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In a switcheroo, Broadway On Deck, the downtown sports bar with 30-plus televisions, is closing to become The Independent Sports Bar & Grill. Brandon and Brian Anderson own the 225 SW Broadway building, and they're teaming up with Independent Restaurant Concepts (IRC)—the restaurant group behind Produce Row Cafe, Circa 33, and others. When it opens, The Independent Sports Bar & Grill will have a Portland Mavericks theme, new decor, and significantly updated food and drink, with a "man cave" events space in the works, too.
"We're elevating the food program to get it on par with Portland dining expectations," says Josh Johnston of IRC, and that means more local ingredients and new dishes, like house-baked pretzels with beer cheese, steelhead poppers, and a hot dog menu, with variations like Seattle (cream, grilled onion, and Sriracha) and Kansas City (pulled pork, barbecue sauce, coleslaw, and house pickles). Along with 24 taps, the bar program led by Leslie Bucher (Circa 33) will be all about whiskies.
To amplify the Portland Mavericks theme, The Independent Sports bar is painting a giant black-and-white mural of the legendary independent baseball team on the bar's west wall. "There will be four additional black-and-white murals above the bar, including the 1977 Blazers," says Johnston. You'll also find installations like vintage hockey masks, boxing gloves, baseball bats, and a vertical collection of USA Men's Soccer jerseys dating back to the '70s on loan from Nike.
Other aspects of the overhaul include the addition of shuffle board, and Johnston says the bar will soon add a private event space modeled after a"man cave," with leather couches, wingback chairs, and things like vintage medicine balls and a punching bag.
Located at 225 SW Broadway, Broadway on Deck was the second location of On Deck Sports Bar Grill; it took over the old Silver Dollar II Sports Bar in early 2015. The original On Deck in the Pearl will remain open, but Broadway On Deck shutters for good July 10. Johnston says The Independent Sports Bar & Grill will hold its grand opening July 15. No launch date for the event space has been released.
