Tag: Jax Hart

Food and Drink, New Business

Bookstore Joins Hungry Heart Bakery

On November 13th, Endless Wonders Books opened a sales corner at Hungry Heart Bakery, 414 SE 80th Avenue. The new integrated business relationship between the distinct companies adds operating hours to the storefront while offering a selection of titles featuring marginalized communities or written by authors identifying as members of underrepresented groups.

Owners Zo Nicole and Mags Burke created Endless Wonders Books as a mobile and online bookstore before meeting Hungry Heart’s owner, Jax Hart, at a pride pop-up event at the Jupiter Hotel. That introduction eventually led to the book seller’s first store location after a string of positive interactions, bringing them to the neighborhood. “We did the street fair circuit this summer, using it as an opportunity to meet different neighborhoods. We had a really good time at the Montavilla Street Fair and knew pretty quickly that we were ready to think about something more long-term, rather than going to new places every weekend,” recalled Burke. “We did a three-day pop-up here in [Hungry Heart], and it was really fun and felt good. So we asked Jax if we could have a longer-term conversation.”

Interior of Endless Wonders Books store featuring a wall of colorful books and greeting cards, with a large wooden table and chairs in front, and a bright window view.

Nicole describes themselves as a lifelong reader who grew tired of a tech career and used a layoff as the catalyst to pursue a dream of opening a bookstore that would surface works that include often overlooked or inaccurately represented communities. “I grew up never really seeing myself necessarily represented in literature, and I know that’s true for a lot of other people. I also believe that being able to read stories of folks that are from different backgrounds as yours can help build empathy and understanding.” explained Nicole. They felt uplifting those stories “severely underrepresented across traditionally published books” was critically needed in this current point in America’s social trajectory. Burke added that they “hope that having a bookstore with this focus will give people avenues to drive towards action, not just reading books and expanding their perspectives but also letting that impact them to take action in some ways.”

Although the titles selected by the booksellers are purpose-driven, they created a general-interest bookstore that carries many genres and serves a wide age range of readers. They have picture books for preliterate customers alongside titles written for middle graders, young adults, and adult readers. Visitors will find books shelved in a traditional manner that honors the content ahead of the community. “We don’t categorize by identity. We categorize by genre,” explained Burke. “Within a genre, multiple identities are represented because we believe that integration is how we actually exist in the world. We don’t have a black southern American versus a Nigerian section versus an AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) section.” The store staff can help customers find works by or including specific identities, but that is not how they anticipate customers will browse the bookstore’s catalog.

Bookshelves filled with various titles organized by genre, including New Releases, Memoir, Young Adult, Romance, and Fantasy, in a cozy bookstore setting at Hungry Heart Bakery.

The bookstore’s path to brick-and-mortar has progressed quickly, and the owners feel that they will one day expand into a dedicated space. However, the embedded store within the Hungry Heart Bakery feels like an ideal location to meet readers outside the digital world, allowing people to connect with others while exploring written works. “One thing I love about growing up and going to indie bookstores is grabbing a book off the shelf, finding a comfortable chair, and reading the first chapter or picking out a couple of poems from a poetry collection,” said Nicole. “Just seeing if you’re vibing with it or not.” The partners also envision the store as a place to help people find books to gift to readers who are not seeing the subjects they want elsewhere. “It’s one of the most fun moments if someone comes in saying, ‘my 15-year-old is bored with reading this and starting to get interested in that, can you help me pick out a book?'” said Burke. They will have hundreds of titles available on the shelf and even more available via the online store. The offer local delivery in a six-mile radius centered on SE 58th Avenue and Division Street.

Exterior view of Hungry Heart Bakery, featuring an open sign and 'Endless Wonders' bookstore displayed in the window, showcasing the combined retail space.

Endless Wonders Books has overlapping hours with Hungry Heart Bakery: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. In the morning, the bakery staff can assist customers who are looking to buy a book, a gift card, or other merchandise the bookstore sells. Zo Nicole starts work mid-day, recommending titles to shoppers and covering Hungry Heart’s sales counter. “The Hungry Hearts staff will be able to ring people up for their bookstore purchases in addition to their coffee and pastries, burritos, whatever else they’re getting. And then I’m coming in by noon every day. I’ll be here to help folks with book recommendations, ringing them up for any cards or prints, and I’m also keeping [Hungry Heart’s] coffee and pastry service going into the evening,” said Nicole.

Interior of Endless Wonders Books showing a brightly lit bookshelf filled with colorful book covers, a wooden table with metal chairs, and decorative plants.

This dual-occupation of the SE 80th Avenue storefront off the Montavilla SE Stark main street adds four hours to the popular Hungry Heart Bakery while bringing a bookstore back to the area. The owners encourage readers to stop in and browse the titles, and they will gladly speak with customers about expanding the selection to meet the literary needs of visitors. The shop strives to showcase the works of small publishers, and visitors are likely to find titles and voices not well represented in other bookstores.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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Food and Drink, New Business

Montavilla Ranch Pizza Opens June 6

On Thursday, June 6th, Ranch Pizza will open its eighth location at 7940 SE Stark Street on Montavilla’s historic main street. That same morning, the pizzeria’s sister business, Loro Coffee, will welcome customers from its second location, which shares this storefront. Ranch Pizza owners intend to make the Stark Street location the home base for their growing organization, using it to develop new ideas for their local restaurant chain.

Over the last seven months, partners Eric Wood and Richard Corey have been in an expansion mode, opening Loro Coffee’s first location inside the new Beaverton Ranch Pizza shop in October 2023. They next completed their Hillsboro pizzeria in April. After a short rest, their team is at it again in Montavilla. All this work makes up for time lost to shutdowns and economic uncertainty. “Beaverton opened after a pretty long pause; it took extra long to build out, and we had some difficulty coming out of the pandemic,” recalled Wood.

Both Ranch locations’ openings this year developed out of two enticing opportunities that happened to occur at the same time. “Hillsboro and this one are both similar in that we were taking over existing restaurant spaces, which from a building build-out standpoint is always a lot easier. The one in Hillsboro happened to already be a pizza restaurant. That was super easy. It was relatively new, so we didn’t feel like it was in our best interest to pour a bunch of money into it if we didn’t have to, [just] for the sake of changing it,” said Wood.

Hillsboro could have been the only location opening in the first half of 2024 if not for Hungry Heart’s decision to consolidate operations to one location in January. “We had our eyes on Montavilla for a while, both myself and my business partner live in the area. It’s kind of a dream to have that home base location as an owner, and we didn’t feel like we have that where we’re at in the southeast,” explained Wood. With the other cafe location across the river in Beaverton, it has been a challenge for the owners to participate in new coffee tastings or coordinate the specials as much as they would like to. That prompted a search for a location in the Montavilla area with an eye on this SE Stark Street building. “I actually spoke to the landlord of this building about the space right next to ours, which is now a really great board game shop,” recalled Wood. However, adding another restaurant was not ideal for the building’s owner. “But when Jax [Hart of Hungry Heart] approached the landlord about selling their business and scaling back, the landlord reached out to us first, and we were very happy they did. So that’s kind of how that all fell into place.”

Ranch Pizza and Loro Coffee co-owner Eric Wood at the espresso machine

Wood and Corey met Jax Hart through the restaurant transfer process and will carry Hungry Heart Bakery items through the Loro coffee shop, serving many of Hungry Heart’s classic baked goods. In addition to incorporating some of the previous shop’s menu items, Ranch Pizza’s owners kept the existing kitchen and the entire restaurant’s infrastructure, only swapping out a few pieces of equipment. Past visitors to the space will see the same general layout with a complete refresh of the dining room and front counter area. Over the last few months, crews have replaced the casework and lighting and repainted the customer-facing zone.

The Montavilla Ranch Pizza has a unique design that pulls nostalgic inspiration from the pizzerias of people’s childhoods. “We worked with a great design team that goes by the name Each Other and a fantastic woodworker contractor called Context Woodworking. That team also designed the refresh of Yaowarat‘s place across the street,” explained Wood. This project was the first full Ranch Pizza build-out with this design team. Each Other provided branding concepts for Loro Coffee and interior design consulting for the Beaverton Ranch location. For this project, Wood and Corey gave the designers a chance to develop the project from beginning to end while meeting the company’s need to host two distinct businesses. “The challenging part, I think, is keeping it neutral but allowing it to still be an interesting space combining the vibe from the two different brands. They did a great job with it; we’re happy with how it turned out. I feel like this is definitely the template we want to move forward with,” said Wood.

The new seating area supports around 50 guests inside and 40 people outside. The wide sidewalks in front of the building provides a portion of that dining space, but they also wanted to keep the on-street seating. That space needed updates before Portland officials would grant its continued use. “We had to bring that structure up to code, which were new City codes,” said Wood. Crews rebuilt the covered curbside seating space, keeping the original frame but adding new compliant elements. Extra seating is important for the business but comes at the cost of a few on-street parking spaces. Wood acknowledges parking will be challenging, particularly for food delivery drivers, who comprise 25 to 30% of Ranch’s business. However, Wood and his partner are excited about the City’s new dedicated bike parking in front of their shop and its location on the 70’s Greenway that crosses SE Stark Street on 80th Avenue. Wood looks forward to people visiting the new location by various transportation modes.

Ranch Pizza locations offer the same regular menu items at all locations. Wood explained they like to streamline the food selection on the pizza side. With the chain adding locations, he expects the pizza menu to become fully unified between all locations, even synchronizing the rotating special that, up to now, staff independently selected at each location. “Coordinating the ordering and recipes for eight specials is a lot for our operations person to handle,” remarked Wood. However, Loro has more flexibility. They are considering bringing the breakfast focaccia that Beaverton customers have enjoyed to the Montavilla location at some point. Wood describes it as a breakfast pizza made from the Ranch crust. They have not decided on that and will gauge the local tastes before updating the selection.

Starting on June 6th, Loro Coffee’s menu is available from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on weekends. Ranch pizzas are available every day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They could extend coffee service hours if they see customer interest. Wood said they will have a simple Grand opening on the first day and “business as usual from there.”

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Promotion: Help keep independent news accessible to the community. Montavilla News has a Patreon account or you can pay directly online. We invite those who can contribute to this local news source to consider becoming paid subscribers or sponsors. We will always remain free to read regardless of subscription.

Business Relocating, Food and Drink

Hungry Heart Comes Home

On January 5th, Hungry Heart Bakery reopened in its original storefront at 414 SE 80th Avenue, consolidating three brands and two restaurants back into one business. For the owner and staff, this will create a sustainable environment while allowing them to continue the work they enjoy. The shop has returned to a breakfast-focused menu in a takeout and counter service format.

Jax Hart started the Hungry Heart cupcakes food cart in 2010 and then opened the Hungry Heart Bakery in Montavilla on January 3rd, 2015. Hart planned to open a new restaurant on SE Stark Street called White Rabbit Cafe and Bakery in the spring of 2020. The pandemic set White Rabbit’s launch date back, with the 7940 SE Stark Street location opening in early 2021 under the Hungry Heart brand. In 2022, Hart reopened the original storefront on SE 80th as a sugar-focused shop called Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets.

The two locations with split identities sometimes caused misunderstandings about the menu options at each space. “It’s been a challenge to create these different brands and give each their own identity. I think it created a lot of confusion over time for people because they would come into Hungry Heart in the morning for cupcakes or they come into Rabbit Hole looking for espresso,” explained Hart. Additionally, the expanded footprint and full-service restaurant generated more work than the profits from both places justified. On December 18th, having considered the best options for staff and customers, Hart closed Hungry Heart’s Stark Street location and retired the White Rabbit/Rabbit Hole branding.

Hart is still developing the new Hungry Heart format, with several classic items missing from the menu. Currently, they only offer their renowned cupcakes by special order, and the Rabbit Hole soft-serve ice cream is unavailable due to space constraints. Brunch and Lunch items once served on SE Stark Street are no longer on the menu, and the shop now closes at 1 p.m., reflecting its breakfast focus. However, starting in March, a retail business will share the SE 80th Avenue storefront after they close, and that group will sell some Hungry Heart baked items. “We can’t announce yet who, but we’re gonna try out having an afternoon roommate in this space, and they will be selling our cupcakes,” said Hart.

Although Hungry Heart is geared towards takeout, they still have 14 seats inside, with an outdoor seating area planned for summer. Hours of operation could also expand in the warmer months with the possible return of soft-serve ice cream. Hart is not trying to take on too much while integrating the brands, instead focusing on the core business. “I feel fortunate and proud of all these different concepts I’ve had a hand in. Not all of them were highly successful or profitable, but the pastries, coffee, and sandwiches continued to be profitable. I think a valuable lesson is that bigger isn’t necessarily always better. It was really cool being in a bigger space, but I missed being in the smaller space, having a smaller crew and a smaller menu, and just having things be a little bit simpler. The bigger space just felt like a hustle,” said Hart.

The downsizing and return to its origins is not a regression for Hungry Heart. Hart sees it as an opportunity to safely experiment without the pressure of a large restaurant’s staff and overhead. People should expect to find new, exciting foods coming from the bakery alongside the classics. “I’m hoping to take some of the pastries in a more Hispanic direction and do a play on a modern Mexican bakery, offering some more things from my background that I grew up eating. I’ve just been so focused on French pastry since we’ve been open. I’m really excited to take things in a different direction and still offer people the things that they’ve come to know over the years,” said Hart. Hungry Heart is open daily from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. except Tuesdays.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

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.

Business Closing, Business Relocating, Food and Drink

Hungry Heart Consolidates

On December 18th, Hungry Heart Bakery served its last meal from the 7940 SE Stark Street location and will return to its former space a block away at 414 SE 80th Avenue. Since April 2022, the Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets shop has operated from the SE 80th location. Jax Hart owns both businesses, and the two locations worked together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day. This weekend, December 30th and 31st, the restaurant’s owner will sell surplus supplies as they consolidate operations into the smaller space.

Inside Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets

Hungry Heart Bakery opened in Montavilla on January 3rd, 2015, after five years of running the successful Hungry Heart cupcakes food cart. From 2017 to 2019, Hungry Heart opened a sister business, Heartbreaker, a block over at 411 SE 81st Avenue. They closed that business with plans to open a new restaurant on SE Stark Street called White Rabbit Cafe and Bakery in the spring of 2020. The pandemic set White Rabbit’s launch back, with the SE Stark location opening in early 2021 under the Hungry Heart name. As restrictions lifted on indoor dining, Hart expanded the menu and embraced the original brunch menu planned for White Rabbit. The restaurant began a transition to the intended name, adopting both logos. However, they never completed that transition, and a change of business operations was needed.

In December, Jax Hart publicly announced that the company would relocate to the original space. “The decision to downsize has not been easy, but gives us the opportunity to slow down and return to our roots,” reads a notice on the Hungry Heart website. Consolidating the two locations requires selling some of the surplus restaurant supplies. The staff invites people to buy items at the weekend sale from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on December 30th and 31st inside the closed location at 7940 SE Stark Street. They intend to reopen the consolidated shop at 414 SE 80th Avenue on January 5th, 2024. Watch the Hungry Heart Instagram account for updates.

Article and photos by

Jacob Loeb

Bar, Food and Drink, New Business

Rabbit Hole Sweetshop

Last month, Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets quietly opened in Montavilla town at 414 SE 80th Ave. The shop occupies the former Hungry Heart Bakery space, made available after the restaurant relocated to SE Stark Street. Both businesses are the creation of Jax Hart, and the two locations work together to meet the varied appetites of customers throughout the day.

Hart quietly reopened the SE 80th shopfront on April 15th. Although covered in Bridgetown Bites, the opening was unpublicized, allowing staff time to work out the kinks in the shop’s operation and perfect the menu options. The first few weeks primarily focused on mastering the soft-serve ice cream machines that require an expert’s hand to operate. Rabbit Hole is now ready for customers but will continue to add products and features to the shop over the coming months.

Rabbit Hole staff are preparing for an expected busy summer season with more people out in the neighborhood looking for treats. “We’re [open] Thursday through Sunday 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and that’ll probably extend as we get into summer and see what time people are looking for the ice cream and sweets.” Said Hart. The two shops have a short overlap in operating hours but essentially split the day. Hungry Heart operates from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., serving the morning and lunchtime crowd. Rabbit Hole’s hours catch the afternoon and evening dessert seekers. That schedule allows Hart to balance their attention between the two establishments. “I kind of just go where I’m needed,” explained Hart.

The second location is more than a way to expand operations. Hart wants the Rabbit Hole to offer a different customer experience than the busy restaurant on Stark Street. Reopening in the original location is a way to reconnect with the roots of the business. “When we started, the intention was to just be a small neighborhood dessert shop and be a little bit more slower paced and low key. So our hope for this space was to have a little bit more time to engage with people,” said Hart. “It’s really been nice to welcome people into this space again.”

Hart moved the customer-pleasing Hungry Heart cupcakes and the macarons to the Rabbit Hole location. Over time, they expect to expand the confectionary options. However, Hart knew that the cold treats needed to be part of the new shop from day one. “We’re also doing soft serve ice cream because we had previously done Heartbreaker [ice cream shop], and people loved having ice cream in the neighborhood.”

Rabbit Hole features two soft serve machines, one of which is a dedicated non-dairy use. “So currently that machine has Oatly vegan vanilla and dole whip, which is a pineapple soft-serve,” explained Hart. As they settle in, Rabbit Hole staff will rotate flavors and begin to offer dipped cones with various toppings and sundaes.

Beyond Rabbit Hole’s display cases, staff have stocked shelves with a collection of packaged food items, books, and plants. Hart is working with suppliers from the area to provide a variety of market items to compliment the sweet shop. Hart explains that many people stopping in are picking up supplies for a celebration. “When people come in for cupcakes, it’s for a party, it’s for a gift, or it’s for a friend who just graduated.” The plants and other gift-able items make the shop a one-stop location for those looking to arrive at a party prepared. Soon the store will stock cards from local letterpress companies to complete the present giving collection that Rabbit Hole provides.

Hart expects to enhance the shop’s offerings beyond its products and menu. The indoor seating area will soon support a flexible teaching space for vendors who want to offer cooking classes. “We’ll be able to do these small, intimate neighborhood cooking classes and kids cooking classes.” Hart also explained the shop would soon gain outdoor seating. “We have an application in for a Healthy Business permit, which would be one of those seating areas that take up a parking spot, so we’re going to wait and see if we can either get a 20 foot or a 40 foot [space].”

Recently, staff have focused on setting the right environment for the shop and opening the doors to customers. After they complete the physical storefront, Hart said they will next work to open the website to the public. “We’ll have the menus on the website, and we’ll have an ordering page. [People can] order cupcakes online, and we’ll have an online store for all of the Market items.”

Christening the new location Rabbit Hole Market and Sweets is part of a larger project that began years ago but put on hold by the pandemic. Jax Hart revealed that the Stark street location would eventually change names in alignment with the original intention for the space. “We’re working on rebranding Hungry Heart to White Rabbit,” said Hart. However, they don’t expect to make that change soon, as the cost is not insignificant. Regardless of the timing, the relationship between the two shops will be unmistakable when they complete the rebranding process.

The public is encouraged to pop in and see what sweets or plants Rabbit Hole offers. Look for new items and events later this year and know that a cool sweet treat is just down the street on the coming warm days of summer.

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.