Midtown Beer Garden, Portland’s oldest (and newest) food cart pod, holds grand opening Sunday

The food cart pod on Southwest Fifth Avenue between Oak and Harvey Milk streets is about to get a major makeover, with some 28 carts wrapped around a central bar cart, covered seating, bathrooms, on-site security and more. (Courtesy of Midtown Beer Garden)

Bathrooms might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about food carts. But for Matt Allen, project manager at the upcoming Midtown Beer Garden, bathrooms were one of several minor obsessions. So let’s start there.

In the case of Midtown, the 300-seat beer garden and cart pod holding its grand opening in downtown Portland later this week, those bathrooms — four in all, including one that’s ADA accessible — are found at the top of a wooden ramp inside a trailer positioned near the southern entrance. Each private room has its own running water, flushable toilet and sink. A sturdy water fountain stands nearby.

By pod standards, it’s a Cadillac.

“I got it on Craigslist for $4,500,” Allen said during a tour of the pod last week. “Like I mentioned, I have five or 10 passion projects and that bad boy is one of them.”

Carts have sold food from the parking lot at Southwest Fifth Avenue and Oak Street since the early 1980s, making this simultaneously Portland’s oldest and newest cart pod. But there has never been much in the way of amenities for these small businesses, or for their customers. And more recently, the neighborhood has become ground zero for the city’s fentanyl crisis, with several open-air drug markets popping up in empty buildings nearby.

The pandemic accelerated issues already at play downtown, including trash, vandalism and fires. Last year, a propane tank exploded at one of the pod’s remaining carts, destroying windows up and down Fifth Avenue. Among the damaged buildings? The main offices of Expensify, an expense management company that moved its headquarters from San Francisco to Portland in 2017, transforming a former Fifth Avenue bank with a “tree-house” inspired concept and “floating conference rooms.”

Shawarma Station is among the new carts to move to Midtown Beer Garden, which holds its grand opening in downtown Portland on Sunday, Aug. 20. (Courtesy of Midtown Beer Garden/Courtesy of Nina Johnson/Midtown Beer Garden)

After the explosion, Expensify CEO David Barrett considered the damage and — rather than complain to city leaders or threaten to move out of town — came up with a plan to try to make things better. In May, The Oregonian reported that Expensify had already moved the pod’s 10 remaining carts into storage, where they would undergo much-needed cleaning and maintenance while the pod was transformed into the beer garden.

“We want to bring back the liveliness and vibrancy of our neighborhood that was lost somewhere along the way during the pandemic,” Barrett said in a press release. “All of us at Expensify are huge fans of the food cart culture here, and it was such a shame to see its slow decline over the past few years. This revamped experience will remind everyone that the heart of our city still beats strong.”

On Thursday, workers pressure washed the top of fusion burrito cart Korean Twist, finished electrical work on the central bar cart and ran fiber-optic cables toward the new bathrooms. New street lamps towering over the carts will serve as “future-proofed” WiFi hotspots, while electrical outlets are being installed for those who want to work outside. A 40-by-120 foot tent covering the bar cart and stage will provide shelter through the rainy season.

“We’re kind of outlet obsessed,” said Kurt Huffman, whose restaurant group ChefStable was tapped to secure permits and oversee the pod. (Bruce Porter, a familiar face from his time at Ringside Steakhouse, is the pod’s manager).

Midtown Beer Garden has a fully fenced perimeter, custom-finished paving with gold mica flakes, hundreds of plants already in the ground plus 40 large planters and plans to grow clematis up an eastern wall. Near there, Blazers, Timbers and Thorns games will be projected in the evenings. A tall mural could one day be painted on the side of the Central City Concern building near the lot’s northern entrance.

The centerpiece of the pod is a small stage backed by a bar cart featuring Fracture Brewing beer, wine, cocktails and oyster shooters and other small bites from Cache Cache chef John Denison. The plan is to always serve one $5 beer, an already low price that drops to $4 during the pod’s daily 3 to 6 p.m. happy hour.

In addition to the pod’s 10 returning carts, newcomers to Midtown Beer Garden include Sandy’s popular Iron Strike Smash Burgers, hand-pulled noodle cart Stretch The Noodle and Bring! Treats for Dogs, a truck specializing in gourmet grub for pups (see below for the full cart lineup).

“Downtown’s been through a lot the last few years, but I just don’t see a future where Portland doesn’t do this,” says project manager Allen, mimicking a rising chart line with his hand. “It’s way too desirable of a city, and sure we have some stuff we’ve got to deal with. But for now, let’s get this open, get people down here. And then I just have this vision of riding my bike down here next summer to get a bite and a beer.”

Returning carts include:

New vendors include:

Midtown Beer Garden plans to hold its grand re-opening party from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday, August 20, featuring more than 20 food carts and performances by Boka Marimba, The Shivas and a headlining show from The Last Artful, Dodgr at 431 S.E. Harvey Milk St. near Fifth Avenue. Don’t feel like waiting until the weekend? Some carts are already open now.

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Portland’s oldest food cart pod will reopen as 300-seat beer garden

— Michael Russell; [email protected]

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