Outdoor dining area with colorful chairs and wooden tables under a canopy, featuring a bar with blue tiling and pendant lights, surrounded by trees and a street view.

Hinterland

Architect: Design Department Architecture + Interiors
Photographer: Tom Schaller

  • The owner of Hinterland, a new bar and food cart pod in Southeast Portland, approached Owen Gabbert, LLC to transform a 100-year-old house into a vibrant commercial gathering space. Located on SE 50th between Hawthorne and Division, the 1908 building was in rough shape after living many lives—first as a single-family home, and later as an acupuncture clinic.

    Preserving as much of the former structure as possible for both budgetary and environmental reasons, the Owen Gabbert, LLC team transformed the building and outdoor space into a welcoming and casual neighborhood dining spot. The team strived to reestablish the building as something totally different while capturing as much value from existing conditions as possible. An adaptive reuse project, the footprint mostly stayed the same while the existing building was entirely reconfigured.

    The client, an avid traveler and neighborhood resident, wanted Hinterland to activate the site and serve as a hub for the best food carts in town. To draw those carts, individually metered electrical, gas, and water connections were provided along with a shared underground grease trap, trash enclosure, and dishpit inside the building.

    Working alongside Design Department Architecture + Interiors, the Owen Gabbert, LLC team vaulted the ceiling to open up the space, added custom wainscoting, and installed a bar and tables made from reclaimed lumber salvaged from another of the owner’s properties. They also created a large ordering window—inspired by social distancing measures put into place during construction—which now serves as the center point of the whole complex. Timber frame front and back porches, also made from salvaged lumber, offer ample covered outdoor seating and a comfortable destination to enjoy a wide selection of food and handcrafted drinks.

    Owen Gabbert, LLC served as general contractor on the project, and also provided its expertise as a development consultant by creating preliminary feasibility studies, identifying financing options, and managing consultants. The project was highly collaborative with the client, contractor, and architect working closely together to achieve the best result possible within the constraints of budget and site.

    Since it opened in January 2022, Hinterlands has been considered one of the top 5 food cart pods in the city and was named the #1 food cart pod that year by Oregon Live. Situated near Mount Tabor, the location is easily accessible by foot, bike, and bus.

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