A building that sat empty and fenced off with chain-link on Southeast Division Street has reopened as a cafe and bar, giving the ModHaus food cart pod a new neighbor right at the corner of SE Division and 38th. The 1927 structure next door to the pod has been transformed into what's described as a spacious cafe and bar hangout, serving coffee, pastries, cocktails and beers on tap starting daily at 7 a.m.
From Fenced-Off Lot to Morning Coffee Stop
The cafe and bar is at 3829 SE Division St., next to the ModHaus pod that opened earlier this year, according to Axios. The 1927 building had been vacant before the project, and The Heist team designed the new interior. The cafe and bar adds a sit-down drink and coffee option to the food-cart site rather than replacing the pod's existing vendors.
The address had already been used for a small-business event before the cafe and bar opened. A city bulletin identifies 3829 SE Division St. as the ModHaus food-cart pod's location and says Portland's Office of Small Business partnered with the Division Clinton Business District, Better Portland, PIE, Latino Founders, Portland Metro Chamber and Built Oregon for a Show Up for Small Business event there on August 13.
Ten Carts, One New Gathering Spot
A Portland precedent for food-cart sites
The ModHaus project fits within a longer Portland pattern of food-cart sites adapting as properties change hands. In 2021, the city helped relocate a 55-cart pod from SW 10th and Alder Street to The Cart Blocks after its former site was slated for redevelopment, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. That earlier move provides a city-documented precedent for preserving a large food-cart gathering while making room for a site's next phase.
The pod has 10 carts, according to Axios, with Jojo, Chick & Pig and Le Fragole among the businesses operating there. Jojo serves fried chicken, including Southern fried chicken sandwiches; Chick & Pig offers Thai street food; and Le Fragole is a dessert shop. The pod's vendor lineup also includes Jojo PDX, Hawker Station, Makulit, Chick & Pig PDX, Shekinah Sushi, Le Fragole, Fabo's Tacos, Burmese Corner, DesiPDX and Shawarma Spot.
The expanded format gives visitors more than one reason to use the site across the day: coffee and pastries are available from 7 a.m., and cocktails and beer are also offered. The cafe and bar therefore broadens the pod's role without changing its basic setup as a collection of independent food businesses.
