Big news from the land of aebleskivers and trout hash. Eat Beat has just learned that Peter Bro will open a third location of his beloved Broder restaurant in Southwest Portland. Broder Söder (that’s “south” in Swedish, mind the umlaut), will nestle inside the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation’s brand new Nordia House, a 10,000 square-foot cultural and community center on the edge of a Southwest Portland woodland.

To be clear, Söder isn’t some grab-and-go concession stand. “Oh no, this is the Broder for Southwest,” Bro says with a laugh. “This is where you come if you want our food.” That, first and foremost, means Broder’s classic weekend brunch, as well as a limited weekday breakfast and lunch menu until the restaurant gets up to speed in a few months. Bro also promises a stronger emphasis on fika, the baked goods-fueled Scan coffee break, as well as the potential for a series of Friday night prix fixe dinners in the pretty new restaurant and on the spacious patio. “We’re thinking of taking a few more chances than what we do a Broder. Really experimenting with Nordic cooking and bringing in some other local chefs to cook with us.”

Söder’s opening comes on the heels of a flurry of activity for the restaurateur, who opened the Broder empire’s second outpost, Broder Nord, in winter 2013; launched downtown’s deliciously time-warped All-Way diner last year with new biz partner Martin Hulth; and closed his decade-old Midwest haunt The Savoy only last month. Swedish-born Hulth will now join Bro as a partner in Söder as well. “I’ve been talking to the Scandinavian Heritage Foundation about Söder for two years—they’ve been fundraising for their new center for 30 years,” he says. “It’s a really big deal for the Nordic community in Portland. We’re so pleased that they asked us to be part of it.”

The Foundation itself will soon be renamed Nordic NW to better reflect all things Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland (Finland’s not a part of Scandinavia,” says Bro. “Not a lot of people know that but it’s important to the Finns.”). They tapped local firm Diloreto Architecture to create a headquarters/event space/restaurant/exhibit hall in the spirit of Nordic design gods like Alvar Aalto and Eero Saarinen. The firm emerged with Nordia House, a low slung wood stunner buried on four acres of trees and wetlands, with patios for miles. That’s a big change from Clinton Street's bustling neighborhood vibe or Nord’s more industrial-chic feel.  “Nordia is beautiful,” Bro says. “It’s like a little oasis.”

Get a sneak peek at Broder Söder this weekend, at Nordia House’s Open House, which promises a literal “smorgasbord” of activities and building tours. Söder will be serving open faced sandwiches and goodies all Saturday and Sunday.

 Nordia House & Broder Söder Open House
10 am-4 pm Saturday and noon-4 pm Sunday, June 27-28
8800 SW Oleson Road
broderpdx.com