Portland is Awesome

I’ve been a fan of Hawthorne for a long time: loads of vegan food options, bubble tea with coconut milk, shops for almost anything I might need, a Powells branch, and so much more. A year ago, I was lucky enough to find a great house to buy just 2 blocks off of Hawthorne.

I’ve been really surprised by the changes happening on Hawthorne in just the past year. Some of the changes have been good, while others are disappointing.

The disappointing:

• The Daily Grind went out of business after 20+ years on Hawthorne. I miss being able to walk there for my groceries.
• Pho Green Papaya opened on Hawthorne and closed less than 2 months later due to lease issues.
• Pix Patisserie closed.
• Hawthorne Coffee Merchant moved to a location just off of Hawthorne.

The encouraging:

• The Cup & Saucer is expanding into the space left by the Hawthorne Coffee Merchant
• Pastaworks is moving into the space left by Pix
• Albina Press opened a new coffee shop on upper Hawthorne

These are a just a few examples, and there are plenty more. At this point, I’m not sure whether the end result will be better or worse, but I worry about it a little. All of the cool, independent shops are what gives Hawthorne it’s charm. I hope that we are able to keep them during these changes to avoid ending up with too many chain restaurants and big corporate businesses.