Kurt Huffman wants to keep the Pearl District up past midnight.
Huffman's restaurant group ChefStable is planning The Balboa, a late-night bar and restaurant at 1134 NW Everett St. that would stay open from noon to 2:30 a.m. every day, first reported by WhatNow. The venue has applied for a full on-premises liquor license, according to WhatNow. No opening date has been announced.
The plans call for 75 seats inside and 16 on an outdoor patio, with recorded music, DJs, dancing and pool tables. Live music and karaoke are not part of the proposal.
The address sits in a mixed-use building near NW 12th Avenue, a stretch of the Pearl that WhatNow describes as getting busier at night.
That tracks with comments Huffman made on the Right at the Fork podcast in an Oct. 17 episode, where the show's description says he discussed a shift away from office-driven dining in the Pearl District and toward nightlife and younger customers.
ChefStable's Pearl District history
Huffman founded ChefStable in Portland in 2008 after returning from France, where he had built a chain of gastropubs. His first Portland project was a partnership with chef Andy Ricker, who had launched Pok Pok in 2006, according to ChefStable's website.
Since then, Huffman and his team have opened more than 40 restaurants. The group's current portfolio includes Lardo, Grassa, Coopers Hall, Loyal Legion, St. Jack, Ox and Bluto's, among others. ChefStable has also built a late-night presence through the speakeasy Voysey and the airport bar Aurora, according to WhatNow.
Huffman has tried this block before. In 2016, he and two partners opened Pearl Tavern, a sports bar at NW 11th Avenue and Everett Street, steps from The Balboa's planned location. Eater Portland reported that Pearl Tavern opened in the winter of 2016, specializing in high-end bar food, and was set to close on June 5, 2018.
The Balboa's liquor license application remains pending.
