One of Portland’s Soul Food Legends Is Getting Into the Food Cart Game

When Portland chef William “Dub” Travis III was a kid, he spent a lot of time on Jarrett Street in Northeast Portland, where his grandmother lived. He even keeps a memory from Jarrett on his body: a scar on his knee, from a spill off a bike.

Now, Travis is heading back to Jarrett Street — to open a barbecue food cart.

For those who don’t know, Travis is a bit of a legend within Portland’s soul food community, enduring a long string of bad luck. He was originally one of the men behind Mack & Dub’s Chicken and Waffles, a very popular fried chicken shop in Northeast Portland before it burned to the ground. He then moved into the Ranger Tavern before opening a shop in St. Johns. The restaurant closed in 2018; Travis then started serving chicken nearby inside the Lombard bar with deep David Lynch vibes, Marie’s.

“This year has been kinda crazy for me, since we closed the main location last year,” Travis says. “I was doing some reflective thinking, ‘What am I going to do in the restaurant industry?’ So I thought, ‘Hey, let’s do some food carts.’”

The first will land on MLK and Jarrett within the next few weeks, within the Fusion Food Pavilion pod. Dub’s on the K will stick to barbecue, instead of Dub’s famous fried chicken, but poultry will still play a major role at the new Dub’s: Travis wants to serve lots of barbecue chicken, alongside the classic brisket and ribs.

Next, Dub’s will cross the St. Johns bridge and open a cart in Linnton, the neighborhood near Forest Park off Highway 30. The menu will be similar to the new cart on MLK, also getting into pulled pork sandwiches and his tropical iced tea. “It’s a good place where people can grab a pulled pork sandwich, some ribs, and some barbecue chicken,” Travis says. “There’s a 7/11 right there, a dispensary, and a gas station, on the whole same lot. It’s in a super high traffic zone.”

Those worried about the fate of Travis’s fried chicken need not worry: As if there isn’t enough on his plate, Travis will continue his pop-ups. He also is scheming to release a cookbook and bottled Dub’s barbecue sauce at New Seasons, but for now, ride-or-die Dub fans can keep an eye on those two carts. Dub’s on the K will be located at 5800 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, within the Fusion Food Pavilion.

• Dub’s [Official]
• Dub’s [Facebook]
• Fusion Food Pavilion [Facebook]
• Dub’s Chicken and Waffles Is Going Brick and Mortar [EPDX]
• Fried Chicken Paradise Dub’s St. Johns Is Closing Its North Portland Restaurant [EPDX]
• North Portland Soul Food Destination Dub’s Is Resurfacing In St. Johns [Willamette Week]
• Previous Dub’s coverage [EPDX]