Portland, Oregon’s Central East Side, across the Willamette River from downtown Portland, is undergoing a transition that may surprise you—and it’s a bonus for foodies.

For well over 100 years the city’s East Side industrial district was the major hub for wholesale food distribution in the Pacific Northwest, thus the name, Produce Row. You’ll still find Italian names on produce trucks waiting outside warehouses to pick up their loads to transport to grocery stores and restaurants. Early Italian families settled close to Portland and grew the produce on their farms.

Once a place where Ford Model T’s were produced for customers in the northwest and a John Deere Tractor company was housed, huge buildings, many over 100 years old, fill the area. With easy access to ship docks and rail transport, the area was dedicated to production and warehousing.

Unfortunately, over the years, the area fell into disrepair. Commercial buildings crumbled and homeless camps dotted the area. Bridge on-ramps over-laid once busy streets.

Produce Row Renaissance

In recent years, this area of underused and crumbling commercial buildings has been transformed into a magnet for forward-looking entrepreneurs and has become an important job-generating center for the city of Portland. And with the youthful entrepreneurial spirit comes exciting cafes and restaurants.

While residences aren’t planned for Portland’s once gritty East Side, artists do work and live in lofts in some warehouse buildings.

Wise planners made it clear that the area should not be razed. Historic warehouses were to be kept and re-purposed. And the result is fast-becoming apparent. This is an area that, 10 years ago, you’d avoid. But now, Produce Row and Portland’s central East Side is becoming a destination for a brew, fine dining or, in keeping with tradition, to buy some local produce and enjoy a deli sandwich.

To get a feel of the area and its history, stop by the Sheridan Fruit Market, a long-time favorite neighborhood produce and specialty food store. The vintage signs mark a great place to shop local. They have an excellent selection of fresh vegetables and fruits and a few surprises. Their spices are packaged locally, in-house. And, in the extensive wine aisle, you’ll find bistro tables with tablecloths. Purchase a freshly made sandwich or salad from the deli in the next aisle and enjoy the Produce Row ambiance.

NickyUSA, a long-tme Produce Row business, specializes in local and specialty meats. Photo Nancy Zaffaro.

East Side businesses have grown and evolved in the area. NickyUSA, with packing and storage on SE 3rd, provides local farm-raised meats and specialty game to Portland restaurants and high-end grocery stores. If you see a Portland chef competing on “Top Chef,” the meats used are likely from NickyUSA.

NickyUSA started with the owner selling local rabbit meat from the trunk of his car! They’ve been in business for 25 years and have expanded, even adding their own farm in Aurora. Watch for their new dining events during 2015. They’ll be partnering with local farms, chefs and businesses to put together some surprising dining opportunities.

You’ll find farm-to-table fine dining Portland-style at Clarklewis on Water Street. They tout hand-crafted northwest cuisine with Italian and French influences. Many of their ingredients are sourced locally from organic farms. The building where they are located was once a warehouse not far from the river. Try their creative pasta dishes, all made to order with seasonal ingredients. I especially enjoyed their Agnolotti with lacinato kale, black trumpet mushrooms and mascarpone.

Bunk Bar Water is famous for deliciously big sandwiches.

Those visiting the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) in the area will be pleased to find such restaurants as Bunk Bar nearby. Bunk is known for their sandwiches. Bunk Bar Water is, housed in a mustard yellow vintage building next to a barista college (also housed in a historic building). Try such delights as the pulled pork sandwich with apple cabbage slaw, mustard and pickles for $10. The bread is baked in-house. It’s a casual place and is welcoming to families.

Sheridan Fruit Company can supply all your foodie needs.

The inner East Side has become an ideal place to explore on a sunny weekend afternoon. You’ll see families riding bikes on the Eastbank Esplanade and then stopping for a bite at one of the Produce Row restaurants. Walk some of the streets and you may run into a trendy shop or two. Or, hunt for bargains at the venerable City Liquidators on SE 3rd.

Produce Row and the central East Side is not the trendy, upscale Pearl District. And, because planners aren’t building residential units in Produce Row, it never will be the Pearl District. But the area is developing its own flavor, its own vibe and, for foodies, is certainly an area worth exploring.– Story and Photos by Elizabeth Rose.

If You Go
About the New Produce Row

Note: Historical details courtesy Eric Wheeler of Positively Portland Walking Tours.