• NOT-SO-STARK STREET: The blossoming Montavilla ’hood boasts all the community staples these days—including the Academy Theater, meat place Country Cat and neighbors determined to rid the area of hookers. Now add to that a high-end pastry boutique and a down-home pie shop and grocery, both set to open in the area early next year. Montavilla resident Laura Widener will open Pastrygirl at 7919 SE Stark St. in time for the Valentine’s Day rush, with the help of biz partner and wife Stephanie Mulligan. The former pastry chef at Higgins and Southpark has been moonlighting as a one-woman cake operation under the same name for a decade. On the other end of the spectrum is retail shop Immortal Pie and Larder, where wine industry vet Morgan Ennis will sell individual-sized pies along with foodie staples like beer, wine, cheese and salts at 8029 SE Stark St.
  • ATTACK OF THE CRAFTERS: Think the mall was packed last weekend? About 7,500 shoppers packed into Exhibit Hall D of the Oregon Convention Center on Sunday for Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Holiday Sale, an eight-hour event selling everything local—from accessorized reindeer figurines to DIY felt fortune cookies. “What shocked us was, there was 2,000 people waiting to get in at 11 am…the line snaked past the MAX tracks,” says co-organizer Cathy Pitters. “The first people got there [to wait in line] at 8 am...Portland is really hardcore about buying local and making things themselves.” It’s the biggest crowd the event’s had so far. A hot seller at the sale? Brian Connolly’s ceramic baby-doll-head butter dishes. Crafty Wonderland (craftywonderland.com) will be back for a two-day sale next spring (May 1-2).
  • ALL BARK: Last Friday, acclaimed local science-rock trio Bark Hide and Horn played its final show. But is the band breaking up? Not entirely. According to singer-guitarist Andy Ferguson, BHH is finished under that moniker, but Ferguson will continue to write music with multi-instrumentalist Peter Valois after the departure of drummer Dusty Dybvig, who is leaving the band to pursue other projects. “I think we’re going to record another song or two with Dusty, release what we have as a digital EP, and embark on something new,” Ferguson says. As long as he keeps setting tales of tree snails mating to catchy folk-rock breakdowns, we’ll keep listening.
  • CORRECTION: In last week’s Clublist spotlight on Mother Maybel’s Martinis Spirits, the reviewer mentioned that “some folks may not be able to stomach an omelette with their martini.” Although there are egg dishes at the bar and the full-service restaurant has an all-day breakfast menu, there are no omelettes on offer. Also, the review characterized the bar as “not cheap”; Maybel’s drink prices are comparable to those at other cocktail lounges in Portland. WW regrets the errors.