Two Serious Cocktail Stars Will Open a Bar on SE Division Next Week

A new SE Division bar opening next week could be the most exciting cocktail bar opening in the last six months. Tucked in the back of a vintage building at 3634 SE Division Street, Someday will bring hardcore cocktail talent to Division, with a chic-but-welcoming atmosphere, a patio and food cart pod, and a cocktail menu incorporating lesser-known classics and specials from far-flung guest bartenders.

Someday comes from veteran bartenders Jessica Baesler and Graham Files, and the two are no newbies: They spent years working at major Portland bars and restaurants like Ava Gene’s, Coquine, and Tusk, as well as New York locales like the famous Prune. Although the two have a long list of bars they’ve helped open or thrive, Baesler and Files have long planned on opening their own bar, rooted in the community they had formed over the years — after a while of calling it their “someday bar,” the name stuck.

There’s no defined schtick at Someday; no one should expect tiki memorabilia or faux-dive design notes. “It’s not a thematic bar,” says Files. “We focus and talk about hospitality and the feeling of the space, our collaborative experiences, the community, local products, and seasonality; it really is the sum of all of its parts.” This collaborative spirit shows in drinks that borrow from the kitchen, like the Tiger Porch, a tequila sour with tamarind syrup. There’s also a focus on providing drinkers with something familiar enough to be approachable but also new: for instance, the Gin Gin Fizz, a gin fizz that switches out the usual egg white for Calpico, a Japanese beverage that’s similar to a drinking yogurt.

In terms of classic cocktails, the team is going with lesser-known ones: Visitors will more likely see a chauncey, a mixed base-spirit cocktail from the ‘30s, or a scofflaw, a rye and vermouth sour with grenadine, than a manhattan or martini. Cocktails prices will be around the $10 to $12, as the owners want it to be the kind of bar that folks can visit regularly, rather than as a special occasion. Baesler and Files also want to tap into the robust community they’ve developed over the years and bring in their bartender friends from around the country for guest shifts and collaborative menus. The permanent team will also include people like Katie Stipe, another powerhouse currently working at Voysey,

The back patio features picnic tables and two food carts: Ash Wood Fired Pizza and Let’s Roll, a food cart specializing in sushi rolls and rice bowls. The two will soon be joined by Alley Mezza, a mezze cart. Diners will be more than welcome to have drinks at the picnic tables under the canopy or bring in food to the bar; however, Someday will have its own menu of drinking snacks, like sweetheart ham sandwiches, chicken liver mousse, and radishes with anchovy butter. Baesler and Files have floated the idea of a frozen candy bar on the menu, which they’ll grab from the bodega across the street whenever anyone orders one, just to be a good neighbor.

Someday will be open 2 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Thursday through Monday to start, but will expand to seven days a week once the team dials everything in.

• Someday Bar [IG]
• Ash Wood Fired Pizza [Official]
• Let’s Roll [Official]
• All Previous Ava Gene’s Coverage [EPDX]
• All Previous Tusk Coverage [EPDX]
• All Previous Prune Coverage [ENYC]