The food carts that were displaced from downtown Portland due to construction of a Ritz-Carlton hotel have secured a new permanent home around Ankeny Square.
Approximately 30 food carts from arguably the most well-known food cart pod in Portland, the Alder Street pod, were looking to stick together and find a new location. That location was supposed to be the North Park Blocks until those plans fell through due to opposition from some neighbors.
In the meantime, the carts have been in storage since the end of June.
Local nonprofit Friends of the Green Loop is facilitating the move to Ankeny Square.
Site map of the Ankeny Square location.
Friends of the Green Loop
The Green Loop is a linear park concept, approved by Portland City Council, that will eventually wind through Portland in an effort to make the city more accessible by foot or bike.
Keith Jones, co-director of Friends of the Green Loop, said the Ankeny Square spot will house the carts permanently while organizers continue to look into creating a “culinary corridor” within that proposed Green Loop for the carts.
“North Park Blocks was originally going to be temporary, so this is something that turns out to be even better than we had planned,” Jones said.
There’s no official reopening date for the carts yet, he said, as contractors are still figuring out estimates for power and plumbing to the site as well as updating infrastructure.
He said the move is funded by public and private donations. The largest single donation the nonprofit has received is $25,000 from Travel Portland. More than $13,000 has funneled in through a GoFundMe fundraiser.
“The contractors are going down there today,” Jones said. “We’ve got to get a quote from them and figure out what we have to do, and of course that GoFundMe is very important to help pay for that.”
The Ankeny Square location will be just three blocks away from the carts’ former Alder Street spot.