You may know Thrive from their stands at Pioneer Courthouse Square and OHSU farmer’s markets, or perhaps you’ve chased their roaming food truck around Portland. Lucky for Beaumont-Wilshire, they’ve now planted roots on Fremont St. in the space that for years was home to Alameda Café.
Thrive restaurant has a refreshingly new look, with freshly painted walls, an eclectic mix of tables, bright pops of color, and dahlias on every table. Erika Reagor wants people to know the restaurant is homegrown. “My partner is a contractor, so everything you see—woodwork, shelving—the décor is stuff that we made or found together.” They didn’t want the place to feel perfect, she says. Instead it has a neighborly, comfortable, farmhouse feel. Reagor’s friend painted a mural on the wall, which is the carrot from Thrive’s logo. “We wanted to create a bright, cheery space where people can get an affordable, sustainable, local meal.”
Thrive supports the community by sourcing vegetables and meats from local farms. Reagor describes the menu as “farm-to-table with an international feel,” a merging of healthy, sustainable, whole foods mixed with international cultures that Reagor has visited and loved. Bulk veggies and garnish veggies change with the season and showcase what Reagor gets at the farmer’s market, as well as what she can source from her farmers.
The menu includes small bites for appetizers and bigger bites for sharing, as well as salads or bowls. You can make it family style, share with guests, or eat on your own. Kid bowls include teriaki chicken and brown rice or brown rice with black beans and cheese. For refreshments, they offer seasonal house-made sodas with pure fruit (and zero refined sugars), “taptails” (cocktails on tap), and beer and wine. The entire menu is gluten-free.
The Northwest Harvest Bowl is a seasonal showcase of vegetables from Gathering Together Farm, where Thrive gets about 80% of their produce. It includes delicata squash, cipolini onions, and braising greens. From additional local farms they add apples, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), blue cheese, and warm apple cider vinaigrette. Reagor particularly recommends this with pork belly.
About a year ago, Thrive was outgrowing every commissary (rental) kitchen. So the search began for a space of their own in a neighborhood with a strong community, and Beaumont-Wilshire immediately drew Reagor’s attention. The Alameda Café site was not only a prime location, but it also included a production kitchen in the building behind the restaurant big enough to accommodate their food truck and retail sauces. “When I found it, I knew I had to have it. This is the spot!”
Erika started cooking when she was 16 and later became a nutritionist because she was always interested in health. I asked her where else she likes to eat close by. “I love Daruma sushi down the street, and there’s a great Vietnamese/Chinese/Cambodian noodle restaurant called MeKha on NE Sandy that’s family-owned. And I also love Old Salt Market—they have a great style.”
Thrive Sauce and Bowl restaurant is located at 4641 N.E. Fremont St. and open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday; closed on Mondays). They also do holiday catering for parties, company events, weddings, or just in-home catering for an open house with friends. Stop by to try them out, or grab a paper menu the next time you walk past and call for an order to go. Thrive also sells their special sauces at all New Seasons markets, local co-ops, and Whole Foods locations, as well as online. Although farmers markets are closed for the season, the Thrive food truck will still be roaming, and you can visit their website to find them (http://www.thrivesauceandbowls.com).