Jacobsen Salt Sets Up Shop in Portland
It’s nearly impossible to indulge in the Portland food scene without hearing someone drop the J-word: Jacobsen. Whether it’s swirled into a creamy scoop of Freckled Woodblock Chocolate at Salt & Straw, lining the rim of a bold and bright cocktail at the Driftwood Room, or simply sitting atop a shelf in your pantry begging to inspire your next meal, Ben Jacobsen’s artisan salts seem to bring something special to almost anything they touch.
Clockwise from left: shelves of Jacobsen's new retail location lined with salt and salt-inspired products and sitting in front of the tongue of an old oyster trailer; vanilla bean salt jars; a colorful array of Jacobsen salts; the March 2013 feature on Jacobsen Salt in Portland Monthly Magazine; the old oyster trailer turned dining table for collaborative dinners; Jacobsen salted caramels
Image: Brooke Bass
And now, Portlanders have even more of a reason to celebrate the product that hails straight from Oregon’s coast. In response to the increasing demand from chefs and home cooks alike, Jacobsen Salt Co has relocated their headquarters and warehouse from the old Pearl Point Oyster Farm on Netarts Bay to right here in Portland’s own “Artisan Corner,” just a stone’s throw from Stumptown headquarters and Salt & Straw’s central kitchen.
The new warehouse space, which was formerly home to Proctor & Gamble, offers not only a more central location for the folks at Jacobsen to work, but also functions as a brick-and-mortar retail store for Jacobsen fans to pick up their favorite products.
The warehouse also promises to deliver to patrons seeking to explore the range of culinary possibilities that stem from Jacobsen’s diverse set of salt products. A sleek, marble-topped table greets guests right at the entryway, where salt-scouring foodies can taste the various salts paired with bread, butter, and seasonal fruits.
The 20-foot, 30-seat table made out of an old oyster trailer, which will be the gathering place for Jacobsen's new collaborative dinner series.
Image: Brooke Bass
Beyond the tasting area, the room opens up into a massive, open-air space, flanked by exposed-brick walls and wooden beams. To the left are shelves of Jacobsen salts and salt-inspired products. To the right is a 20-foot table, made from an old oyster trailer stored at the company’s former Netarts Bay facility and salvaged by Jacobsen himself along with friend and local designer/builder, Todd Littlehales. The table can seat up to 30 people and is begging for a bountiful celebration of salt-inspired meals—a demand the Jacobsen team is excited to meet.
In fact, this Saturday, July 19, Jacobsen will host the first of what he hopes will be a series of collaborative dinners, with a group of chefs coming together for one night to cook alongside one another and celebrate the myriad of ways salt is applied in cooking.
The first dinner will feature three chefs from three parts of the West Coast: chef Matthew Accarrino (SPQR in San Francisco), chef Renee Erickson (The Walrus and the Carpenter in Seattle), and Portland’s own chef Jason French (Ned Ludd). Tickets, which can be purchased online, are $125 per person and include a 5-course meal, beer and wine pairings, and Stumptown coffee service.
Jacobsen Salt Co's Retail Store
602 SE Salmon, Portland
11 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday
