Straightaway Cocktails, the Portland distillery turned bottled-cocktail brand, is leveling up the airport drink scene with a 1,000‑square‑foot cocktail lounge behind security at Portland International Airport’s Concourse C. The space will center on a deep-blue, 32‑seat bar, framed by green-textured bench seating and warm wood walls, and will pour full-size cocktails alongside the company’s bottled lineup. Travelers will also see airport-exclusive drinks and a grab-and-go selection of bottles and multi‑packs. The bar is scheduled to open to travelers on June 22, 2026.
According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, the Concourse C lounge is a permanent expansion for a brand that previously ran a small PDX kiosk during the 2024 terminal refresh. In a press release cited by the outlet, co‑founder Cy Cain said the company is "rooted in cocktail culture and honoring the craft at its highest level."
Straightaway launched its distillery and tasting room on Southeast Hawthorne in 2018 and now sells packaged cocktails through its shop and wholesale partners, according to Straightaway's locations page. Travel and food publications have described the tasting room as a Distillery Row fixture and noted the brand's wider availability across the region, Sunset reports. That local footprint helped the company land the larger Concourse C space as PDX builds out more permanent concessions.
What to expect at Concourse C
Per The Oregonian/OregonLive, the new lounge is set to debut a Roma Spritz and a Bloody Mary next month and will sell bottles and four‑packs to go. On the food side, Straightaway tapped Sebastiano's bakery for a menu that reportedly includes soups, a radicchio salad and a newly developed "pizza cone" designed to merge Sicilian flavors with grab‑and‑go airport practicality.
A taste of Sebastiano's
Sebastiano's, the Montavilla Italian deli run by Dan and Elise Gold, has built a following for its Sicilian sandwiches, pastries and pantry items since opening, StarChefs reports. Local coverage has followed the deli’s evolution from farmers‑market beginnings into a brick‑and‑mortar shop and catering operation, making it a logical fit for an airport menu with an Italian‑Northwest lean, according to Montavilla News.
Why now: PDX's terminal refresh
Straightaway's move lines up with PDX's multi‑year terminal refresh, which has been shifting local vendors from temporary kiosks into permanent concession spaces. The airport's PDX NEXT project notes that operators who opened kiosks in 2024 were slated to expand into full‑size units as the terminal's second phase wrapped up, helping explain the timing of the Concourse C opening.
The new Straightaway lounge is pitched as a quick but elevated stop for travelers who want a proper cocktail before boarding, and its bottles‑to‑go setup could nudge some PDX flyers to rethink the standard pre‑flight drink. Travelers should expect the space to open June 22 and to be accessible after security in Concourse C; check airline and airport postings for exact hours and access policies.
