Dickson Drugs – Montavilla News

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.

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.

Article and Photos by

Jacob Loeb

Construction is now complete on the much-anticipated restaurant taking over the former Country Cat location. This past weekend, Lazy Susan staff officially started dinner service, representing the diner’s official opening.

Kayla Morrell, of Lazy Susan, described the opening weekend as successful. “We’ve seen a fair amount of turnout for our first weekend of full-service dining, and hope that continues as word gets out in the neighborhood.”

Dinner service is available from 4 PM to 9 PM, Friday through Sunday. They expect to add Thursday dinner in the near future, as business ramps up. Lazy Susan will also begin opening for brunch on Sundays and Mondays. However, the exact time and date for brunch service are yet to be determined.

Lazy Susan’s dining area and bar are ready to accept customers, having been carefully worked on for months. However, indoor seating will remain closed. “While the situation with COVID continues, we plan to remain in a takeout and outdoor-dining only format.” Said Morrell.

The restaurant’s interior expresses both cozy and open feelings. Woodwork surrounds the interior on all surfaces and creates compartments within the space. However, the areas’ division is represented on the outer edges, making the core of the room open and expansive. Wood dominates all corners of Lazy Susan, but the variety of stains and finishes prevent it from feeling excessive. Recessed lighting and ornamental light-fixtures illuminate all the compartments, further creating defined space without walls. The contoured paneling of the ceiling and wood floors will reduce sound reflection, creating a comfortable volume, once the room is packed full of people. For now, customers will have to view the detailed woodwork and creative lighting through the windows.

The kitchen is updated to support the charcoal centric menu. Some eliminate are a holdover from the Country Cat. Two under-counter refrigerators and the six-burner range are original. The custom charcoal grill is all new and sits center stage in the open kitchen. Future customers will be able to sit kitchen-side to watch the seasonal creations sizzling.

Lazy Susan occupies the corner shopfront in the historic Dickson Drugs building, located at 7937 SE Stark Street. The second weekend of dinner service starts tonight at 4 PM.