Beaverton is fun to visit — and call home.

Why it matters: The town of nearly 100,000 people is known as an affordable home for Portland commuters, but as the downtown grid has developed recently, Beaverton has attained a standalone charm.

The big picture: In the last five years, Beaverton's become a foodie destination. The 31 food carts at BG Food Cartel, across from City Hall, compete with newer restaurants such as AFURI Ramen + Dumpling and Maiale Rosa Wood Fired Pizzeria, as well as the classic Nak Won.

• Breakside Beaverton opened a 200-person outdoor space in 2023 with five food carts, including Farmer and the Beast and vegan option Chubby Bunny.
• Plus: Great food is also often hidden in strip malls and grocery stores.

Zoom in: The 1st Street Dining Commons is a pandemic-era experiment that stuck, giving people a place to hang out, with selfie-friendly giant beach chairs.

Context: Beaverton's transformation has been in the works since long before the pandemic.

• "The most important thing about Restaurant Row was, we wrote a strategy and we executed it," Mayor Lacey Beaty tells Axios about passing Beaverton's urban renewal plan more than 10 years ago.
• Around SW 1st Street and Watson Avenue, it created storefront grants to both encourage new businesses and provide resources to established businesses to boost their curb appeal without getting gentrified out.
• "That laid the foundation for the explosive success you're seeing now," Beaty says.

Beaty asks companies what they want when they are thinking of relocating to Beaverton.

• "They tell us amenities, restaurants and access to nature."

What they're saying: "The pandemic really threw the whole town for a loop," resident David Anderson tells Axios, referring to a dip in foot traffic, which he has since seen bounce back.

• Anderson, one of the owners of wine bar Syndicate, has lived in Beaverton since 1999, and is pleased with the city's efforts to become more than a bedroom community.
• Most of his customers come from within two miles. On a recent Sunday afternoon, the bar was packed, taken over by a wine club.

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📅 Upcoming events around the city.

The 2024 Portland Open at Glendoveer Golf Course on June 2nd:

The Disc Golf Pro Tour and Stumptown Disc Golf are excited to host spectators at Glendoveer to watch some of the top professional players in the world compete for a title. $10-$500.

Hosting an event? Email [email protected].

Mass layoffs at Nike — one of the largest employers in Oregon — are not new, but a significant loss of high-wage workers in the company's Washington County headquarters could lead to the local economy taking a hit.

Catch up quick: In February, Nike announced it would cut 2% of its workforce, including 740 employees at its Beaverton headquarters.

• In its last earnings call, the company reported flat revenue and suggested the layoffs would help it restrategize its approach to direct-to-consumer sales, lower costs and streamline its leadership structure.

What they're saying: "Nike has been known for having layers and layers of management," Matt Powell, an adviser with BCE Consulting, tells Axios. "They're trying to cut out a big chunk of expenses to make the U.S. business more profitable."

• In an email statement, Nike said the move puts it in the "position to right-size our organization to get after our biggest growth opportunities."

By the numbers: Nike's Beaverton headquarters employs roughly 11,400 people, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — so April's layoffs accounted for more than 6% of its local workforce.

• This could bump the county's unemployment rate from 3.7% to 3.9%, according to Damon Runberg, an economist with Business Oregon.

The bottom line: Many of the cuts affected "as much management and strategy people as product developers," Powell says.

• People in this sector have an average annual wage of $148,000, considerably higher than the statewide average, Runberg says.
• "Losing higher-wage workers is a big deal, as they account for a disproportionate share of discretionary spending."

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🏀 Cameron Brink — who played basketball at both Mountainside and Southridge high schools in Beaverton — made her WNBA rookie debut with the Los Angeles Sparks on Wednesday, scoring 11 points. (CBS Sports)

🚴‍♂️ For the first time in nearly 15 years, the city of Beaverton will update its Transportation System Plan, which aims to reduce vehicle miles traveled and lay out investments for new pedestrian-focused pathways. (BikePortland)

🍎 Families are pushing back against Beaverton School District's proposal to close up to four neighborhood schools due to low enrollment and high maintenance costs.

• The committee will recommend its idea to superintendent Gustavo Balderas next month. (The Oregonian)

🌄 The mountain ridge separating Portland from Washington County was awarded $3.6 million in federal funding to develop an Oregon State University forestry research program and create 24 miles of public outdoor recreation space. (YourOregonNews)

Funded by $13 million from the Reser's Fine Foods fortune, other donors and a hotel lodging tax, the Patricia Reser Center for the Arts is designed to be the northern nucleus of downtown Beaverton — as well as an arts destination for the region.

Zoom in: With a patio overlooking Beaverton Creek, an art gallery and 550-seat theater, the cultural hub features acts that might otherwise only play in Portland, such as Pink Martini, Och & Oy and the Trinity Irish Dance Company.

If you go: The center sits in the Round between the Beaverton Creek — once occupied by the Atfalati branch of the Kalapuya Tribe, who called this area Chakeipi, or "place of the beaver" — and the Central MAX Station.

• Most importantly, it has a connected parking garage.