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The Peddler and Pen Is Closed Until Further Notice

Has the literary tavern on NW 23rd penned its last love letter?

The Peddler and Pen
The Peddler and Pen
Dina Avila/EPDX

Thanks to a tip through the Eater tipline, Eater has learned The Peddler and Pen, the literary tavern where you could pen poetry on a chalkboard and leave and take love letters written by patrons from a communal mailbox of love, has closed after seven months in business. The tavern's phone message says The Peddler and Pen "will be closed until further notice," and Eater has reached out for specifics.

Matthew Freitas and Kimberly Parmon opened The Peddler and Pen in the Alphabet District at 2327 NW Kearney last July, and it took over the old Craftsman-style house formerly home to The Huckleberry Pub. The bar served lunch and dinner and, to get its patrons into literary moods, it offered local beers on tap and cocktails barrel-aged in-house. The cocktails came with bookish names like The Kafka and Ophelia's Dram.

The literary theme carried through to the food—dishes like Kerouac's Kabobs, mini kabobs with mushrooms, tomato, and sausage, drizzled with balsamic glaze, and Tennyson's Toasties, sourdough toasts with tomato, onion, Cotswold cheese, and curry relish. It also served a menu of regional dog's, like The Chicago Dog and The London Dog, with sausages by neighborhood sausagery, Zenner's.

The Peddler & Pen

2327 NW Kearney St, Portland, OR 97210 (503) 477-4380 Visit Website