/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69553181/ComingAttractions_Bar2__1_.0.jpg)
Century Bar — Southeast Portland’s sports bar and nightclub that drew crowds for its wide patios and stadium seating in the days before COVID-19 — will not reopen, but those already lamenting the bar as a crowd-friendly hangout should not fear: The team behind Pearl cocktail bar Two Wrongs will take over the space later this summer, with magnums of Champagne, birria nachos, and an even larger patio.
Jackie’s, the new bar and restaurant moving into Century, will serve weekend brunch and nightly dinner service alongside pitchers of margaritas, but co-owner Quinn Matthewstearn wants to keep the not-your-average-sports-bar vibe of Century alive: The bar will continue to be a place to watch games, but will eschew any of the familiar sports bar aesthetics like hanging jerseys and neon signs.
Tony Contreras — an alum of notable cocktail bars like Hey Love and Angel Face — will run the bar program at Jackie’s, focusing on draft cocktails designed for speed, efficiency, and sustainability. The bar will focus on the usual “classics with a twist” angle, from watermelon-hibiscus margaritas to halva Moscow mules. However, Contreras also plans to emphasize low-proof drinks, including white port and tonic, as well as no-proof libations like a matcha horchata and a non-alcoholic michelada. Glass pours will include wines from Coopers Hall and actual Champagne, and the bottle list will feature exclusively magnums, including vintage Champagne labels and local producers.
The focus on large groups will continue with the food menu, which is being handled by Grand Cru Hospitality. Diners can expect large format, shareable dishes including birria nachos and hot wings, as well as personal dishes like burgers and shrimp po’ boys. A weekend brunch will have items like chicken and waffles and crab eggs Benedict.
Though the space will remain familiar to fans of Century, the team has made some adjustments, most notably outside: the already impressive upper patio area is being expanded by 100 square feet, and will have additional televisions including an 84-inch screen. Downstairs, the lower patio has been enclosed with ivy-strewn walls, which helps to block the street noise from the adjacent Sandy Boulevard. And while the interior will retain its stadium-style seating area, the vibe will lean more lounge than club—the dance floor and late night DJs are being retired for a more laid-back scene. Overall, the team describes the vibe as being a “a bar with sports” rather than a sports bar, with the goal of presenting a space that would be a destination with or without games.
Jackie’s will be located at 930 SE Sandy Boulevard.
• Jackie’s [Official]
• Jackie’s PDX [Instagram]
• Behold Century Bar, The Ambitious Bar Designed to Look Like a Sports Stadium [EPDX]