February Saw a Sea Change for Portland’s Restaurant World
Image: Stephanie Diller
Bars and restaurants often shutter early in the year. Lease terms end, bills come due, and changing over the calendar has a way of putting things in perspective. But we’ve rarely had a winter like this. As an unusually warm February ended, it felt like an era of Portland dining ended with it.
Expatriate
Expatriate opened in the summer of 2013 as a moody, stylish companion bar to Naomi Pomeroy’s legendary Beast across the street. Owner and bartender Kyle Linden Webster, the late chef’s husband, brought recipes and aesthetics inspired by his world travels to the Concordia neighborhood, as well as a genre-spanning collection of vinyl. The drinks matched the vibes: lush, layered, often drawing inspiration from Southeast and South Asian countries. Early on, Webster anthropomorphized his bar as a “slightly drunken French uncle who just got back from traveling.” Portland Monthly restaurant critic Karen Brooks declared Webster “one of the best bartenders I’ve come across, with an innate feel for balance, surprise, and food-friendly savor.” She wasn’t alone in that sentiment—Expatriate made local and national roundups of Portland’s best bars, and it was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Bar Program in 2019 and a finalist the following year.
The cocktail program brought people through the doors, but Expatriate’s glowing reputation owed no small thanks to Pomeroy’s menu. It locked in on staples that became local legends: James Beard’s onion sandwich with sweet butter, wonton nachos with Thai chile cheese sauce, the hot and sour spiced fries that were an homage to the years Pomeroy spent in India. The “American Standard” cheeseburgers came as a pair of thick quarter-pounders with nothing more than ketchup, mustard, American cheese, and onions. They were crowd favorites even when the bar pivoted to a takeout model during COVID. But more than any singular detail, it was the way it all harmonized that made Expatriate a uniquely dreamy and candlelit escape.
Image: Stephanie Diller
Expatriate held on after Beast and its follow-up, Ripe Cooperative, closed in the fallout of the pandemic. It stayed open even after Pomeroy tragically drowned in 2024, a year before L’Échelle, her final project, would open. But on February 10, 2026, a user on the Portland Reddit forum posted a photo of the bar’s front door where a hand-written note read, “Life is just a party, and parties weren’t meant to last. Our privilege, these 4,595 nights. Thank you. Love, KLW et al. [exsilium non permanet]”
A quote from Prince’s classic “1999,” a count of the last 12-and-a-half years, and a Latin phrase that translates to “exile is not permanent.” Speculation spread and headlines ended in question marks as Webster declined media requests. After a few weeks, Expatriate’s website was updated, its language now in the past tense. Under “Time and Place” it reads, “We opened on July 11th 2013. We closed on February 8th 2026. Expatriate was all about balanced cocktails, flavorful snacks, and good music.”
I have little interest in digging for the “why” of Expatriate’s closure. I just know its end is a terrific loss to the city’s food and drink scene. It wordlessly argued for a kind of bold maturity when we were still wrapped cozily in post-aughts irony. It took itself seriously without forgetting that bars are supposed to be fun, to be saucy, to be a little ridiculous. When people talk about a place being “magical” or “timeless,” I think they’re talking about Expatriate.
Other Closures to Know
The Landmark Saloon
closed feb 13
Though a far cry from the opulence of Expatriate, honky tonk bar and venue the Landmark Saloon served its own crucial purpose on upper Division Street. Since opening in 2010, Landmark had hosted innumerable rock and country bands on its tiny stage, almost nightly and generally without a cover fee. Drinks were cheap and generously portioned, and, in summer, its massive lawn hosted food carts and friendly corn hole tournaments. Sadly, issues with rent and other expenses forced it to close up shop just before Valentine’s Day, with a final concert to see it out.
Image: Michael Novak
República
closed feb 21
It’s impossible to talk about Portland’s Mexican food scene without mentioning República. The Pearl District tasting menu sensation from restaurateur Angel Medina spawned a citywide mini empire with spots like the upscale dining experience Lilia and sultry cocktail bar Comala. Alumni would go on to open spots like Libre and Metlapíl. More than anything, República challenged the way Portlanders discussed Mexican cuisine, making it Portland Monthly’s Restaurant of the Year in 2021. Speaking with Portland Monthly in late January, Medina cited the reelection of Donald Trump and the increasingly violent and extreme tactics of immigration enforcement as primary reasons for República’s closure.
The Place
closed feb 22
While Portland has long been a destination for malt and hop lovers, cider has had a harder time catching on. Sure, most pubs will have something local like Bauman’s or Portland Cider Co. on draft, but the bulk of their taps are reserved for IPAs and stouts. But in 2015, the Place opened in a nondescript strip on SE Powell, just across the street from German deli Edelweiss. With its homey setting, cases filled with bottled ciders, and an exclusive cider tap list, the Place gained a dedicated following over the last decade. But on February 10, it announced via social media that it would be closing in two weeks, thanking its customers but not offering a reason for the closure.
Bartini
Closed feb 22
Bartini and the adjacent Urban Fondue announced early in the year that February would be its last month. Defiantly rooted in early 2000s party bar culture, Bartini’s sprawling menu featured dozens of “martinis” that ranged from potable classics made with gin and vermouth to saccharine concoctions of flavored spirits and fruit syrups. For years, it was the place to go if you wanted six ounces of straight booze that tasted like a thin mint cookie or strawberry lemonade. Happy hour brought these liquor bombs down to single digit pricing, all but ensuring a night of questionable decisions and a sugary, head-splitting hangover. Its location on NW 21st and Glisan—and that outrageous happy hour—made it a launch pad for NW Portland bar crawls, and its charms, while dated, were charms, nevertheless.
Stumptown Coffee on Belmont
closed feb 28
Stumptown opened its original café on SE Division and 45th in 1999 and soon followed it up with a second on the corner of SE 34th and Belmont in 2001. For 25 years, it presided over the busy residential street as bars and restaurants opened and closed around it. Along with the OG location and later spots like downtown’s Third Street café, Stumptown Belmont defined what the neighborhood coffee shop was. In 2011, founder Duane Sorenson sold the business to Peet’s Coffee & Tea. Last year, that brand was acquired by Keurig Dr Pepper—a dramatic change from the company’s humble origins as an indie coffee roaster. At the start of February, Stumptown posted on Instagram that the shop would close at the end of the month, pointing to the “high cost of refurbishing the space to meet today’s needs” as the reason. Keurig Dr Pepper is currently valued at over $40 billion.
