Why Portland bars are becoming top food destinations
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Bars are playing with food as a way to draw in customers. Photo: Courtesy of Ty and Chey
Your next great meal may come from your local watering hole.
Why it matters: Portland bars have become much more than just places to get a cocktail. Some are now full-fledged culinary destinations, offering inventive dishes you'd expect from fine-dining kitchens.
State of play: In order to obtain a liquor license in Oregon, establishments must have at least five food items on the menu.
- For some bars, the requirement means serving frozen pizza or chicken tenders.
- Yes, but: Others have taken it as a creative opportunity to attract customers and beef up their bottom lines by offering chef-driven plates.
Zoom in: When Tommy Klus opened Scotch Lodge in 2019, he wanted top-shelf spirits to sit on the table beside high-quality Pacific Northwest food — like fried Brie sticks, candied duck pappardelle and wagyu tartare.
- "There was a little confusion early on about whether we were a restaurant or a bar," Klus, a James Beard award finalist this year, told Axios. "We didn't feel like we wanted, or needed, to be either-or but to celebrate both."
- Scotch Lodge's food menu has become a substantial part of its business over the last few years, accounting for roughly 40% of sales, Klus said — so much so that they've refreshed their private dining room to host more events.
What they're saying: Tulip Shop Tavern's Tyler Treadwell shares a similar ethos for his menu, which is heavily influenced by nostalgia and features classic bar staples like smashburgers, corn dogs and chicken wings.
- "We try to deliver it in a modest way, but when you eat it, you can tell it's made from scratch and we really care," he said.
- Plus: Tulip Shop's Instagram account has become a well-oiled marketing machine for the bar, highlighting its rotating specials — patty melts on Mondays and hot honey chicken on Thursdays — as a way to lure folks in on otherwise slow weekdays.
The big picture: Bar owners are also rethinking whom they serve and how, as drinking habits change, said Casey Gipson of Dirty Pretty and Fools and Horses.
- Collaborations and special one-time menus can bring a crowd, too.
- For example, Dirty Pretty's Taco Bell-inspired menu (featuring spicy papas tacos, ceviche and funnel cake fries) has been a huge hit, online and in person.
- "Doing a burger isn't enough," Gipson said. "We are one of the best food towns in the country, so doing fun, visually appealing things [is] now as important as making good food."
The bottom line: Food is now doing what alcohol used to — getting people in the door. It's also getting them to stay there once inside.
- "The primary goal is to have the type of bar where people wouldn't want to leave to go to a different place to get food," Treadwell said.