Tag: 6824 NE Glisan

Food and Drink, New Business

Tusi’s Deli Creation Brings Samoan Food to NE Glisan

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.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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Event, Food and Drink, New Business

PDX Nutrition Opens on NE Glisan

PDX Nutrition will open at 6824 NE Glisan Street in the former DB Dessert Company location. The cafe is hosting a soft opening on Monday the 10th, beginning at 8 a.m. This supplement-focused shop marks the 20th such location started by owner Hiram Silva. The NE Glisan location is the first in Portland, but other restaurants are anticipated in the coming years.

Most menu items incorporate Herbalife products in the drinks and food options, although non-Herbalife shakes are available. The business positions products as meal replacement drinks or energy-boosting supplements to a regular diet. “Everything comes with protein, ” explained Silva. Even the coffee they serve at this location comes with a choice of added protein. Non-drink items include mango bowls, pineapple bowls, banana coconut bowls, protein waffles, and protein donuts. The donuts are smaller than the traditional dessert and intended as an add-on treat. The menu tries to keep the calorie count low. Meal replacement drinks are 200 to 350 calories depending on the toppings. Energy items are all less than 100 calories.

Silva plans to source ingredients locally when possible, buying the fruit and milk from nearby vendors. Those ingredients are important for customers not interested in consuming Herbalife products. “So some people don’t want to have protein smoothies, but they want to have a milk smoothie. We can always do the whole milk or almond milk with fruit, and basically that’s it.” Said Silva.

Herbalife is a Multi-level marketing company that distributes its products through a network of independent distributors and members. In 2016, the company agreed to “fundamentally restructure” its business as part of a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Shops like PDX Nutrition support the reorganization by providing a sales path for the products that do not include joining a membership or club. However, Silva will explain how someone can get involved in the business if asked. “If somebody ever asked me, ‘how you do this, is there any way that I can do it?’ I will show them, but nobody is obligated to sign up for anything.”

Silva assures his patrons that people do not need to participate with Herbalife to visit the shop. “They don’t have to ever sign up for anything because we are providing mainly the restaurant experience.” He also pointed to his own family’s health to assuage concerns surrounding Herbalife supplements. “I have seen people saying these will cause damage to your health. The only thing I can say is that we, my wife and I, are being consumers for the last 16 years, and my parents for more than 20 years. I have four kids that have been consuming these smoothies since they were little.”

Hiram, Diana, and Nayeli Silva

Since 2010, Hiram Silva has opened many shops like PDX Nutrition in the Seattle area. However, he does not currently own most of them. He opens the cafes and trains people on how to manage the shop before selling the business. He explained it is “kind of like a franchise,” and in that way, it continues the MLM strategy of growing a participant’s profit by bringing in other people behind them. This expansion into Montavilla is only the start of what will be a new focus in Oregon. “Our goal is to open at least four locations in the next one to two years in the Portland area.” Said Silva. The first few locations will stay within the family, with his daughters running them after he trains the new staff.

PDX Nutrition is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. New customers receive $2.00 off when placing their first order. Look for a grand opening celebration after the first month in operation.

By

Jacob Loeb

Update: An entirely different Portland medical provider named PDX Nutrition is run by trained dietitians. That group organized in 2020, two years before the Glisan shop opened. “We are not affiliated with the storefront PDX Nutrition on Glisan,” explained Kate Webb, Registered Dietitian with PDX Nutrition.

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Business Relocating

DB Dessert Company Closes Montavilla Location

This month, DB Dessert Company removed store signage at 6824 NE Glisan Street after recently closing its original Montavilla retail location. The bakery began its brick-and-mortar operations from this space in 2018. Since then, they have launched two new Portland locations that will remain open.

During its four years on NE Glisan, the dessert, pastry, and custom cake maker served a valued role in the community. DB Dessert Company quickly developed a positive reputation for made-to-order cakes and other sweet items. However, the brand’s popularity enticed founder Damala Badon to expand operations to other neighborhoods. As new locations opened, storefront hours at the Montavilla location sometimes became irregular.

Note displayed on DB Dessert Company’s 6824 NE Glisan Street door November 2021

Although predominantly a successful and safe space, on January 3rd, thieves broke into the Glisan Street location and vandalized the shop. That event did not deter Badon from reopening the shop to the public for an additional four months. Now the bakery is empty and clear of all DB Dessert Company branding. Customers are encouraged to visit the Alberta District location at 2624 NE Alberta Street or their Rockwood Location at 458 SE 185th, Suite 116.

By

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Montavilla News has a Patreon account. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to please consider becoming a paid subscriber or sponsor. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.