Bubba Bernie’s

Location: SE 12th and Hawthorne, Cartopia

The Story:

On Friday or Saturday night, I am a sucker for fries or a pizza or a pie – all the wonderful things available at Cartopia down on SE 12th and Hawthorne. Yet, sometimes, you have a craving for something a little different – maybe a po’boy or some BBQ or even some jambalaya. Well, Bubba Bernie’s is there to sate that craving.

Bubba Bernie’s serves up a great mix of southern comfort food. The evening we visited, a cold dark Saturday night, we were able to sit comfortably at their tables under their awning warmed by their gas space heater. It was one of those nights when the only thing that could warm you was direct heat, and Bernie’s had it. We ordered a BBQ beef brisket sandwich and the vegan jambalaya with kale and veggie sausage. [Read more...]

Cart Pioneer Rudy Speerschneider

Note: This a new series from Food Carts Portland focusing on the people behind the carts. We’ll be doing profiles, interviews and even a Q & A or two in the next few months with people who have helped make Portland’s cart scene what it is today. If you have any ideas for future profiles, let us know!


Jr. Ambassadors, the quirky little ice-cream, sandwich and soup cart on N. Albina near Blandina St. is closed for now, but it’s far from forgotten. Owner Rudy Speerschneider might not have had the most foot traffic at his bright orange hut, but he certainly continues to have a big impact on the cart scene. If you read Food Carts Portland on a regular basis you probably see Rudy – his Cheshire Cat grin graces the top left of our website banner. You can also read Food Carts Portland’s original profile of JR Ambassadors from 2008, HERE

Rudy was one of the first Portland “cartrepeneurs” to branch out to North Portland, back in 2007. This was when his stretch of North Mississippi/Albina was less coffee houses and clothing boutiques, and more odd semi-industrial businesses and corner mini-marts. Rudy had a deal for his space, too – in exchange for free rent from his landlord next door Rudy kept the lot clean and chased off vandals and other riff-raff. “Yeah, the neighborhood was still a bit sketchy when I first moved in,” Rudy recently reminisced, “but it made sense for what I wanted to do which was create a whole world around that cart and serve surreal and innovative food.” This world is a place Rudy and a group of collaborators called Mostlandia.

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National Street Vendor Conference

If you are a street cart vendor, interested in becoming one, or even a person that advocates or works on food cart related issues, there’s a nifty national conference coming up in Los Angeles, May 14-15, 2010 at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

According to the Conference Materials,

In recent years, street vendors in the U.S. have become more prominent than ever before. In New York, L.A., Chicago, Washington, D.C. – and many other communities around the nation – vendors are getting organized to stand up for their rights – and make their voices heard.

The conference will provide a historic opportunity for street based entrepreneurs…to meet, share experiences, coordinate strategy, and build solidarity.

There is some grant funding available to vendors who many not have the financial resources to attend on their own.

We’ve talked about cart vendor issues here before – everything from landlord issues, to city permitting, to neighborhood and restaurant complaints about the carts. While some other cities have strong cart vendor associations and groups, others – such as Portland – have no such support system. This might partly be due to the City of Portland and Multnomah County. Both entities have generally been very supportive of food carts.  However, carts in other cities are often in constant battle with changing laws, police “crack downs”, excessive permitting and other cart issues. It’s the strength in numbers theory – much like restaurant associations – vendor groups can lobby in powerful numbers, develop a strong support system for one another, and are much more powerful as a group than as individuals. Does Portland need a Cart Vendor Association?

Regardless, I think cart vendors from other places could learn a lot from Portland’s cart vendors, local government and thriving “cart culture”. On the flip side, Portland cart vendors and the City of Portland could greatly benefit from learning about cart vendors and associations in other cities.

This is an exciting opportunity for knowledge exchange, community organizing, and business and organizational development. If you are interested in learning more about the conference please check out this excellent post from the NYC based Non-profit Urban Justice Center at StreetVendor.org .

Aybla Grill on VendrTV

Aybla Grill is a Portland food cart success story. At my last count, they have 3 carts serving up great Mediterranean food and an additional cart (currently on the move) serving up Brazilian food. VendrTV was in town last year and shot the following.

Launchings, Reopenings, and Cleveland – News

Wow! We have some news for you.

Spudnik has landed! A week or so ago, I was able to see Spudnik in real life. I had heard about the new truck – Potato Champion’s new mobile cart – for awhile now and it was wonderful to see it rollin’ down the street and setting up for an event. Just think, amazingly fresh Belgian fries with poutine at your local event or monthly gathering. They just may be there. Follow @PotatoChampion on Twitter for location updates.
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Parkers Waffles and Coffee have opened a second location at NE 18th and Alberta. If you visit on Saturday, Feb 20th, the first 50 people get free waffles. I love to hear about expansion in the food cart business. Open every day 7:30am-2pm and Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 7:30pm -2am.
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Speaking of expansion, Garden State has opened their second location at Mississippi Marketplace on N Mississippi and Skidmore this past week. Menu as advertised on Facebook: Chickpea Fries $2; Fried Calamari $5; Meatball Hero $6.50; Chickpea Sandwich $6.50 and more. We’ll be visiting soon to check it out and try out the old faves from the new cart. [Read more...]