At the triangle block of NE Sandy and 28th, pioneering developer Kevin Kavanagh has just rehabbed an unsightly, neglected building into a mecca for foodies, with each of the Zipper Building’s establishments serving food.  The exterior of the building is surrounded by tall wooden slats that change design depending on the direction one looks at the building.

At the point of the triangle is our coffee shop destination, the brand new Sandy outpost for Seven Virtues whose mothershop is on NE Glisan at 60th.

There’s a challenge in making such a awkwardly shaped, and small, space inviting.  And thus the 4 and a half of us chose to sit at the picnic table and bench on the sidewalk rather than stay inside.   Maybe over time the shop will be able to find a way to make the inside as alluring as the the outside architectural designs.

Because the site is relatively close to where we congregate, we took the scenic route via SE Hawthorne to arrive here.   And with the sun shining on us through most of the route, we were in talkative mode once we arrived: how does a project like this pencil out; what can Cully learn from it; what kind of joint promotions are possible among the tenants; what can be done to make it more comfortable.    2705 NE Sandy     Sevenvirtuespdx.com