JinJu Patisserie, the James Beard Award-winning Portland bakery that abruptly closed its original North Williams Avenue shop in December, is set to softly reopen this Wednesday at 3494 N. Williams Ave., just a few blocks from where it started. Owners Jin Caldwell and Kyurim “Q” Lee are moving into a former coffee shop space in the Carbon 12 building, bringing a bigger kitchen, five new bakers, and a menu that mixes old favorites with new experiments — though one beloved item won't be on the counter just yet.
The new location sits in a building that became the tallest mass timber structure in the United States when it was completed in 2018. Per Portland Monthly, the bakery had its first test-drive at the new address, roughly six blocks south of the original shop, and will officially soft open this Wednesday, October 21, running 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday.
Why the Original Shop Closed in the First Place
Jinju closed its original North Williams Avenue bakery on December 28, after its lease ended and its tiny kitchen simply couldn't keep up anymore, Portland Monthly reports. The closure followed Jinju winning the 2025 James Beard Award for Outstanding Bakery, a milestone that only intensified the crush of customers at a shop that, according to Caldwell and Lee, measured only about 1,000 square feet, as they told OPB. “It's a very small shop,” the pair said at the time. Caldwell and Lee reportedly worked 15-hour days to keep up with demand in 2025, and on at least one occasion the shop sold 1,000 baked goods within two hours of opening, per Portland Monthly.
Eater Portland reported that the shutdown was never meant to be permanent — the owners said they were simply hunting for a new space rather than closing for good. “It's not a forever closure; instead, they say they've been looking for a new space,” the outlet noted. Caldwell and Lee told Eater Portland they had almost signed a seven-year lease on a “state-of-the-art facility” before stepping back, explaining that “we need to remain boutique and flexible.”
A Bigger Kitchen, Five New Bakers, and a New Dough Sheeter
The new Carbon 12 space gives Jinju a kitchen nearly double the size of its previous one, according to Portland Monthly, along with a chic interior Caldwell designed herself, featuring small custom oak tables. The bakery has also added five new bakers to its team and brought in a 10-foot-long Italian dough sheeter — though the equipment reportedly hit a mechanical snag along the way, per the same outlet.
Ahead of the reopening, Caldwell and Lee returned to Seoul this year to study salt breads, research that's now showing up on the new menu in the form of two to three salt bread options, both sweet and savory. Caldwell described the sweet version as being “like a cream puff with Jinju's touch,” according to Portland Monthly.
What's on the Menu — And What's Missing
Jinju's reopening lineup leans into both comfort and craft. Expect seasonal cinnamon rolls made with milk bread dough, thumbprint scones topped with fresh compote and seasonal fruit, and taller, thicker chocolate chip cookies. JinJu's first breakfast sandwich, the Big Breakfast Croissant, comes loaded with Olympia Provisions ham, bacon, two kinds of cheese, and a choice of Mama Lil's peppers or house white kimchi kraut, per the Portland Monthly report.
The bakery will also focus on roughly three dessert options per week, rotating choices that include carrot cake, chocolate mousse cake, and limited batches of chocolate bonbons. Drinks on offer include house-blended coffee, made-to-order hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows, and matcha drinks.
Notably, the initial rollout will not include croissants, even though the bakery plans to eventually make its signature chocolate, almond, and ham-and-cheese versions in batches throughout service, according to Portland Monthly. Jinju won the James Beard Foundation's 2025 “Outstanding Bakery” award and was a 2024 semifinalist.
Jinju's Korean-inflected approach to baking — working kimchi, bulgogi, matcha, and red bean paste into its offerings — has long set it apart, Caldwell told OPB, adding that recognition from the James Beard Awards made customers more receptive to trying those flavors. Its baking also draws on French pastry tradition.
