Portland Coffee Hangouts

Two of us visited Arrow last Feb. on a frigid Feb. morning, and were pleasantly surprised how well the shop fit into this former bakery spot, and how comfy we felt inside out of the cold.  By contrast, today was shorts weather.

Since three of today’s four riders hadn’t had the opportunity to check out Arrow previously, we were curious to see if they’d feel as relaxed there as the two of us did in Feb.   The answer is by and large they did.  They did suggest that the entry-area could have more color like the western end of the shop which has a mural, a plant, a stand with assorted katchkes including games, plus a couch and table not too far away.  Otherwise it was a consensus thumbs up.

Discussion-wise, housing topics were high on the list: not only did DM report on his wife’s and his acquisition of a condo in an age-limited complex as they downsize, but DS then told the miraculous story of the re-opening of the Oakley Mobile Home Park: after the tenants, Legal Aid, Cully non-profits, City, and other partners coalesced to stop the illegal evictions that were taking place, the coalition was successful in its acquisition, replacement of blighted mobile homes with new manufactured units, new landscaping, and installation of solar.

5943 NE MLK Jr Blvd.                                       http://www.thearrowcoffeehouse.com/portland

After today’s four biked up Rocky Butte on a partly cloudy morning, we descended onto NE Fremont where the Red Gate Tea House opened 5-6 months ago.  This is one of the few commercial enterprises between 72nd and 82nd so it’s a quasi-pioneer,  and a definite community asset.  We found it modest and charming. It looks like the owners refurbished the first floor of a residence into a shop, with living quarters above.  There’s some Asian art on the walls, but otherwise is modestly furnished.  Red Gate has a nice selection of teas, with coffee from Trailhead and pastries from Gabriel’s.  And our group appreciated that this thoughtful shop provided some bike parking.

Discussion topics included the status of the Jordan Cove pipeline, industrial pollution that may affect the Cully neighborhood, bike helmet technology, the ambitious street painting proposal that was nixed buy one curmudgeon, efforts by M and J to start a block party in their new neighborhood.

7434 NE Fremont                                               redgatepdx.com                            

It’s been eight years since our bike group last visited Extracto and nice to know that their shop and coffee roasting business still seem to be thriving, at the same time doing out-of-the-ordinary activities such as hosting St. Rita’s Amazing Traveling Bookstore and Textual Apothecary, which was the impetus for our visit.  Rita – once a Portland resident and now living in Montana – describes her venture as a traveling bookstore encased in a large van with all sorts of used books for patrons’ reading pleasure.  Being a friend of our M and wife J, we didn’t want to miss a chance to experience another’s path for building community; (but because Extracto is only a mile or so from our starting point we decided to take the 8 mile scenic ride via Mt. Tabor to get there.)

Our experience is that Extracto bubbles with patrons from 9-11 most mornings; they obviously have a quite a loyal customer base. And yet while tables for two are plentiful, if you happen to have more than five in your group, you essentially are limited to the outside tables.   And with the inside wooden tables and chairs all lined up in rows, it’s a tad harder to relax and hang out than shops with a variety of seating opportunities and some quirkiness.

Today’s discussion centered a lot on trust fund children, as C just returned from the gorgeous N. Cascades area where his daughter K, grand-daughter W, and partner M primarily live thanks to his fund.  That reminded D of Ojai CA and Putney VT. where it’s said that their economies are respectively driven by yoga instructors and carpenters with trust funds.   (It’s just envy on our part.)

2912 NE Killingsworth                                    extractocoffee.com

Long a Kerns community pillar – founded in 2004 – Crema recently opened a satellite in the brightly painted iconic Fair-Haired Dumbell building at NE Grand and Couch.   As opposed to having a mostly residential community nearby, this site comes with the opportunities/challenges of being in a mostly commercial and automobile-centric area at the entry to the Burnside Bridge, and not pedestrian friendly.   According to the friendly barista, their mid-week patronage is quite healthy even with access challenges and two other quality shops – Space and Bar, and Ristretto – nearby.

Today’s three riders think Crema did a good job of adding visual variety to their outlet.  Even though within the brightly painted Dumbell whose exterior cries out “look at me,” this brand new spot tempers the exterior a bit.  There is a modernistic subdued mural of Portland’s bridges, with those elements captured in framed pictures elsewhere inside, plus an ingenious sculpture hanging from the ceiling of older wooden pieces tied together like an outdoor mobile.   So visually we were satisfied, but furniture-wise we would have also appreciated a soft couch option instead of solely hard wooden seats and tables.

Today’s discussion topics started with how our NE neighborhood streets have changed in the last three decades – all of us having lived in our homes from 31 and 35 years: H is tickled that a batch of young kids are finally overflowing his street even with housing prices ironically unaffordable for most young families;  B’s very pleased that his street has melded with two others to put on yearly street parties; and on the other hand, M and wife J are moving from their street in part because newcomers to his are wealthier and less sociable than his former neighbors.  We then moved on to the advances that have occurred in ancestry research, and the joy that B receives from sleuthing his family’s background, so much so that he’s considering starting a blog.

390 NE Couch                                         cremabakery.com