Portland’s oldest food cart pod is getting a glow-up, thanks to a partnership between software company Expensify and restaurant group ChefStable.
The pod on Southwest Fifth Avenue between Southwest Harvey Milk and Southwest Oak streets is being remodeled to add more carts, seating, utility connections, a bar and an events stage. Construction starts this week and the updated pod is expected to open in July, said Expensify founder and CEO David Barrett.
The move is the latest example of the software company’s commitment to the long term in Portland. Barrett moved from San Francisco in 2017 and brought some employees with him. The company’s headquarters shifted here, and in 2019 Expensify bought its building, the First National Bank Building. That happens to be across the street from the cart pod.
For the pod — which is being rebranded as Midtown Beer Garden — Expensify has leased the property for about seven years. The company is investing somewhere between $100,000 and $1 million in the project, though Barrett said it’s closer to the million-dollar mark.
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Expensify (Nasdaq: EXFY) is teaming with ChefSTable to operate the pod. The intention is to keep the carts that are there and add new carts. The pod will have space for 30 carts and covered seating for 300 people. Barrett added they also want to keep the rent for the carts as low as possible. The goal is for the pod to break even, and it's not meant to be a cash generator for the company.
“Neighborhoods are built by community and the people who live there. This is our backyard, why not make it awesome,” Barrett said.
Plans for Midtown Beer Garden food cart pod
Here are the details on the pod:
- Electric, water, natural gas and sewer connections for each cart
- Seating for more than 300 people
- Tents with heaters
- Onsite security guard and security patrol when the pod is closed
- New asphalt
- Large center bar cart
- Event and music stage
“We’re grateful Expensify is committed to creating a brighter future for the food carts on Fifth Avenue,” said Christian Lee, whose cart Korean Twist cart has been at the pod since 2008. “Many cart owners here have felt uncertain about what the future holds, and we’re excited about the improvements that will be made for enhanced security with a built-in fence and giving customers a place to sit and enjoy their lunch.”
Anyone interested in becoming a vendor at the Midtown Beer Garden or anyone who wants to work on community initiatives with Expensify can email pdxcommunity@expensify.com. The company is also offering a $1,000 referral bonus for any carts or vendors that sign a one-year lease.
Revamping this pod and expanding it also fills a void left downtown when the huge Alder Street cart pod closed to make way for the Ritz Carlton project and a smaller pod across the street was replaced by the Moxy Hotel.
“The Alder pod, we went there every day,” said Barrett. “When it went away we were bummed. It made this make more sense. Kurt (Huffman of ChefStable) saw the same vision. We aren’t making a ton of money (on this) but it’s a key part of building the community. Food carts are a great way to bring life to the neighborhood.”
Barrett is also working with other business owners in the area to rebrand the neighborhood as Midtown, since it sits between the heart of downtown and the edge of Old Town Chinatown.
“It’s going to take a lot of sustained, creative effort from all of us to transform the community from its current status into a real mark of pride for the city,” said Barrett in a written statement. “But we’re here for the long haul, and I can’t wait to relax with a beer in the sun at the new heart of a vibrant Midtown.”
Expensify building more than software
Expensify makes software that employees in large and small businesses use for expense reimbursement, invoices and bill pay. The company, which last year had revenue of $169.5 million, has a distributed team. It has 146 total employees and about 14 in Portland.
Barrett noted that the headquarters are much larger than the local team needs. However, he has always envisioned it as a place for employees, customers and the community to gather. A peek at what could happen here was unveiled last month at the company’s San Francisco office, which has been branded Expensify Lounge and offers free snacks, coffee and cocktails to company clients in a posh space that can be used for working for private meetings.
“From the time we walked in (to the Portland headquarters) we envisioned a community space,” Barrett said, such as gallery space on the ground level and co-working on upper floors. “I’m still convinced we will have a speakeasy and a spa in the basement.”
Cool Spaces: Secret rooms, vault lounges and swanky hangouts inside Expensify's Portland digs (Photos)
The team has been brainstorming building uses and looking at the nearby cart pod from the beginning.
“We have always viewed it as a blank canvass, we can do anything we want on it,” Barrett said. “We have always viewed it as being involved in the community. The neighborhood is not great and never really has been great. This is an opportunity to do more than build an incredible place for ourselves and customers but to get involved in the community at large.”
