The Team Behind Sandy Hut and the Vern Is Taking Over Holman’s Bar and Grill

Holman’s Bar and Grill, a stalwart of the Buckman neighborhood since 1933, is about to get a new lease on life. Warren Boothby and Marcus Archambeault have bought the bar from former owner Bill Craine and plan to reopen it in a few months, Portland Mercury arts and culture editor Suzette Smith reports. Holman’s has been temporarily closed since March 2020.

Boothby and Archambeault are the team behind the restorations of other storied Portland bars such as the Vern and Sandy Hut, in addition to managing the Alibi, Double Barrel, and Gold Dust Meridian. “We’re so happy to continue on these old Portland places, so they can be here for years for everyone to visit and enjoy,” Boothby told the Mercury. One of Holman’s defining features, a game wheel that diners could spin for the chance to win a comped bill, will remain a fixture of the bar. “It’ll remain Holman’s,” Boothby says. “The wheel will remain, we love it.”

Food & Wine names Portland the best food truck city in America

In Food & Wine’s inaugural reader’s choice awards, the publication’s readers have backed what Portlanders have known in their hearts for years — our fair city is the best food truck (read: cart) city in the country, beating out other locales like Los Angeles, New York City, and Austin for the top spot. “No trip to Portland is complete without sampling one of the city’s hundreds of food trucks,” Ximena Beltran writes. “Rather than stand-alone, most carts work together in clusters in what locals refer to as ‘pods,’ making it easy for diners to try a variety of global cuisines all in one place.”

Honey Butter Country Fare will take over the kitchen at Swan Dive

Gluten-free fair food purveyors Honey Butter Country Fare will start a residency within the Central Eastside bar and music venue Swan Dive starting in June. Diners can expect new menu items such as picnic plates with BBQ pulled pork or vegan chili, Frito pie, BBQ pulled pork or honey butter grits, and creamy kale slaw. From now until June, Honey Butter Country Fare will pop-up at the bar on Monday nights from 5 to 10 p.m. The restaurant notes that Swan Dive is currently not a dedicated gluten-free space but it will have dedicated equipment and food storage and will be doing a kitchen deep clean before starting full service in June.