A new butcher shop is moving into the Alberta Arts District storefront left empty since a beloved whole-animal shop closed its doors earlier this year. Lincoln's Fine Meats, founded and run by owner Lincoln Clevenson, is preparing to take over the former Pasture PDX space at 1413 NE Alberta Street, with plans to sell everything from prime cuts to bones, fats, and even dog treats made from the parts most shops throw away.
According to Bridgetown Bites, Pasture PDX, a well-regarded butcher and deli, closed in early August 2026, leaving the Alberta Street address vacant. Clevenson is billing his new venture as a “nose to tail” butchery built around minimizing food waste, a philosophy he says shapes nearly every decision about what lands in the case. City filings reviewed by WhatNow show that Flavor Country LLC, doing business as Lincoln's Fine Meats, has filed for an off-premises liquor license at the Alberta Street address.
From Sunset Park to Southeast Portland
Clevenson grew up near the Ojai Valley in Southern California and attended the Culinary Institute of America in the Hudson Valley before heading to New York to cut his teeth in the trade. He learned most of his butchery skills at Ends Meat's Sunset Park location, working directly with the shop's founder. “I worked directly with John Ratliff, who's the founder, for the years I was there,” Clevenson said, per the same account from Bridgetown Bites.
He and his wife moved from New York to the West Coast within the past year, eventually landing on Portland for the new shop. Because the Alberta Street space was so recently a functioning whole-animal butcher shop, Clevenson said there wasn't much buildout required to get it ready. He does plan some cosmetic touches, including tiling the walls and installing a new checkout station.
Soap, Dog Treats and a Whole-Animal Philosophy
Beyond the usual steaks and roasts, Clevenson is planning a product line that leans hard into using every part of the animal. He wants to make beef tallow soap and lard soaps, along with dehydrated beef liver dog treats. The shop will also stock offal and variety cuts, assorted fats, and bones for sale alongside the muscle meats most shoppers expect to find.
Clevenson illustrated the scale of the waste problem he's trying to solve by pointing to the industry's most prized cuts. Ribeye and tenderloin together represent maybe 50 pounds out of the 600 or 700 pounds of meat that a cow gives you, he said, a gap he hopes to close by selling the rest of the animal rather than discarding it.
The shop's offerings are expected to include offal, variety cuts, assorted fats, and bones alongside muscle meats. Clevenson may also add a limited sandwich menu and special-order items like deboned chicken stuffed with sausage, plus porchetta.
A Portland Butcher Shop
Lincoln's Fine Meats is planned as a butcher shop.
Vorfreude Dairy Beef raises cows retired from dairy production that would otherwise enter the commodity ground-beef market.
Solo Operation at the Start
At least initially, Clevenson said the shop will be staffed by him alone, with plans to bring on employees once that becomes financially feasible. The shop's filed hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. WhatNow's review of city filings confirms the shop is being planned as a retail operation rather than a restaurant, with no seating planned.
Lincoln's Fine Meats is planned as a butcher shop in Portland. A projected Black Friday opening date has circulated, but that timeline has not been independently confirmed beyond the shop's own preparations.
