Doug Fir Lounge Will Move Into the Former Bistro Montage Space

The Doug Fir Lounge, the restaurant and music venue within the Jupiter Hotel, is leaving its distinctive, log-cabin-vibed digs to take over another Portland stalwart. According to public documents, Doug Fir will move its music venue to 301 SE Morrison Street, also known as the former home of Le Bistro Montage.

The Jupiter Hotel confirmed the Doug Fir’s departure in a press release, indicating that the venue will transition “away from the food and beverage aspect of the business and lean into focusing on providing Portland with great live music.” The press release also specified that the Doug Fir will continue to host shows in its original location through the end of the summer, while the hotel seeks out a new tenant for the restaurant, bar, and venue.

The food blog Bridgetown Bites first noted that the space will move into a new location “this fall,” attributing the information to an unnamed tipster. The Portland Mercury did a little more digging: According to unnamed “staff” who spoke to the alt, more details about the move should emerge in mid-to-late March.

Doug Fir opened within the Jupiter Hotel in 2004, intended to serve as a distinctly Pacific Northwestern music venue within a boutique hotel. Architect Jeff Kovel gave the space a midcentury modern, cabin-like feel, with abundant wood paneling, ’60s-chic lounge seating, and plenty of walls lined with rounded logs. Countless musicians have played the Doug Fir over the years, including the Mountain Goats, Spoon, and Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, as well as noteworthy Portland bands like the Dandy Warhols, Portugal. The Man, and the Decemberists. The restaurant has generally stuck to Portland-ish Americana — seasonal vegetable breakfast hashes, Tillamook cheddar cheeseburgers — with a few deviations.

Le Bistro Montage, on the other hand, had been open for more than a decade by the time Doug Fir hosted its first show. A late-night, Cajun-Creole-adjacent restaurant tucked below the Morrison bridge, Montage was a popular post-show hangout for teens and twentysomethings in the Portland area, who would order tricked-out mac and cheese or jambalaya at long, communal tables. After shutting down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant’s team announced it would not reopen in its original location. Months later, Montage reopened as a food cart, but its space sat vacant. It’s unclear what the Doug Fir team plans to do with the restaurant space, or how it plans to transform it into a music venue.

Updated Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 9:40 a.m.: This story has been updated to include details from the Jupiter Hotel’s press release.