Donald Kotler, the owner of Woodstock's open-every-day brunch spot Toast, and his little breakfast sandwich spinoff, the Yolk food cart, will soon be entering the lunch and dinner arena with The Bird and the Bear.
Kotler and a partner have taken over half of the building that houses Portland Picture Frame shop on SE Holgate Avenue. The owners decided they didn't need so much square footage, so they divided the space in half. Kotler and his partner are set to start building out The Bird and the Bear soon, and are aiming for a late May opening.
"It's a great neighborhood," he says. "The Creston-Kenilworth area is up and coming. There are a lot of apartments going up, you have Reed College, and there are a lot of people working in that area. We're trying to appeal to all of that. It's an under-served area."
Meanwhile, he says it's too early to divulge details on the concept, but the former bartender promises lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch, and a little bar for cocktails.
The Bird and the Bear (tentative opening date late May): 2801 SE Holgate Ave., Portland