales relocated to 428 SE 82nd Avenue in 2021, having outgrown a location near NE Sandy Boulevard and NE 138th Avenue. From the prominent SE Stark Street corner, owners Lindsey Barber and Matt Barber ran the used-car lot for four years until staff recently cleared out the inventory in November. By mid December, the lot was empty, and the property’s owner, Harry John, placed a “for rent” sign on the sales lot’s fence.

Front view of the vacant 82nd Auto Mall car lot along 82nd Avenue, featuring a 'For Sale or Lease' sign and colorful streamers overhead. — *_{Empty 82nd Auto Mall lot at 1164 SE 82nd Ave}*

82nd Auto Mall recently closed its 1164 SE 82nd Avenue location this year, as the property’s owner seeks to sell the three-quarter-acre site that once housed a Triple XXX Drive-In. Previously, the used auto sales lot bounced around the area with a stint at 1205 SE 82nd Avenue from 2003 to 2009. It served customers from 707 SE 82nd Avenue in 2010 and 2011, then moved back to 1205 SE 82nd Avenue in 2013, before setting up in its last location around 2021.

An empty car lot with a prominently displayed '707' on the front, featuring a large glass façade and red roof, indicative of a closed automotive business. — *_{Empty sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Ave last used as an expansion lot by Atlas Motors}*

Atlas Motors expanded from its 605 SE 82nd Avenue location to the adjacent vehicle sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Avenue around 2012. Royal Motors and 82nd Auto Mall previously worked from the space. This fall, Atlas Motors consolidated its inventory to its original lot and vacated the expansion space. Sales Manager at Atlas Motors, Madjid Okhovat, explained that it is not a lack of vehicles impacting these changes. From his perspective, it is interference by local and state governments.

Vacant car lot at the corner of SE 82nd Avenue and SE Alder Street in Portland, Oregon, featuring a building with large windows and a prominent '707' sign. — *_{Empty sales lot at 707 SE 82nd Ave last used as an expansion lot by Atlas Motors}*

Nationally, automotive sales are declining in some segments. On December 16th, the U.S. Census Bureau released data on national retail and food sales for October, showing a 1.6% drop in motor vehicle and auto parts sales. However, that data focuses on the new- and late-model used-vehicle market. Cars on 82nd Avenue primarily fall into the below $15,000 segment, which is less volatile. Okhovat said that customers he sees shopping for a car on 82nd Avenue are budget-conscious. “Most people shopping on 82nd Avenue are working-class people with blue-collar jobs who need dependable cars to get to work, spending $7,000 to $10,000… Now people are also having trouble making that fit into their budget.” He noted that the average age of vehicles on the road is creeping to 13 years old, as people avoid the cost of an upgrade. At the same time, new vehicle prices approach $50,000, and late-model used cars still sell for substantially more than the average 82nd Avenue price, driving commuters to 82nd Avenue for affordable options.

Okhovat noted that not all car sales lots along the former State Highway are reputable, and some bad behavior toward customers has given 82nd Avenue a lower reputation. He says Atlas Motors will repeatedly encounter customers who bought a vehicle with significant issues from another lot and found the seller is no longer in business or unwilling to help. A recent Reddit conversation echoed that perception, with several commenters stating that Atlas had treated them well in comparison.

A view of 82nd Avenue showing newly installed center-lane raised medians with yellow curbs and safety cones, alongside empty car lots and parked vehicles. — *_{Recently installed center-lane raised medians in front of Atlas Motors at SE Washington St looking south}*

When asked about the conspicuously vacant lots surrounding his workplace, Madjid Okhovat said he felt it was due to pressures from local officials. He explained that new center-lane raised medians were recently installed by the City in front of Atlas Motors, and that the former Hood to Coast lots block left turns into their property. He also noted that proposed plans for 82nd Avenue Transit and Safety Improvements will extend those medians south to similarly block 707 SE 82nd Avenue and the former 82nd Auto Mall lots. He feels that those changes, along with the possibility that Portland could convert the outer travel lanes on 82nd Avenue into Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes, weaken the future prosperity of a used-car business in the area. Selling used vehicles in the lower price range has many risks, and Okhovat said that current and pending fees impacting the automotive industry are making it tough for buyers with limited funds. Consequently, he thinks, used vehicle sellers are anticipating a challenging marketplace and can no longer operate at the same level they have been.

Map showing the location of 82nd Auto Mall on 82nd Avenue in Portland, with adjacent streets labeled. — *_{Sept 2025 Draft 82nd Avenue Transit and Safety Improvements with MV News labels}*

These current car lot vacancies may be a coincidence of timing in the business cycle of used car sales on 82nd Avenue. However, operators willing to discuss their experiences along 82nd Avenue are not optimistic about the future prosperity of automotive-oriented businesses on the avenue. Atlas Motors has a long history in the area that they intend to build on, and it is possible that vacant lots will fill with another similar business, but at the moment, the empty spaces have attracted the attention of the community as a visible signal of change.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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The owners of a used auto sales lot along SE 82nd Avenue listed the property for sale. Although unrecognizable from its original use, the site once housed a renowned restaurant that played a role in Portland’s hot-rod culture. In the 1950s, the 30,980 Square foot parcel was home to Rutherford’s Triple XXX Drive-In, serving as a frequent destination for families and car enthusiasts.

Charlie Rutherford operated the two Portland-based Triple XXX Drive-In locations situated relatively close to one another. The Montavilla drive-in sat on the corner lot at 1164 SE 82nd Avenue, and the other location at 6120 NE Sandy Boulevard occupies an entire triangle-shaped block. That building still hosts a restaurant but reflects the indoor seating design added to the Triple XXX eateries in the late 1950s.

The Rutherfords Triple XXX Drive-In chain began in Renton, Washington. It opened in 1930 and was the first drive-in restaurant in the Pacific Northwest. Archie H. Rutherford started the business with his sons Joel and Jerry. The family grew the drive-in chain serving burgers and Triple XXX Root Beer to many locations nationwide, including Portland. Two unaffiliated restaurants are in operation today. One is in Issaquah, Washington, and the other is in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Albert Drake captured the importance of these drive-ins to Portland’s hot-rod culture in his Fifties Flashback: A Nostalgia Trip! collection of articles:

“…Most Saturday nights were balmy, at least in the tricky circuitry of memory, and after we’d finished, I started the engine, turned on the lights, and waited for the carhop. Then I pulled out slowly, being cool, hoping the clutch wouldn’t chatter, rapping the pipes as we headed down the road. Many nights, we made the rounds of other drive-ins. On 82nd, I could hit Merhar’s, where many of the cycle guys hung out, then cruise through Rutherford’s Triple XXX and back through Flanagan’s again, just in case someone hadn’t seen me. On Sandy, there was Jim Dandy’s, a real hot-rod hangout, another Rutherford’s Triple XXX, then Yaw’s, a place where the rich kids from Grant hung out, then on up to the Tik-Tok, a favorite gathering place for rodders since the ‘Thirties.”

Nothing remains of the Triple XXX Drive-In on the SE Taylor Court and 82nd Avenue property. Past owners transformed the 3,678-square-foot structure into a traditional office building, and future owners may redevelop the land for a new use altogether. However, the site’s history built the car culture that took over the country, and its next use can indicate the further trend for American cities.

Update November 30th, 2023: According to the Seattle Times, the Issaquah Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-in closed permanently on November 29th, leaving only one remaining location in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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