Andi Prewitt

Some Group Overnight and Day-Use Areas Will Reopen at Oregon State Parks This Spring

If you’ve been envisioning a summer filled with group picnics or camping trips, Oregon State Parks just made it a bit easier to make those plans. Today, the agency announced that it will reopen overnight and day-use areas for large parties at some of its properties. You can start booking reservations on April 15 for stays beginning May 1 and beyond. Some of the more popular locations include one group camp and all three day-use areas at Silver Falls State Park southeast of Salem, picnic shelters along the coast at Cape Lookout and Fort Stevens State Parks, and three group camps at Wallowa Lake. You can view a full list on the Oregon State Parks website.

Kachka Lavka Has Reopened In-Person Shopping and Debuted an Outdoor Cafe

For the first time in more than a year, Kachka Lavka is welcoming customers back inside for their shopping needs, while also introducing a new outdoor café. The grocery and deli that chef and co-owner Bonnie Morales opened in the mezzanine of Kachka in late 2019 had been offering curbside pickup since the lockdown last spring due to the pandemic. But starting last Friday, Lavka began allowing one party at a time into its market to browse and then pick out everything from housemade breads, charcuterie, cured fish and general merchandise.

Oregon City Brewing Is Adding a Year-Round Beer Garden and Food Cart Pod

Oregon City Brewing is one of those businesses that has started to convert even more of its property into an al fresco taproom. The brewery actually purchased three gravel parking lots surrounding the original location on Washington Street three years ago, not knowing how crucial that space would become during the pandemic. Last year, they converted half of it into temporary outdoor seating and leased the other portion to Coney Island Tavern.

New Team Beers Will Debut at Providence Park When Fans Return for Matches This Month

As soccer fans prepare to head back into Providence Park to watch the Timbers and Thorns in person once again, they will also find a couple of new team beers waiting for them at the concession stands. When the Thorns play their home opener first on April 9, Pelican Brewing is introducing its beer made in collaboration with the team called the Side Tackle Hazy IPA. Meanwhile, the Timbers will also be getting their own beer courtesy of Widmer Brothers, a longstanding partner with the men’s Major League Soccer team. Debuting for the 2021 season is ‘Til I Die IPA, a classic West Coast take on the style.

A New Haunted Mansion-Themed Cocktail Lounge Is Scheduled to Open in Old Town This Month

Raven’s Manor, a cocktail lounge designed to look like a haunted mansion, is preparing to welcome its first customers through the doors in late April, barring any last-minute hitches with the buildout. The new business is opening inside the historic Henry Failing Building on Southwest 1st Avenue and Oak Street. The site was previously home to dance club and WW’s 2018 Bar of the Year, No Vacancy, which closed two years ago due to a legal dispute with the landlord.

Portland Lebanese Institution Nicholas Restaurant Has Opened in a New, Larger Space

One of Portland’s oldest Lebanese-Mediterranean restaurants is kicking off what will be its first full week in business at a long anticipated new location. Nicholas moved from its original flagship on Southeast Grand Avenue to a 4,000-square-foot space at 1109 SE Madison Street, officially welcoming customers last Thursday. That building was formerly occupied by Mad Son’s Pub until 2017 and Madison’s Bar & Grill prior to that.

Oregon State Parks Will Embark on an Ambitious Plan to Make Its Facilities More Accessible

Oregon State Parks and Recreation has announced ambitious plans to make its facilities more accessible for people with disabilities over the next 25 years. The new Americans With Disabilities Act Transition Plan helped the agency identify obstacles to both parks and recreational programs across the state in order to then provide a roadmap for removing them. In all, trained rangers and an ADA coordinator surveyed 273 sites and identified 4,872 barriers, which were then grouped into categories by how easy or difficult they would be to fix.

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