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Portland distillery Freeland Spirits—a mainstay of WW’s Best of Portland readers’ poll—opened a bar and tasting room at PDX last week, marking the completion of the airport’s North Concession Hall, one of the better appointed food courts to come out of its ongoing $2 billion redevelopment project.
The new wing, which sits behind security for Gates D and E, is pitched as a showcase of Oregon’s “celebrated food, beverage, and hospitality culture.” While a true snapshot of the city’s eating and drinking can’t be squeezed into an airport lounge (no matter your credit card status), there are certainly worse options for airport food and tchotchke shopping.
Retail shops from Portland Gear and Pendleton Woolen Mills sit in front of the new Freeland tasting room and gift shop, and a cluster of local chains—Grassa, Sizzle Pie and Blue Star Donuts—make up the options for layover bites, while Smith Tea and Portland Coffee Roasters offer a caffeine fix for weary travelers.
Jill Kuehler opened Freeland Spirits in 2017, naming it for her grandmother, Meemaw Freeland, and has made a point of partnering exclusively with other women-owned and -led businesses throughout its supply chain.
Signature teardrop shaped bottles of gin and whiskey fill most shelves at Freeland’s new shop, the first outpost of its flagship distillery and tasting room on Vaughn Street in Northwest. The full bar and lounge at the airport serves cocktails and—indeed—tasting “flights” of martinis and old fashioneds.
Exclusive to Freeland’s airport is a PDX Bourbon, velvety and dark after aging in port barrels. And, this being the PDX airport, it of course sports that carpet design on its label.
