Scoop: Gossip Borne Ceaselessly Into the Future.

1. REO-PENING: Controversy-plagued barbecue eatery Reo’s Ribs has reopened in a building on outer Southeast Powell Boulevard. Owned by Reo Varnado, Snoop Lion’s uncle, Reo’s originally opened as a cart in Beaverton before getting a glowing write-up in Gourmet magazine and moving into a restaurant space on Southwest Macadam Avenue. There, neighbors complained about the smoke from Reo’s barbecue rig, which they said fogged the road, setting off fire alarms and making their patios unusable. Scoop stumbled upon a new Reo’s last weekend at 11140 SE Powell Blvd. The restaurant, its interior still under construction, uses the outdoor smoker and brings food to tile-topped tables scavenged from a Mexican restaurant. (Scoop also verified the existence of a pulled-pork sandwich.) A cashier said the shop has plans to serve breakfast and have a full bar. “We’re gonna have a grand opening when we’re a little more grand,” she said.

1. OPEN AND SHUT: A battle of New-York-dubbed pizzas is apparently shaping up on the west side. Salem-based Straight From New York Pizza is moving into the space of longtime pizza-slinger Pizza Oasis, six blocks from Escape From New York Pizza, and expects to be open in June. Pizza Oasis had been making pies in that space since 1986. >> Meanwhile, the taco-makers from Taco the Town have opened a new food cart, called Guero (slang for “white boy”), in the cart pod on Southeast 28th Avenue and Ankeny Street. WW called Taco the Town its favorite bike-delivered food in our April 10 bike issue. The cart plans to resume delivery, eventually including neighboring carts Grilled Cheese Grill and Wolf & Bear’s as part of its delivery service.

1. CANNED: A tipster noticed that the Pilsner from Portland-founded, Seattle-brewed Churchkey Can Co. had disappeared from store shelves a few months ago. The beer got international attention for its old-school steel flat-top cans without pull-tabs, but was plagued by quality problems: WW called it “lousy beer in a stupid package—just like dad used to drink” (“Drank,” May 30, 2012). Turns out we weren’t the only ones unhappy with the product. After customer-tweeted photos of sediment-filled skunky brew, the company offered refunds and pulled the product until it can figure things out. “The beer wasn’t staying fresh for the period of time that we wanted,” says Churchkey co-owner Justin Hawkins. “We jury-rigged a machine that was meant for aluminum [cans].” The company hopes to have its beer back on shelves by July, using a new packaging method but keeping the design. “It’s trial and error every day,” Hawkins says.

1. CORRECTION:  Last week’s story “Degender Bender” incorrectly stated that Ursula K. Le Guin’s novel The Left Hand of Darkness was being adapted for the stage for the first time. A Chicago theater company adapted the work 17 years ago.

WWeek 2015