Check out the latest information from the Oregonian on the Mississippi Marketplace
Food-cart pod with amenities set to open in North Portland
by Karen Brooks, The Oregonian
Saturday July 11, 2009, 8:37 PM
Portland’s funky food-cart culture, one of the most vibrant and diverse in the country with hundreds of carts on the streets, is about to get organized, financed and landscaped.
North Mississippi Avenue, home to several well-known if eccentric carts, will be the scene of a new slice of food-cart culture.
Stephanie Yao Long/The OregonianDeveloper Roger Goldingay (left) and designer and contractor Michael Tunson will open Mississippi Marketplace in this open lot in August. The building will house a brewpub called Prost! adjacent to 10 food carts. Set to open at the corner of North Mississippi and Skidmore Street in early August, Mississippi Marketplace will be Portland’s first curated food cart and market pod in a newly paved 10,000-square-foot lot. The project has been designed with an anchor tenant, a spiffy brewpub called Prost! set in a building transformed from a seedy board-up to a handcrafted Greek Revival beauty.
Ten food carts will be selected by developer Roger Goldingay, along with a cluster of booths devoted to crafts or a farmers market, depending on interest. Each cart will have amenities rarely available to food-cart owners: six to 12 seats per cart; access to a portable toilet; full-service electrical; a recycling plan; and someone to keep the grounds clean and tidy.
Until now, Portland’s exploding food-cart scene has taken a more duct-tape approach. Many carts subsist on bare bones, with limited electrical power, seating and bathroom access. Then again, they are free to create their own moods, like the late-night party scene created by the cart pod at Southeast 12th Avenueand Hawthorne Boulevard.
Multnomah County has more than 375 food carts, with action blossoming in the suburbs — and the applications keep coming.
Goldingay is a newcomer to the scene — not a foodie or a food-cart hopper. The upbeat, former professional soccer player has lived in the neighborhood for eight years and, until recently, owned the John Palmer House across the street.
Two years ago, Goldingay paid more than $900,000 for the two lots, to be developed into commercial real estate. Then came the crashing realities of the recent economic downturn. Nine months ago, Goldingay found no financing for larger projects. So he decided to tune in to the creative young energy transforming the neighborhood with restaurants, shops and food carts.
Nine months ago, in less an act of vision and more what he calls an act of desperation, he came up with a plan for the property: open a restaurant-brewpub in the building with an outside patio and launch an outdoor food court and marketplace to make use of the vacant land.
He circulated an application flier to food carts around the city explaining the concept for Mississippi Market. To his surprise, he has been flooded with applicants and plans to decide in the next two weeks who makes the cut.
Mississippi Avenue was a natural choice. The avenue has several noteworthy carts, such as the retro Moxie RX trailer, where cheddar biscuits and peanut butter-date shakes are inhaled at picnic tables in a weedy lot, and Junior Ambassador’s, where ice cream flavors such as “corn on the cob” and “tomato-mozzarella” are sold from what looks like a demented children’s playhouse.
“Food carts are the entrepreneurial adventure of the 21st century,” says Howard Shapiro, a board member of the nonprofit Albina Opportunities Corp., one of the lenders that helped Goldingay with financing. “These are more than little things on wheels. They’re serving darn good food and prices at a time when people just love food.”
Mississippi Marketplace will ultimately be influenced by Goldingay’s taste, an unknown at this time. The look also will be shaped by demands imposed by the city, including a directive to pave the lot, Goldingay says.
But Goldingay is offering amenities coveted by some cart owners who find cart life to be a tough business. And lenders such as AOC and Mercy Corps Northwest are willing to help owners finance food carts. Four have applied for assistance, says Terry Brandt, AOC’s executive director.
“Having these kind of services in place would make it easier to go down the food-cart path,” says Moxie’s Nancye Benson, who opened her cart four years ago and made her reputation with no luxuries. “But it’s sad that the new carts have to be on pavement. It would have been nice to be a green space; that’s nice in the urban environment.”
“I’m ecstatic with this idea,” says Andrea Spella, owner of the acclaimed Spella Caffe coffee cart in downtown Portland. Spella says he has seen a surge of interest in people looking to open a cart, especially out-of-towners exploring Portland’s celebrated food scene for new avenues of creative work.
“They realize that Portland really supports independent restaurants and business. They can make income immediately with very little overhead. And if there ends up being a different pod in each neighborhood, that would be awesome.”
The project has not been without costs. Goldingay looks stressed when discussing the costs and hoop-jumping to get this project off the ground, including his estimate of $100,000 in permits and improvements to the lot.
But he says it will all pay off in the long run — in more than just finances.
“This was an ugly lot just a few days ago,” he says, looking at the handsome new building for the brewpub renovated by Eterne Architectural Restoration. “We’re changing a neighborhood corner.”
– Karen Brooks; kbrooks@news.oregonian.com
Concerts In The Park » Dawson Park (7/15)
Event Date: 07/15/2009 06:30 PM
Event Location: Dawson Park, N Stanton & N Williams
Dawson Park
N Stanton & N Williams
Wednesdays, 6:30 PM
July 15, Ocean 503 (Hard-Kicking Blues)
July 22, Hidden Beach Recording presents Mike Phillips (Funk & Jazz)
July 29, Grand Central Baking Company presents Linda Hornbuckle (Diva of Soul/R&B)
Food Vendors – Burly’s Kettle Corn, Hot Dog Ernie’s, Portland Ice Cream Company
For more details visit the Eliot Neighborhood Association.
Sharing Our Public Spaces
by pearlgirl
This just hit our inbox…
The present economic crisis has drastically impacted many of our neighbors. Commissioners Amanda Fritz and Nick Fish invite all members of our neighborhoods to join them in a community forum to find alternative ways to share our streets and review opportunities for supporting members of our communities who are faced with homelessness and other challenges.
On April 29, 2009 the Portland City Council agreed to postpone a decision on the Sidewalk Obstructions Ordinance rather than vote to continue or allow it to sunset. A recent court ruling and the Portland Police decision suspending the sit/lie ordinance has created a wonderful opportunity for a community dialogue on the next steps. A report by the Street Access For Everyone (SAFE) Committee sets the framework for discussion about which services have been provided and which are needed.
One way that you can help is to join together and come up with ideas to support our neighbors who are struggling in meeting some of the most basic needs.
Possible discussion ideas:
- What are SAFE Recommendations – Areas of agreement, areas of disagreement?
- How are services coordinated/who does what in the City?
- What services are needed/missing/need enhancements?
- Who needs to be at the table?
- What issues are outstanding?
Please Join Commissioner Fritz and Commissioner Fish along with other Portlanders as together we discuss opportunities to make our city friendly, supportive and accommodating for everyone.
There will be two community meetings with identical content on:
- Saturday, July 18 from 10a.m. to 12p.m at Kaiser Town Hall
3704 N. Interstate, Portland.
- Tuesday, July 21 from 7p.m to 9p.m. at First Unitarian Church
1011 SW 12th Ave, Portland.
Please Attend whichever meeting is more convenient for you. For more information contact Dora Perry at 503-823-3229.
Spanish and Cultural Education Center Opens in NE Portland
by pearlgirl
Spanish in action: Manuel Resendiz teaches Spanish class
People of Hispanic descent account for 7% (an estimated 38,684 people) of the population in Portland, and these numbers continue to rise. It is becoming increasingly imperative that professional service fields are staffed with bilingual employees, and that the community develops a greater level of awareness pertaining to Latin American issues. More information on Tierra Educational Center and its programs can be found at www.tierracenter.com.
Tierra Educational Center, LLC
2915 NE M L King Blvd
503-213-3677
www.tierracenter.com
Mississippi flows past vacant storefronts
Submitted by Sentinel News Service on Wed, 07/01/2009 – 11:34am.
SENTINEL NEWS SERVICE
~ Mara Grunbaum
, photo by Jason E Kaplan
Warmer weather means the sidewalks on North Mississippi Avenue are bustling, but almost as abundant as boutiques and bicycles these days are windows bearing “for lease” signs.
With several new development projects opening now or in upcoming months, the street is flush with available residential and retail space. That could be a boon for a rapidly growing neighborhood, which Mississippi has been for the last several years. But in the currently sagging economy, developers who undertook projects in fatter times are now finding it hard to move people — and their businesses — in.
![JOMposter[Final]](http://mississippiave.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/jomposterfinal1.jpg?w=194&h=300 "JOMposter[Final]")
Once again Dawson Park will host three concerts this summer in July. The gazebo, renovated in the spring of 2008, will be the stage for the live performances. If you have a disability and require an accommodation call 503-823-2223 V/TT at least 2 days prior to the concert. All dogs must be on leash during concerts. Alcoholic beverages for personal consumption are permitted during concerts only, under the Summer Concerts Program’s special use permit. No vehicles are allowed in parks except by permit.
Tierra Educational Center, a locally owned Spanish and Latin American Cultural Center has opened in NE Portland to help bridge the communication and cultural gap between the growing Hispanic population and the community at large. The center offers quality and affordable Spanish classes for all levels, as well as special courses in topics specific to Latin American Culture and History. Tierra also hosts a free Spanish Conversation Clubevery Friday from 6-8 p.m., with guided discussion, guest speakers, and film screenings pertaining to Latin American issues.
