The Bars of Summer 2016

Image: Courtesy Century/Instagram
CENTURY
The sawdust is still settling at this long-delayed behemoth on NE Sandy Boulevard, but we’re calling it now: Century will be the sports bar to end all sports bars. During a Blazers game, you’ll be able to strut through a tunnel into a miniature freaking basketball arena—three tiers of mahogany stadium seating surrounding a cluster of massive retractable screens serve as the complex’s main boozing area. Century is actually four bars, sprinkled liberally with screens: a rooftop hang, a casual indoor-outdoor front bar, that crazy arena, and a private, rentable VIP lounge upstairs outfitted with the biggest LED screen this side of the Singularity. With so many spaces to sit and imbibe (and nary a glaring neon sign in sight) the owners—the team behind Bye & Bye and Victoria—are prepping for more than just sportsball events. They hope to host cocktail dates, dance parties, and even weddings. Century will boast a tequila- and mescal-heavy cocktail menu zinging with fresh-pressed juices and syrups, leading off with a summery pink mix of bourbon, marionberry purée, and ginger ale dubbed “The Neighborhood Kid.” “We want to make it easy for people to sit for a long time and not have to get up and go to the bar every 15 minutes,” says GM Nate VanDeventer. “So it’s in a 24-ounce mason jar.” Score! Opens June, centurybarpdx.com
TOFFEE CLUB
Rising in place of the former Hawthorne Strip courtesy of one Londoner and two Liverpudlians, this traditional English pub will pair early-morning soccer games with fry-ups, sticky sponge cakes, and lager—not to mention the requisite bags of “crisps.” JUST OPENED, toffeeclubpdx.com
THE SOLO CLUB
Besaw’s teeny sister bar is a bakery by day, sexy amaro- and bitters-heavy cocktail-and-dessert haunt by night—all inspired by the funky flavors and spices of Southeast Asia. Owner Cana Flug says a “bangin’” happy hour will kick off at 3 p.m. daily, with Bull in China’s unconventional cocktails on the sprawling shared patio. Opens May, thesoloclub.com
WAYFINDER BREWING
A glut-child of Double Mountain’s Charlie Devereux, Sizzle Pie’s Matthew Jacobsen, and Podnah’s Pit’s Rodney Muirhead, this 110-seat Eastside Industrial District taproom will specialize in brewing traditional lagers, poured alongside house-smoked American beer hall food. Opens spring 2016, wayfinder.beer
RACHEL’S GINGER BEER
The Seattle craft beverage upstart plants a fizzy flag in the heart of Hawthorne with a bar touting tortas, ginger beer–fueled cocktails, and boozy floats topped with soft serve from Salt & Straw. Opens September, rachelsgingerbeer.com