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Midtown Beer Garden

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Coordinates: 45°31′16″N 122°40′34″W / 45.5211°N 122.6761°W / 45.5211; -122.6761
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Midtown Beer Garden
Southwest 5th Avenue food cart pod
View of the food cart pod from across the street, 2025
View of the food cart pod from across the street, 2025
Opening dateEarly 1980s
LocationPortland, Oregon, U.S.
Midtown Beer Garden is located in Portland, Oregon
Midtown Beer Garden
Midtown Beer Garden
Coordinates: 45°31′16″N 122°40′34″W / 45.5211°N 122.6761°W / 45.5211; -122.6761

The Midtown Beer Garden (formerly known as the Southwest 5th Avenue food cart pod) is a food cart pod in Portland, Oregon, United States. The pod is the city's oldest, operating since the early 1980s. Following an update and renovation in 2023, the pod became known as Midtown Beer Garden. Notable tenants include Bing Mi, Stretch the Noodle, and Tokyo Sando.

Description and history

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The food cart pod in 2013

The pod has operated in downtown Portland, along Southwest Fifth Avenue between Harvey Milk (Stark) Street and Oak Street, since the early 1980s.[1] It is considered the city's oldest food cart pod.[2][1] Food & Wine has said the pod "specializes in Korean tacos, Mexican, and Egyptian cuisine".[3][4]

The site of the pod has been considered for development.[5] In 2016, Matthew Korfhage of Willamette Week reported, "The bustling pods at Southwest 5th Avenue and Stark Street, Southwest 2nd Avenue and Stark Street and Southwest 3rd Avenue and Oak Street are on the list of properties announced for future development by Greg Goodman, co-president of the Downtown Development Group and scion to one of Portland's most powerful property-owning families."[6]

The pod has been vandalized.[3] In 2022, an explosion at one cart damaged nearby buildings.[7][8]

In May 2023, an update and renovation funded by Expensify in collaboration with the restaurant group ChefStable was announced. According to Eater Portland, the pod has "room for 30 carts, seating for more than 300 people, a bar cart with beer on tap, and a stage for concerts and events".[9] The pod was rebranded as Midtown Beer Garden.[3] The re-opening was held on August 20.[10][11]

Businesses

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Veli's Thai Food, 2013
Covered seating at Midtown Beer Garden, 2025

Businesses which operated in the pod prior to the 2023 rebrand include:

  • Alibaba Takeaway[1]
  • Gyro Place[1]
  • Khob Khun Thai Food[1]
  • Korean Twist[1]
  • La Jarochita,[1] part of a small chain of Mexican restaurants, has served burritos, breakfast plates, sopes, huaraches, and tamales. Nick Zukin of Willamette Week called La Jarochita "the best Mexican food cart downtown" in 2016.[12] Samantha Bakall included the business in The Oregonian's 2017 list of the ten best food carts in downtown Portland.[13]
  • Mawj Babylon Cuisine[1]
  • Mr. Taco[1]
  • Ocean Aloha[1]
  • Small Pharaoh's Falafel[1]
  • Tito's Burritos[1]

Businesses that have operated at Midtown Beer Garden include:

Reception

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In 2023, in response to Food & Wine naming Portland "the best food truck city in America", Michael Russell of The Oregonian wrote, "No argument there, though I don't necessarily recommend following the magazine's advice about where to start (Stretch the Noodle is great, but the Third and Fifth Avenue carts downtown have seen better days)."[19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Russell, Michael (May 18, 2023). "Portland's oldest food cart pod closes, to reopen as 300-seat beer garden". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  2. ^ "Portland's 5th Avenue food cart pod to be revitalized as 'Midtown Beer Garden'". KOIN.com. May 18, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "The 10 Best Food Truck Cities in the U.S., According to Our Readers". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  4. ^ "Portland voted the nation's best food truck city by Food & Wine readers". KOIN.com. April 21, 2023. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  5. ^ Douglass, Joe (February 8, 2016). "Will food carts vanish from downtown Portland?". KATU. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  6. ^ "Portland's Oldest Food Cart Pod May Soon Be Replaced by Giant Apartment Building". Willamette Week. February 8, 2016. Archived from the original on October 16, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  7. ^ "Explosion at downtown Portland food cart pod damages businesses, shatters windows". kgw.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  8. ^ "Explosion at food carts rocks downtown Portland". opb. Archived from the original on September 19, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  9. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (May 18, 2023). "The Southwest Fifth Avenue Food Cart Pod Will Get a Major Glow Up". Eater Portland. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  10. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (August 15, 2023). "The Revamped Southwest Fifth Food Cart Pod Reopens August 20". Eater Portland. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Olson, Karli (August 21, 2023). "New 'Midtown Beer Garden' seeks to restore community to downtown Portland". KPTV. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  12. ^ "The Nine Best Chile Relleno Burritos in Portland". Willamette Week. September 20, 2016. Archived from the original on April 26, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  13. ^ Bakall, Samantha (July 12, 2017). "Downtown Portland's 10 best food carts". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  14. ^ "Tokyo Sando and Bing Mi Food Carts Will Open at the Midtown Beer Garden". Willamette Week. February 9, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Wong, Janey (July 30, 2024). "The Reinvention of Midtown Beer Garden, Downtown's Oldest Food Cart Pod". Eater Portland. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Shults, Thomas (August 21, 2023). "Southeast Portland food cart pod shuts down". Portland Business Journal. Retrieved August 23, 2023 – via KGW.
  17. ^ Jackson-Glidden, Brooke (August 15, 2023). "The Revamped Southwest Fifth Food Cart Pod Reopens August 20". Eater Portland. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Woo, Nick (June 10, 2015). "A Guide to Portland's Most Outstanding Food Carts". Eater Portland. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  19. ^ Russell, Michael (April 19, 2023). "Portland voted best food truck city in America". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
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