When I think of beer afficionados, I think innovation (or collaboration, depending on the day) so when I saw this article in the online edition of the Oregonian, it came as no surprise.
“After months of construction, Prost! opens today as the anchor tenant to the new Mississippi Marketplace, at the corner of North Mississippi and Skidmore. In one of the most interesting experiments in Portland’s dining scene, the new German pub is the first restaurant to open its doors to food-cart customers looking for shelter — and a beer.
Business man Roger Goldingay spent months (not to mention $900,000 in real-estate costs) to shape a new vision for North Portland: converting a dilapidated building and an abandoned lot into a food-cart center, a community gathering place and an incubator for small artisan businesses focused on food or crafts. The cornerstone of Goldingay’s project was finding a restaurant that could work synergistically with its adjacent neighbors: a little village of spiffy food carts and market stalls.
Prost! (pronounced “proast”) was in line with that vision. Cart hoppers can sit outdoors in Mississippi Marketplace’s large tented eating area. But they now also have the option to eat — day or night — inside Prost’s handsome new Greek Revival space, as long as they buy a drink. Surviving Portland’s monsoon season is a major challenge for Portland’s cart owners, and many die with chillier weather. The option to hunker down in a homey space could make is possible for Mississippi Marketplace cart owners to survive — and pave the way for other food cart and restaurant collaborations.
That shouldn’t be too painful, especially is you like German beer (prost means “cheers” in German). On tap: 11 German beers on draft and around 8 to 10 bottled options, plus with a hard liquor license.
Owner Dan Hart will also serve a modest menu of German-style snacks: sausages (sourced locally from The Original Bavarian Sausage), fresh-baked pretzels and sandwiches, with most things under $10.
Mississippi Marketplace is possibly a model for the future, as other developers are already looking to bring similar food-cart projects to other parts of the city. Goldingay says he has been contacted by several developers in recent weeks.
“Most restaurants consider the food carts to be competition,” says Goldingay, whose “Prost! was the first who came on and said we welcome the idea and support it. We’re praying we get through the winter!”
Prost! is located at the corner of North Mississippi and Skidmore, 3 p.m.-2:30 a.m., Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-2:30 a.m. Saturday-Sunday”
The mantra of creative / out of the box thinking is overused especially in the media this last year but I applaud everyone who actually takes it heart and acts on it.