Chef Patrick McKee Is Back and Taking Over the Old Smallwares Space

Veteran chef Patrick McKee (Paley’s Place) is done licking his wounds after closing his Common Law restaurant inside Pine Street Market last year, and PoMo reports McKee will head the Southern- and Asian-inspired spot Southfork, taking over the former Smallwares space at 4605 NE Fremont. Southfork comes from restaurateurs Eric Schindele and Casey O’Brien, and it could start serving as soon as May 9, if all goes to plan.

At Common Law, McKee offered delicious food, but it clearly wasn’t a good fit for Pine Street Market; in fact, since opening last May, the downtown food hall has morphed into a set of very precise, stand-alone food concepts: Trifecta Annex delivers the pizza and baked goods; Marukin does ramen; BYH Burgers does the classic cheeseburger; etc. With a decade of experience working alongside Vitaly Paley at Paley’s Place, McKee needed room to display his skills, and Southfork should offer just that.

When it opens, Southfork will serve dinner and, on select nights, a show, with live jazz on the weekends. Brunch is also in the works. Look for more details coming soon here on Eater PDX, and you can follow along with the progress on Southfork’s Instagram feed.

• Southfork [Official Site]
• Smallwares Space Will Reopen as Southern-Leaning SouthFork in Early May [PoMo]
• All Previous Common Law Coverage [EPDX]