Ghost Kitchen Company Reef Is Now Selling Milk Bar Treats in Portland

Milk Bar Comes to Portland Via a Ghost Kitchen

Ghost kitchen company Reef is bringing Milk Bar treats to Portland. Milk Bar, owned by influential pastry chef Christina Tosi, has made a large push to expand nationally in recent years, opening locations in Toronto, Boston, Los Angeles, and elsewhere. The Reef offerings would include Milk Bar’s popular “compost” cookies, birthday cakes, milk bar pie, and crumb cakes. Reef has brought a number of buzzy chains to Portland through its ghost kitchens, kitchen trailers parked in lots that house a number of different virtual restaurant concepts. Last year, David Chang’s fried chicken sandwich chain, Fuku, tried to launch in Portland through a Reef contract, but eventually decided to abandon the plan based on local backlash. [EaterWire]

Foreland Beer, from Former Portland Brewer Sean Burke, Will Open a Buckman Taproom

Sean Burke, known for his time at The Commons and Von Ebert, opened a new McMinnville brewery late last year, with an impressive slate of beers leaning heavily on Pacific Northwestern hop varieties. Now, Burke is making a sort of return to Portland: Foreland will open a taproom in a Southeast Portland craftsman once home to Rocking Frog Cafe, at 2511 SE Belmont Street. This location should feature some of Foreland’s wine-beer hybrids, as well as simpler ales and lagers. At least one food cart will handle the food at this Foreland location, and Burke hopes to open the taproom before the year ends. [New School Beer]

Portland Taproom Changes Its Name Amid Internet Backlash

There was yet another appropriation controversy surrounding an Oregon business last month: NWIPA is changing its name to North West IPA after TikTok user @opbamiri called out the taproom for the way it co-opts typeface and branding associated with NWA and ‘90s hip-hop culture, despite its status as a white-owned business. “Every day when I pass this business, I internalize it as a Black-owned business,” @opbamiri says in the video. “They’re playing on the N.W.A. thing and they like IPAs.” Owner Dan Huish apologized via Instagram, and announced the name change. “While at the time, it felt like a creative play on a cultural movement and visual style that I admired, in retrospect and in fact, my business’s name was an example of appropriating Black culture. I acknowledge this, I am so sorry, and I am committed to doing better,” the apology reads. “I recognize that this appropriation is piled on top of the historical theft of Black music and culture.” [WWeek]

In Other News...

• In case you missed it, there’s a new(ish) taquito cart in Southwest Portland, but they’re serving much more than just taquitos. [PoMo]
• Foundational Oregon beer Henry Weinhard’s has been dropped by its parent company. [WWeek]
• Northwest Portland spot Sushi Ichiban has reopened, complete with its toy train. [WWeek]