Where to live now

Neighborhood Guide: Beaumont-Wilshire

Strollers on the street, old-school Italian food, and a bespoke Botox bar

By Marty Patail May 12, 2022

Pip's Donuts is easily spotted for its line outside

Image: Kelly Clarke

Certain Portland streets always make the tourist and real estate hit list: NW 23rd has been on it since the ’90s. Hawthorne and Division are synecdoches for Portland’s international brand. More recently, upstart N Williams has broken into the list, bolstered by New Deal–level investment in bars, shops, and apartment buildings.

Centered on NE Fremont, a thrumming, walkable artery of shops, bars, salons, and restaurants, Beaumont Village rarely makes that list but maybe, we think, should. Living or staying here means—just as in those other cool-kid hoods—rarely having to leave. From cocktails and tacos to Home Depot’s most adorable competitor in Beaumont Hardware and beauty concept Plush Botox Bar, this vibrant stretch has a little bit of everything. The population here skews a little older, and Beaumonters are more likely to have kids: 36 percent of households have kids under 18. Family-friendliness aside, it’s a mistake to dismiss Beaumont as sleepy. Let’s start with the old-school Portland staples: Amalfi’s has been serving Italian American pastas and pizzas since 1959. Casual wing and beer mini-chain Fire on the Mountain maintains its flagship brewery here. Grand Central Bakery churns out some of the city’s best bread—it’s basic, yes, but the crust is on point. There’s chai-and-doughnut hub Pip’s Original, whose presence is often recognizable from a line outside the door. More recently, a wave of new- guard cool has crested over Fremont: The owners of beloved bars the Old Gold and Paydirt opened Hi-Top Tavern here in 2019, ensuring local access to pitch-perfect cocktails.

If there’s one downside to the insular Beaumont life—besides the relatively steep median buy-in price of $639,900—it’s that you will occasionally need to leave for big-haul grocery shops, but Beaumont Village Market can get you through the daily essentials.

Share
Show Comments