Tag: Newsletter Oct. 2024

News From the President

Hi Sunnyside! Welcome back to the season of little ghosts and goblins and superheroes running around the neighborhood demanding candy in return for being so darn cute!

We had a great meeting in September. First, we learned a ton about how the new ranked-choice voting (RCV) system will work. The key takeaways from the transition office’s RCV presentation are:

• You may select and rank up to six candidates for the three seats in the District 3 council race.

• When filling out your ballot, make sure you only fill out one oval in each row and each column. This is really important, since the elections office will not be able to tell which candidate you meant to choose for that particular ranking and they won’t count that selection.

• If you make a mistake, that’s ok! Make it clear that that choice was incorrect. I’d suggest marking an “X” or a clear “/” over the oval.

• Once a candidate receives 25% +1 of the vote in a district race, that person is deemed elected.

• Counting the votes in the district races gets pretty complicated after the
first round with fractional votes being redistributed during the next round. If I may editorialize here, I am worried that the very complicated math underlying this process is opaque and may lead to confusion and a reduced
level of trust in the system. We’ll see how it works over the next few cycles
and if need be, we can change it in the next round of charter reform after 2030.

• RCV is much more straightforward in the elections for mayor and auditor because there is only one winner in each race.

• I encourage you to do two things. First, visit www.portland.gov/transition to learn more about the elections and how the city government will function
starting in January 2025. Second, since Oregon only has mail-in voting, sit down with your family or friends while voting so that you can help each other with the process and make sure your ballot is counted the way you meant it to be.

We also heard from Greg Raisman with PBOT and Heather Flint-Chatto from PDX Main Streets about the exciting new pedestrian plaza that will be coming next spring to Sunnyside on 37th by Buffalo Exchange and Three Doors Down! This project looks amazing and promises to be a great gathering place. PBOT has been expanding its plaza program and now it is Sunnyside’s turn! The plaza will include tables, seating, greenery, extra lighting, and space for art and performance. One of the centerpieces of the plaza will be a solar-powered kiosk that could provide phone charging, area information and other services to the public. Some great examples of pedestrian plazas in Portland include Ankeny Rainbow Road off SE 28th St. and Concordia Commons at NE 30th and Killingsworth.

To learn more about the plaza program and the kiosk, please visit www.portland.gov/transportation/planning/plazas and
www.pdxmainstreets.org/kioskdesign.  The SNA Board will hold a vote on our support for this project at our Board meeting on October 9th. If you have comments, please send them to [email protected].

Finally, I want to thank all of the volunteers who came out to help the SNA at the Belmont Street Fair. It was a super fun day and we met a ton of folks who will bring lots of energy, engagement and support to the SNA!

That’s all the news for now. The next SNA General meeting will be on November 13th. We will have Representative Rob Nosse discuss issues for the upcoming legislative session. In the meantime, be safe out there this Halloween and every day!

Want to help the SNA serve the community by aiding our less-fortunate neighbors, beautifying Sunnyside, and doing community outreach and education? You can donate with Give Lively or text SUNNYSIDE to 44-321.

Thanks for your continued support.

Getting to Know Your Neighbors

Q&A with Britain Stephens of FoxTrot

When Britain Stephens was 20, he remembers walking along Northwest 23rd Avenue and seeing an old Victorian house that doubled as a wine bar. He was too young to go in, but he remembers thinking, “That’s what I want to create someday.” Twelve years later, he’s realizing a dream. In January, Stephens bought the old Pied Cow, a beloved Queen Anne Victorian and started renovating the outdoor patio. Built in 1893 as the J.C. Havely House, the building hosted Southeast Portland suffragette meetings in the late 1880s/early 1900s. For many years it was Buttertoes, a restaurant with murals of mermaids and fairies on the walls, before becoming the Pied Cow, which closed last year.

This month, Stephens will open it as a restaurant/bar called FoxTrot. The inside of the building didn’t need much work—all Stephens had to do was refinish the Brazilian cherrywood floor and re-stain the trim in the front rooms. He’s added some stained glass and original artwork, as well as some Art Nouveau touches and a “curio cabinet,” but the wallpaper and booths are as they were during Pied Cow’s occupancy. He’s done a lot of work to the spacious outdoor patio, however, adding discrete covered areas, locally-made stained glass, and a stage for musical acts. We sat down with Stephens, a veteran of the Portland bar and restaurant scene, to talk about the menu, his plans for the patio, and his love of Art Nouveau. 

Tell me why you chose the name FoxTrot?

To be honest, it came from about three hours just chilling on the porch with a friend of mine, saying random words and joking around and making stupid puns. And then we hit the military alphabet—like Whiskey Tango Foxtrot—and Foxtrot had a nice ring to it. It has this very masculine feeling to it, and yet it’s feminine. I feel like it’s kind of what you make it. And foxes are my favorite animal, but that’s not the reason it’s called that.

You have lots of experience in Portland’s restaurant/bar industry.

I worked at Roscoe’s, the Nest, and Whiskey Soda Lounge as a line chef. 

Who is your chef?

Ben Chase. He worked at Wildwood. He’s been so bloody sweet! He brought over gifts of decor and books like the one about Maxfield Parrish.

You mentioned that the menu will be Spanish-Italian. What’s your connection to those cuisines?

It’s actually Spanish and Italian-inspired—inspired is the key word there. I don’t want to claim that we’re doing any of those things traditionally, by any stretch. It’s more the aspect of shareables, having an experience with people getting to try something together. And focusing on lighter bites.

That goes for the cocktail list, too, which will be things that are more focused on lighter drinking, overall. Negroni-adjacent.

There’s a Spanish cocktail that’s very popular right now called Marionito. It’s like a reverse Negroni—more focused on the vermouth. We’re putting different wines into cocktails so each drink has less alcohol. It should be great to be able to sit here for as long as you want and not feel wasted. I’m really trying to bring that lounge feel.

And you plan to have a cafe during the day. So there’ll be a coffee menu as well?

Lattes, espressos. So you can come get an affogato or espresso at 8 a.m. or 11 p.m. Here’s my chef!

[Chef Ben Chase arrives for a meeting.]

So you’re Ben Chase. Tell me more about the menu.

So basically, the inspiration was the classic Spanish pintxos that Britain enjoyed while he was traveling, and I’m sort of embellishing those flavors, but expanding them with Northwest ingredients using local produce. Food that’s very cocktail friendly.

What do you draw inspiration from?

The produce from local farmers. Just, whatever they have!

What are the farms that you are excited about?

Stoneboat Farm in Hillsboro. I also really love Mizuna Gardens. They exclusively grow salad greens.

Do you have any plans for dessert?

We’re going to have a rotating frozen custard. I have a good Huckleberry source.

[Ben exits to meet a contractor.] 

Britain, what attracted you to Sunnyside? 

I feel like it’s the hub of Portland culture. This is where the artists, musicians, and creative folk live. I grew up in the country—I lived in Damascus, but I went to Clackamas High school. When I was a very young man, I would come to Portland and I would come to this area specifically. I was blowing glass when I was 18. I would go to the Saturday Market and sell what I could just to get enough gas to get back. 

You seem to be really into art and fabrication. So I just wondered what your background is—are you an artist as well?

I feel like my art might be curation—just trying to put things together.

Judging by the old signs and art I see around, I’m guessing you like Art Deco.

I’d say Art Nouveau. Deco is harder, whereas Nouveau is a bit more flow-y and organic. 

So the idea with the outdoor stage is that you’ll have live music and sometimes poetry?

Music, poetry, silent movies. I’m meeting so many people here on Belmont and I’m reaching out to our neighbors. Somebody I met who helped on the patio is going to work at the cafe, and also do the bookings. He’s in the band Tellevillian, which may play here on Halloween along with Strzyga, my friends’ band.

We plan to have pop-ups each month—vintage stuff and art pop-ups. You could bring your plants, your pottery, your poetry or your photographs. We may also have night markets.

Is there anything that you feel needs improvement in Sunnyside?

I just love that I’m meeting so many people so quickly. It’s a very welcoming place. Folks will say, “Oh, Portland’s a little standoffish, tight, and people are close-knit.” But I think it’s about the mentality of going into it honestly. It’s super cliche, but if you leave yourself open to it… the sense of community and the support that I’ve gotten is just insane. People are just so happy and excited about what we’re trying to create here. 

News From Sunnyside Environmental School (SES)

Hello neighbors!

You are all cordially invited to SES’s Harvest Fair on Saturday, October 26th from 3-6 p.m. at SES’s campus (enter on the blacktop). Harvest Fair is SES’s annual celebration of autumn, harvest, and community—including you, our neighborhood community. Admission to the event is free, but you will need carnival tickets to purchase food, drink, or to participate in the many exciting activities. Carnival tickets may be purchased with cash, check, or card at the event.

Activities include (but are by no means limited to):

The Magical Cookie Palace: Greet  Mother or Father Autumn and browse an entire room of cookies, choosing one to devour.

The Hay Bales of Mystery: Children of all ages are invited to dig through hay bales to discover small toys hidden within. 

Teacher Plunge: Step up to the line, hit the target with a ball and a teacher gets dunked! Alumni, come dunk your favorite teacher!

Baked Goodies Boogie: Walk or dance along a path of numbered squares to music. Whoever is standing on the winning number when the music stops gets a cake or other confection of their choice!

We will also have face painting, a contest to guess the weight of locally-grown pumpkins, and a variety of carnival games hosted by our marvelous middle schoolers.

Our annual Community Meal, provided by a local restaurant, will be served in the cafeteria. Hot dogs, sausages, fresh pressed hot apple cider, and our famous granola, made by SES’s 5th graders, will also be available for sale. All food and drink must be purchased with carnival tickets.

We hope to see you there!

Can’t attend the Harvest Fair, but would still like to help us make it a success? We always need small toys for our Hay Bales of Mystery. If you have small, clean, unbroken toys around your house (something a child might bring home in a birthday gift bag), we would love to hide them in hay for kids to dig around for. Donations may be placed in the box labeled “SES Harvest Fair” on the top of the stairs at 2425 SE Taylor St. by October 22nd. If you enjoy baking, we would also welcome donations of home baked cookies or cakes for our Magical Cookie Palace and Baked Goodies Boogie. If you are interested in donating baked goods, please contact our PTSA at [email protected].

Have questions about SES? Email [email protected] and maybe I’ll answer them in a future column!