Skip to main content
1. Le Vieux
Opening: Dec. 29 was the first day.
Location: 1937 NW 23rd Place, former home to French fine-dining spot Noisette.
From: Annette Yang and Brian Leitner of Nettie's Crab Shack in San Francisco.
The place: The 50-seat restaurant has been rehabbed considerably from its time as Noisette—the tables offer a bit more privacy, and there's a more rustic-domestic feel, with a fireplace on the deck. The food will be a roaming variety of Old World Mediterranean, including, of course, the neglected Mediterranean fare of the south of France: "Le Vieux" means "the old" in French.
2. BRODOJO/"Ham Bar"
Opening: Spring 2015
Location: 232 NW 12th Ave., former site of Jinx cocktail lounge.
From: The Nostrana and Oven & Shaker team (Cathy Whims, Ryan Magarian, Kurt Huffman).
The place: The name is to be determined—BRODOJO is an inside joke by Huffman—but the bar will be centered on international ham: Spanish ham, Southern ham, Italian ham, Midwestern ham, all kinds of ham. Oh, and sherry and cocktails aplenty from Magarian. Maybe he'll put ham in those, too.
3. Noraneko
Opening: Winter 2015
Location: 1430 SE Water Ave.
From: Gabe Rosen and Kina Voelz of Biwa.
The place: Rosen's ramen is already well-regarded in Portland, but with Noraneko he's doubling down with a ramen-ya to match the izakaya. Rosen plans a straightforward ramen house: shio, shoyu and miso, plus gyoza and karaage.
4. P.R.E.A.M./Otter's Sausagefest
Opening: Early 2015
Location: 2133 SE 11th Ave., in the space formerly occupied by Tennessee Red's.
From: Nick Ford and Brandon Gomez, the P.R.E.A.M. team from Ned Ludd.
The place: The Wu Tang-inspired pizza pop-up P.R.E.A.M. made Ned Ludd a go-to spot for the wood-fired-pizza crowd, and became popular enough that Gomez and Ford—with a little help from ChefStable's Kurt Huffman—figured it made sense to open a full-fledged restaurant. Expect more beers and pizzas, out of a custom-made oven from Naples.
5. "Stolen Soul Saloon"
Opening: February 2015
Location: 727 SE Grand Ave., site of East Bank Saloon, which remains open and will transition.
From: Jayson Criswell and Robert Kowalski (Clinton Street Pub, Lutz Tavern, Crow Bar).
The place: A lot is still up in the air, but bartenders there say the owners have already put in better beer taps and upgraded the food, and are moving away from a sports bar to hangout. "Stolen Soul Saloon" is on the liquor license, but unlikely to be the actual name.
6. Henry Higgins Boiled Bagels
Opening: February 2015
Location: 6420 SE Foster Road, site of a former check-cashing station.
From: Henry Higgins, naturally.
The place: Leah Orndoff's boiled-bagel shop first popped up in a St. Johns pizza shop, then in Southeast's Half Pint Cafe. Now it gets its own place. They'll be open from early morning till at least 4 pm, Orndoff says, and will also serve eggs and bacon, breakfast sandwiches and "old-school diner stuff." She'll also serve Mudd Works coffee—the stuff roasted by the folks at Half Pint, who might still sling her bagels on weekends.
7. Revolution Hall
Opening: Feb. 12, 2015
Location: 531 SE 14th Ave., in the old Washington High School building.
From: A bunch of people. It's a partnership among Jim Brunberg and Kevin Cradock of Mississippi Studios, Mark Adler of Aladdin Theater, and concert promoter True West.
The place: Holy crap, this is huge: an 850-seat theater, two different bars (Martha's and Great Meadows), a big ol' outdoor patio and rooftop deck, and a little sandwich shop.
8. Burrasca
Opening: Spring 2015
Location: To be determined.
From: Burrasca food cart, which is going brick-and-mortar.
The place: Chef Paolo Calamai is making the jump from his little food cart on Southeast 28th Avenue—the one we named 2014 Food Cart of the Year—to a full-service Tuscan kitchen, with small plates, pasta, housemade sausage, desserts and Tuscan wines and craft beers. The cart closes Dec. 31.
9. Black Water
Opening: As early as January, permits permitting. There have been a few small events already.
Location: 835 NE Broadway, former home of Pho Broadway.
From: The owners of punk-rock label Black Water Records.
The place: The punk label plans a 98-capacity vegan restaurant, occasional music venue and miniscule 3.5-barrel brewery that, combined with Habesha and Frank's Noodle House on the same block, might make part of Irvington interesting for the first time in recent memory.
10. Fire and Stone
Opening: Planned for Dec. 30.
Location: 3707 NE Fremont St., former home to quaint mini-mart Wilshire Market.
From: Jeff Smalley, previously of Grand Central Bakery and Baker & Spice, plus Little Bird Bistro alum Juliana Santos, and Joey Alvarez of Ken's Artisan Pizza.
The place: Featuring a wood-fired oven, the restaurant will serve sourdough pizzas, veggies, meatballs, and salt-cod croquettes.
Opening: January 2015
Location: 3529 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
From: Cat enthusiast Kristen Castillo.
The place: A goddamn cat cafe. Which is to say, a spot where coffee and food lovers can hang in proximity to insane numbers of cats—or about 10 of them, anyway. There will be a petting lounge for the lonely or the overly affectionate.
12. Moon Pizza
Opening: Winter 2015
Location: Southeast 20th Avenue and Powell Boulevard.
From: Bunk Sandwiches' Tommy Habetz and Water Avenue Coffee's Brandon Smyth.
The place: Habetz will be slinging old-school, East Coast, foldable pies…and there are hints he might drop some of that world-class pasta he used to make with Mario Batali. Smyth will make ice cream.
13. Renata
Opening: Soon? There have been delays since a summer 2014 projected opening.
Location: 626 SE 7th Ave., site of a former dairy.
From: Project Grace pop-up owners Nick and Sandra Arnerich and chef Matthew Sigler of San Francisco's Flour & Water and Salumeria.
The place: A whopping 3,000-square-foot restaurant is planned with wood-fired dishes centered on Mediterranean-Italian fare, plus pasta.
14. Holdfast Dining
Opening: January 2015
Location: 537 SE Ash St., former site of wine bar Sauvage, still home to Fausse Piste winery.
From: Chefs Will Preisch and Joel Stocks, already very popular while popping up at KitchenCru and elsewhere around town.
The place: Pop-up, schmop-up; all the itinerant chefs are slowly finding homes. This will be a four-day-a-week residency for Holdfast, with six-course meals for $65 and nine-course meals for $90.
15. Chizu
Opening: February 2015
Location: 1126 SW Alder St.
From: Cheese guru Steve Jones of Cheese Bar.
The place: Cheese served like sushi. So, like, check off the cheeses on a little card or get a Steve Jones special omakase of cheese. But cheese, man. Cheese. Oh, and plenty of beer, wine and sake.
Opening: March 2015
Location: 1401 SE Morrison St., former home to Lightbar.
From: Smokehouse 21 pitmaster B.J. Smith.
The place: Hot damn. Our favorite ribs in Portland will find a home in Southeast—making this an immediate contender for the best barbecue place in Southeast Portland. The bar will serve snacks and stay open later than the Northwest location, and will open early for brunch on weekends.
17. Clutch
Opening: Early 2015
Locations: Portland International Airport and Timberland Town Center in Beaverton.
From: Ken Norris, last seen at Riffle NW.
The place: An upscale sausage mini-chain with stuff like, you know, smoked lamb.
18. Kukai
Opening: April 2015
Location: Timberland Town Center in Beaverton.
From: Japanese ramen chain Kukai, which has 18 locations in Japan and two in Seattle.
The place: Ramen, man, ramen. Based on reviews in Seattle, it should serve some of the better noodle soup in the area.
19. Shift Drinks
Opening: Early 2015
Location: A long-vacant spot in the Terminal Sales Building at 1200 SW Morrison St.
From: Sommelier Anthony Garcia (Multnomah Whiskey Library) and cocktail-maker Alise Moffatt (Angel Face, House Spirits).
The place: A big ol' 3,000-square-foot space with 25-foot columned ceilings, run by a pair of serious pros in wine and booze.
20. TBD/Beer Pairing Restaurant
Opening: Late Spring 2015
Location: Southeast 7th Avenue and Yamhill Street.
From: Chef Paul Kasten (Wildwood), with Scott Lawrence (Breakside Brewery), Mike Wright (The Commons Brewery) and Brian Carrick.
The place: Kasten, known for his love of beer during his tenure as chef at Nob Hill mainstay Wildwood restaurant, will team up with a couple of brewing pros to make a wood-fired, farm-to-table restaurant with whole-animal butchery and an emphasis on craft-beer pairings.
WWeek 2015