Multnomah Whiskey Library Aims to Ease the Wait with The Green Room Bar

For all the accolades heaped on Multnomah Whiskey Library, there has always been one constant complaint: the wait.  At this no-standing bar, seats are at a premium and the wait for one can stretch to two hours. And it's not like you can while away the time at the bar. It is the bar. And that means people end up standing around in the crowded  hallway outside. For such a service-driven establishment, it's an off-putting prelude.

Chizu's recent opening next door has taken some of the pressure off, but the MWL team has now come up with a solution of its own. Byron Beck at GoLocalPDX reports that they will be opening a street-level bar called The Green Room, where patrons can wait for their coveted table with a drink in hand, plus a snack, a seat and a view to the outside. We checked in with general manager Jennifer Quist, who tells us that they've already taken over the Vertigo salon space next door and are beginning the transformation.

"The Green Room will actually have the same entrance we have now (the current Vertigo door will become a window). This is really to keep the two spaces as connected as possible, and allow The Green Room to be an extension of the Library — it's their first entry point. Our host desk will now live up front in the new space, partially in our main hallway, so all checking in will be done as they walk through the main door on Alder."

The bar will have 30 seats, plus standing room. And though it's meant as a preamble to the main attraction upstairs, anyone can stop in, even if you don't plan on heading to the Library afterward. Instead of a full bar, it will focus on aperitifs, wine, sherry and Champagne, plus a small list of up to five cocktails only available in The Green Room. There will also be a small menu of bar snacks.

"Our goal here is first and foremost hospitality — always," says Quist. "Sending people elsewhere, or just into our hallway to wait, has been difficult for us when we would love to have a drink in a guest's hands right away and a place for them to comfortably await their reservation."

Quist says The Green Room should be open by early summer.