As we speak, a crowd starts to form under the neon sign by the immaculate granite counter of Publican Beer Room. Our chat was interrupted by Chris Shimamoto, the well-known bartender whose neighborhood burned down in January, taking the Portland Mercado with it. He crossed the room to say hello to his old patrons and pour a few midday drinks.
When Shimamoto got back, he mentioned that the woman in the walker over there had been employed at the Holgate Library for ages. At one o’clock on Thursdays, she used to visit Barrio.
The fact that a bunch of retirees would trek from their Foster-Powell neighborhood to the Collective Oregon Eateries food hall on Southeast 82nd Avenue for the Publican Beer Room’s grand opening might surprise you if you’re unfamiliar with Barrio. Shimamoto was the type of bartender who would remember your name and drink order, or at the very least, remember your dog. Nevertheless, these regulars and others continue to bemoan the community lost with Barrio.
Shimamoto has found a new home at the recently established Publican Beer Room, which is approximately a mile away, while Portland Mercado is looking for $750,000 in public assistance to help it reopen following the fire. It doesn’t look much like Barrio inside. The bar at CORE is bright and clean, with windows overlooking the dining hall and cart pod, which recently expanded its roster after dropping to just a few carts earlier this year. This is in contrast to a little space filled with wine bottles, records, memorabilia, flags, poetry, and more. The bar offers a well-curated selection of draft beer, wine by the glass, margaritas, micheladas, sake, and soju in addition to Shimamoto’s well-known sangria.
After the Jan. 3 fire damaged Barrio, a connected juice bar, and the largely empty mercado, and momentarily cut off power to eight food carts on the nearby pod, Shimamoto claimed he was immobilized. However, he was lifted out of his mood by a text from Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine owner Mya Sandy Myint, who had hosted Burmese food pop-ups at Barrio before to launching her restaurant at CORE.
“Bringing Chris was my dream,” Myint remarked. He didn’t want to come at the time, though.
Shimamoto eventually had second thoughts.
Following the closing of another nearby pod, the Collective Oregon Eateries pod recently experienced a surge of new enterprises after declining to just a few carts last year.Graves, Mark/The Oregonian
Shimamoto claimed that for seven months following the fire, he was depressed and totally alone. I was given medicine. I had a lot of alcohol. Ultimately, I wasn’t prepared to run my own pub. However, I was prepared to work as a bartender once more. I missed my people, but staying out close to my place in south Beaverton would have been much easier. I also missed my canines.
Shimamoto was aware that he would have to return to his work with individuals who motivated him. Myint endorsed Mandy Kao and Hanry Ho, the couple who founded CORE, which seems to be getting as close to realizing its initial goal as it has since its grand debut in 2021.
For now, Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine and a Heyday Doughnuts cafe share the huge CORE hall with Publican Beer Room. According to Mandy Kao, future expansions might include televisions showing music videos, a seafood motif, and a separate wine bar. Following the unexpected closing of another pod just across 82nd, carts recently began to move to CORE from the neighboring pod, which has its own window into the bar and is where Shimamoto’s cherished dogs are permitted.
Even though Shimamoto’s opening weekend was well attended by old customers, the distance to CORE may make it challenging to resume regular meetups.
The previous library supervisor, Rosalie Grafe, sipped a CBD cola and remarked, “That’s where I did my core socializing.” Many of us would travel to Barrio by foot. My house was two blocks away. I have to be picked up and brought here by someone.
Grafe was merely searching for a spot to read when she first discovered Barrio. She remembers Aragorn meeting Frodo and Sam at a pub in The Lord of the Rings and sitting in the corner of the bar like Strider, his nickname.
Grafe remarked in between gulps of CBD soda, “I’m not a big drinker, and it still feels a little scandalous to me that my basic place was a bar.” In her grave, my mother would have rolled over.
However, a small group quickly expanded to about nine regulars, which Grafe said was about as much as Barrio could handle.
According to Grafe, loneliness is the most severe illness in the country. More people are killed by it than by anything else. Elders who live alone: I live alone, and I’m grateful that I’ve finally realized my dream. Others, however, or even young individuals in recovery from alcoholism or another addiction, simply want to hang out with some amiable, nonjudgmental people. For all that time, that was a huge success. And the fact that it burned down had a terrible effect on us.
The primary reason the former Nike employee never installed TVs was because Shimamoto loved talking to Barrio more than anything else about owning the dog. He said, “You want people to talk.” No cell phones. Be there.
After spending seven months at home, he made the decision to go back to bartending, partly to show his twin daughters, both of whom are 20 years old and attending Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, that you must persevere in the face of adversity.
He remarked, “I wanted to set an example for my kids.”
The Publican Beer Room is located in the CORE food court at 3612 S.E. 82nd Ave. and is open everyday from noon until nine o’clock.
Russell, Michael; [email protected]
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