Recently posted on the site “Portland Food and Drink,” this article is a well written exploration of today’s scene in Stumptown. Much of this applies also to the restaurant business climate here in the Bend area.
Here in Bend, particularly interesting is the rumor that some those formerly employed by Jody Denton will be taking over the old Merenda space. They hope to reopen by mid-March. There is also a rumor that McCormick & Schmick’s will open in the old that space. I hope that downtown will not become dominated by the chains. The first McCormick & Schmick’s started in Portland in 1979 and now have over 80 locations nationwide.
Even though it should be evident that many of Bend’s restaurants are struggling, there never seems to be a shortage of entrepreneurs ready to jump into the fray. Today I read a very good article in the New York Times that should be required reading.
A Deschutes Brew I'm Sure
The most recent issue of Forbes magazine has ranked American cities on how much their citizens drink and how often they drink. The West Coast was well represented with San Francisco in second place (Austin, Texas got first), Seattle tied for eighth, and Portland in the thirteenth spot. Portland has more microbreweries per capita than anyplace else in the USA, or so I’m told. With the addition of the fine wines now being produced in Oregon, the ranking of Portland in the Nation’s top 15 is probably well deserved.
On a related note, I ran across a blog “Beer for Chicks,” written by Christina Perozzi. Christina Perozzi is considered by many to be one of the top female beer experts on the West Coast. She is also an industry consultant and beer sommelier. When asked what her favorite alcoholic beverage was, she replied, “I always answer the question, but I always preface it with what I’m about to say to you now: I refuse to be bound by this choice, and I reserve the right to change or modify this favorite beer choice at any point in the future, including five minutes from now. That being said, my favorite beer right now is Deschutes Black Butte Porter from Bend, Ore.” Score one for the home team!