Killer Burger Has Opened Its Latest Restaurant on Northwest 23rd Avenue

“Slabtown is one of the top neighborhoods for restaurants in Portland right now.”

Killer Burger Photo by Carly Diaz. (Carly Diaz)

An empty storefront on Northwest 23rd Avenue, left behind when Tap and Table shut down a spinoff, officially has a new tenant: Killer Burger.

The chain opened its latest restaurant in Slabtown last week, five months after announcing it had signed a lease.

Despite the pandemic’s overall brutal blow to the hospitality industry, Killer Burger has managed to grow. The shop at 1620 NW 23rd Ave. marks its seventh location within Portland proper, bumping up the brand’s total count to 15 across the region. And since the outer fringes of this formerly industrial area are now booming with businesses, the bet to move into the neighborhood seems to be a safe one.

“Slabtown is one of the top neighborhoods for restaurants in Portland right now,” TJ Southard, the company’s founder and CEO, stated in a press release. “It was important for us to add a location to this part of town and further cement the connection between Killer Burger and our hometown.”

As a Killer Burger, the building maintains its legacy as a low-key place to grab a bite and a brew. Before it housed Avenue 23 Tap and Table, the original Southeast Ankeny Street bar’s second location, neighborhood regulars will remember the site as Lompoc Tavern. It was, of course, a sanitized, condo dweller-friendly version of the New Old Lompoc, which was razed in 2012 to make room for the mixed-use complex.

The new Killer Burger will continue the chain’s tradition of offering a combination of classic and original layering options. It will operate in accordance with current pandemic guidelines, including mandatory mask-wearing for employees and customers. Staff also following strict cleaning protocols as an extra precaution.

Related: Killer Burger Is Opening Two New Locations—and Former Duck LaMichael James Will Run One of Them

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