Q&A with Emily Bixler and Jeremy Larter, the owners of Old Pal
If you still haven’t been to Old Pal, the 3-year-old seafood-forward restaurant on the corner of 34th and Morrison, it’s time to go. Owners Emily Bixler and Jeremy Larter re-opened in February with a small food market offering local fare, including eggs and butter, Ken’s Artisan breads, and Hot Mama salsa and tortilla chips. There’s also tinned fish, Italian pasta, French chocolates, and Cowbell cheeses—with more items being added weekly. (Cowbell is a local importer and distributor of specialty cheeses.) Old Pal has always had a popular oyster happy hour but they’re now open for lunch, too, and also have a “little hours” menu in the afternoon.
Sunnyside is a special place for the couple. They first met 23 years ago at a friend’s condo in the brick building across from Old Pal. Bixler, who attended Pacific Northwest College of Art and now runs the sculpture and accessory line BOET, grew up in Sacramento and Southern Oregon. Larter is from Rochester, New York, and attended Johnson & Wales culinary school in Providence. He moved to Portland in the fall of 2001; the couple met soon thereafter. In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Larter’s catering company, Field Day, lost most of its business in two weeks. Old Pal rose from the ashes. We spoke to them about the allure of Sunnyside, how their menu has evolved, and how they hope to become a go-to source for picnic supplies.
How did you choose Sunnyside for Old Pal?
Jeremy: When I got out of the lease for my commissary kitchen, I put everything in storage, and then sat there and looked at the world for a while. We decided catering wasn’t coming back. I looked at a bunch of spaces, and this one came available.
It used to be the Hob Knob, a sports bar that was beloved within the community. It was the first place we looked at that Emily didn’t have to come in and squint too hard to see what she could do. We had a really good partnership with Owen Gabbert, a small design-build team, and they worked with us to bring Emily’s ideas into being.
Are you still running your catering company?
Jeremy: The catering has come raging back. And I’m luckily able to do all of that out of here.
You’ve been in the food world for a while, right, Jeremy?
Jeremy: Yeah, I was part of the opening team at Ken’s Artisan Pizza. I also worked at D.O.C. when Timothy Wastell was the chef. [Wastell is currently a finalist for the James Beard Award for his food at Antica Terra.]
When I worked at D.O.C. with Tim, I was a server there. And I was in the front-of-the-house when I was at Ken’s. I went to culinary school in Providence 30 years ago. I started in kitchens, and then got into catering. Through catering, I was like, “I could be on the floor, I could bartend.” So the catering kind of brought it all together and expanded my horizons.
Why did you decide to add the market?
Jeremy: We’ve become good friends with a lot of the neighbors here, and we had that space over there. [Gestures to the space by the front door.] They were like “All we have is H-Mart and the corner store just closed.” I felt like Sunnyside—and every micro-neighborhood in Portland—could support a well-appointed grocery.
I love your wine list.
Jeremy: We’re not a natural wine place, by any means. But I love low-intervention wines. Most of the stuff that I get is on that end of the spectrum. We also work closely with local cider and beer makers. We’re actually good friends with the couple at Away Days—Nicky and Pete.
We’re hoping to position ourselves as the gateway to Laurelhurst Park—and picnics! Going into summer, our offerings in the market are going to reflect that. The Shemanski Farmers Market opens next week, and we aim to start offering select fruits and berries throughout the summer and fall.
How are the tariffs going to affect what you sell in the market?
Emily: We just found a company that has a lot of awesome French stuff. But I haven’t called them yet since the tariffs—and it changes every four days. But I’m definitely trying to get local. There’s a gal that just started making nut butters and jam that we love, Green Dream. And we carry this Dutch licorice that these awesome sisters that live here source from where their grandfather used to sell in Amsterdam, Cleban & Daughters. I like products that have a sweet story behind them.
So what do you love about Sunnyside, other than its great people?
Jeremy: Honestly? It’s Portland, to me. I’ve predominantly lived in Sunnyside and Kerns for the whole time we’ve been here, until we moved out to Mill Park. So it feels like home to me. I think what I love about this little corner is that we’ve really gotten to know all of our neighbors. We have a really great rapport with them, and they’ll tell us what they want. Coming up with a program where more people have access to pantry necessities and beyond. So even if you don’t necessarily come in for a sit-down meal, you can come in and get eggs. I want to bring more to and meet more of the community.
I’m also so excited you’re open for lunch now!
Jeremy: On the weekend there are people who come in for oysters and maybe a cocktail or a glass of wine. During the week it’s people from the local businesses. We’ve got a close relationship with Propaganda, the salon, and their customers come for lunch.
Emily: We were going to just do “grab and go” and people were like, “Are you going to have oysters? Can I grab a glass of wine?” A couple of awesome artists ladies have come in to talk about their next show, or, some ladies who lunch get a bottle of wine and hang out for three hours.
Any improvements that you would ask for in Sunnyside?
Jeremy: I think Sunnyside is perfect. We’re happy to be here and we’re happy to be on this corner. We just want to continue to evolve and give people what they want.
What is your favorite thing on the menu right now?
Jeremy: Probably our albacore tataki, which is seared Oregon albacore, served chilled with mandarins and pickled chilies. And my favorite lunch item right now is our fried eggplant sandwich.
What’s your culinary philosophy?
Jeremy: Let the ingredients speak for themselves and get out of the way, highlighting the bounty that we have here in Oregon. And you know, using the highest quality ingredients while still trying to make it affordable
What farms do you source from?
Jeremy: Groundwork Organics, Gathering Together, and Eloisa. Most of the stuff I’m getting comes from the Shemanski or Hollywood Farmers Market. In the winter, I buy directly from Rubinette. They have a great wholesale program.
[Emily excuses herself to go arrange flowers.]
And I see Emily does a lot behind-the-scenes.
Jeremy: Yes, she is key to the aesthetic vibe of Old Pal. We have a good amount of fresh flowers too, but right now Emily is making these “forever flowers.” They’re a little sculpture that she makes of paper, linen, and wire—meant to save some of the water and plastic waste from changing out the flowers weekly. Those are for sale at the market, too.
Earlier, we talked about the need to get news out in innovative ways, since so many people have gotten off Instagram lately.
Jeremy: We try to stay active on Instagram and we’ve been posting for months that we’re open. And there’s this guy who walked by and he’s like, “I follow you on Instagram. I had no idea you were open until I saw the sandwich board sign on Belmont!”
Emily: I’m gonna be making these posters with a lovely oyster print and the little pull tabs with our address on them. I’ll put them all over town. I just want to go analog! That’s why the Sunnyside Newsletter is so great.
Old Pal is open Wed–Sun from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. 3350 SE Morrison St.; oldpalpdx.com
Lunch is 11 a.m.–3 p.m.; “Little Hours” is 3 –5 p.m.; and Happy Hour is 5 –6 p.m. The evening menu is available from 5 –9 p.m.
