Most of Oregon’s Bars and Restaurants Must Close Before Midnight This Year, but There Are Still Ways to Celebrate New Year’s Eve

From hot mulled beer to drive-in fireworks, New Year’s Eve doesn't have to be dull.

Photo Courtesy of Threshold Brewing.

No one will be celebrating the midnight countdown to 2021 at most Oregon bars and restaurants due to the state's COVID-19 safety protocols setting closing time at 11 pm.

But a number of food and drink establishments are getting inventive with their New Year's Eve offerings in the hope of luring some customers to al fresco dining.

At Threshold Brewing in Montavilla, guests can reserve a table at the Montavilla business's on-street covered hutch. And if sipping a cold beer on a cold night sounds like a prescription for hypothermia, the bar also recently began serving a traditional Polish grzaniec, or hot mulled beer, garnished with a cinnamon stick:

Grzaniec, a traditional Polish hot, mulled beer. Photo courtesy of Threshold Brewing.

Grzaniec, a traditional Polish hot, mulled beer. Photo courtesy of Threshold Brewing.

Related: Threshold Brewing Builds Itself a Shelter From the Storms.

A reservation for two on New Year's Eve includes two drink tickets plus a charcuterie plate with Olympia Provisions salami, baked rosemary flatbread and aged white cheddar.

Other restaurants around town will do a similar advance booking-only seating in shifts, including Northwest Portland wine bar Arden. Its New Year's Eve patio dinner is four courses, bookended by a welcome cocktail and a half-bottle of sparkling wine to take home to toast the arrival of 2021, due to the curfew.

And while some table service has been suspended, Mediterranean Exploration Company, the Pearl District eatery, is keeping its open-air tent available for people to eat their to-go orders, including a special New Year's Eve spread that includes a smoked-and-braised lamb, spot prawns, grilled octopus and an olive oil cake.

But if dining among others, even outside, still sounds too risky during the pandemic, you can celebrate the end of 2020 from your driver's seat, while Keizer will make the sky explode.

Volcanoes Stadium, about 45 minutes south on I-5, will host its first New Year's Eve fireworks show starting at 9 pm, which coincides with the midnight ball drop in New York City's Times Square. Tickets are $20 per vehicle and need to be purchased online in advance.

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