Killer Burger Will Open Its 13th Location in the Former Lompoc Tavern Slabtown Building

The space also housed Avenue 23 Tap and Table, which recently closed.

Killer Burger Photo by Carly Diaz. (Carly Diaz)

By Andi Prewitt

The edges of Slabtown that once were restaurant dead zones continue to get breaths of fresh air in the form of chic new dining rooms and sunny patios.

Killer Burger announced last week that it had signed a lease for its fifth location within Portland proper at 1620 NW 23rd Ave.

That building used to house Avenue 23 Tap and Table, a spinoff from the bar’s original Ankeny Street location. But anyone who frequented the neighborhood over the past decade best remembers the site as Lompoc Tavern, a sleek refuge for condo-dwelling beer drinkers who would have never gone to the wonderfully dark and dingy New Old Lompoc, which was razed in 2012 to make room for the mixed-use complex.

“We’ve been looking for the right spot on 23rd for years,” TJ Southard, founder and CEO of Killer Burger, stated in a press release. “It’s such a great neighborhood to walk and shop and eat in.”

As is customary with all of the chain’s 12 other locations in Oregon and Washington, burgers automatically come with fries and topped with bacon and proprietary sauces. Creativity will still abound, however, in terms of the other layering options.

The Slabtown Killer Burger is scheduled to open as early as this summer.

Related: Killer Burger Will Open Its 10th Oregon Location in Northeast Portland

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