Higgins Has Reopened Piggins, Its Food Cart and Outdoor Dining Space

Piggins Reopens in Downtown Portland

Piggins, the food-cart-based Higgins offshoot that popped up as a pandemic pivot last year, has reopened at the Oregon Historical Society. The menu includes dishes like Higgins’ lauded house charcuterie, an Oregon bay shrimp sandwich, and spiced chickpea crepes with grilled asparagus, with things like chocolate mousse parfait with hazelnuts for dessert. The cart also offers drinks, including Belgian beers and Oregon wines by the bottle. Customers can make reservations here; Piggins is located at 1200 SW Park Avenue. [EaterWire]

Several Oregon Businesses Applied for Those Restaurant Revitalization Funds in the American Rescue Plan — Now Those Funds Are Running Out

More than 1,000 BIPOC-, women- and veteran-owned food businesses in Oregon have received funding via the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, according to U.S Rep. Earl Blumenauer; on average, Oregon’s restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, and food carts approved for funding will take home about $143,000 per business. The fund, a part of the American Rescue Plan, set aside $28.6 billion in grants for food and drink business grants; however, the Small Business Administration received more than a quarter million applications, which would amount to more than double the originally allotted amount. Blumenauer wants to urge congress to replenish the fund, and the Independent Restaurant Coalition issued a statement saying that “thousands of small businesses will be left behind” when the fund stops accepting applications on May 24. [WWeek]

In Other News...

• OPB is launching a new video series about Pacific Northwestern foods. Portland chefs Vitaly Paley and Sarah Schaefer appear in the first episode, which is about truffles. [OPB]
• Oregon’s unemployed workers now need to actively apply for jobs to continue to receive benefits. [O]
• In roundup news, Portland Monthly’s Katherine Chew Hamilton has a guide to the city’s corn tortilla quesadillas, and the Oregonian’s Jamie Hale has a roundup of fish and chip shops. [PoMo, O]