Star Breakfast Taco Cart La Osita Is Opening a Montavilla Restaurant

For years, a tiny cart in East Portland — La Osita — has made some of the city’s finest breakfast tacos: tortillas filled with thick slabs of bacon, egg, pico de gallo, and pickled onions, served alongside green smoothies and lattes con canela. Soon, those tacos will be available closer to the city center: La Osita is preparing to open a new location in Portland’s Montavilla neighborhood, the Oregonian reports.

At the new restaurant, La Osita will expand its menu to include dishes like chilaquiles and conchas, as well as a wider selection of beverages. La Osita will take over the Taylor Court Grocery space, which closed at the beginning of the pandemic, in September; it’s located at 1135 SE 80th Avenue.

Char Pizza Will Close Saturday

Foster-Powell pizzeria Char will close this week, after four years of fun cocktails and pineapple-topped pizzas. Owners Tyler Kennedy and Tim Alves opened the pizzeria in 2018, naming all of their pizzas after their cats and developing an impressive, inexpensive cocktail menu. The space was home to pinball and arcade games, which made it a neighborhood hangout for happy hour. However, in an Instagram post, Char’s team announced the restaurant’s impending closure. “We are finalizing on the sale of our business,” the announcement reads. “The amazing people taking over will be doing an entirely new menu so this will be your last chance to get some CHAR pizza and drinks.” The restaurant closes after service on Saturday.

Pono Brewing Will Open a New Brewery in Northeast Portland

Pono Brewing is taking over the space once home to Columbia River Brewing. Pono Brew Labs will take advantage of the space’s seven-barrel system, focusing on experimental beers paired with Hawaiian, Filipino, and Pacific Island cuisine. Currently, the brewery uses the Zoiglhaus space to do most of its brewing, which will not change; the new location will specialize in small production beers made with new strains of hops and fruits, also featuring a larger mixed fermentation and barrel-aging program. The brewery will open at 1728 NE 40th Avenue.