A liquor license application filed with the City of Portland this month reveals plans for Emporia, a new bar aiming to bring art shows, live music, DJ sets and pool tables into a nearly century-old building at 714 SW 11th Ave in the West End. The application, filed under Emporia LLC, envisions a 90-seat, late-night destination inside a structure with deep roots in Portland's cultural history.
The City of Portland accepted Emporia LLC's application, numbered 26LIQ-APP-00280, on September 9, 2026, opening a 30-day public comment period that runs through October 9, according to the City of Portland. That window gives neighbors and nearby businesses a chance to weigh in before any recommendation moves forward. WhatNow reported that the application lists Chadwick Gibson as the owner behind Emporia LLC.
Emporia is seeking a Limited On-Premises sales license, a category that under Oregon rules permits wine, cider and malt beverages like beer for on-site consumption but prohibits distilled spirits, per the same city filing. That distinction sets Emporia apart from a full cocktail bar, even as its billing as a late-night destination suggests broader nightlife ambitions. The city notice also lays out a packed weekly schedule, with the bar open from noon to midnight Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and stretching to 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, with live music and DJ sets planned nightly from 6 to 10 p.m., alongside dancing, art shows and analog games such as pool.
A Building With Deep Portland Roots
The address at 714 SW 11th Ave was completed in 1926 as the Deutsches Haus, serving for decades as the headquarters and social hall of the German American Society of Portland, according to the German American Society of Portland. The organization owned and operated the building until selling it in January 2019, citing the structure's age and the repairs it required. In more recent years, per WhatNow, the space has also served as a dance studio, a physical activity center and a music hall for a private school.
The property's history reaches back even further. Historic records tie the site to the Hotel Arminius, later known as the Morrison Hotel, built around 1904 and designed by noted Portland architect Otto Kleemann, according to documentation held by NPGallery. Commercial listings describe the current two-story building as containing two full commercial kitchens, three offices, mirrored activity rooms and high ceilings, per a LoopNet listing — a layout that could easily accommodate the mix of food, drink, performance and gallery space Emporia is proposing.
An Art Gallery Founder Behind the Concept
Hyperallergic identifies Gibson as the gallery director of SMART OBJECTS, a contemporary art gallery, and documents a digital-art exhibition in Los Angeles. That background lines up with Emporia's stated plans to fold art shows into its nightly programming alongside live music and analog games.
West End Redevelopment Backdrop
Emporia's proposed home sits within Portland's West End neighborhood, a stretch of downtown where more than 500 new apartment and hotel rooms are under construction within five blocks, per WhatNow's reporting. The building is also near the Ritz-Carlton, Portland, which opened in October 2023 in Block 216, the 35-story tower at 550 SW 10th Ave, according to Sip Magazine. The contrast is notable: a 1926 hall built for a German American social club, now positioned to reopen as a bar and gallery space steps from one of the city's newest luxury towers.
Whatever comes of the application, the decision involves both the city and state regulators. Portland's Liquor Licensing Program solicits comments and considers applications for recommendation to the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission. For now, Emporia's fate hinges on the public comment period closing October 9 and whatever recommendation follows from City Hall.
