Massalia Books & Cafe is in the works at 2953 NE Glisan Street in Portland’s Kerns neighborhood, where a 1905 residential triplex could be converted into a ground-floor bookshop and café. While an official opening date has not been announced, the Multnomah County Health Department has already approved construction plans for the food service facility, according to Bridgetown Bites.
The project is connected to Laurelhurst Asset Management, which is led by John Liu. According to the company’s website, Liu has more than two decades of experience in investment management and the firm works with individuals, families, nonprofits, and institutions. His new project is planned for an old American Foursquare-style building near the corner of NE Glisan Street and 30th Avenue. The conversion would change the building’s use from residential to a commercial coffee shop, with plans to keep much of the existing structure while reworking the first floor for public dining and café service.
City permit information shows the project as a tenant improvement for a new café, with plans to convert the existing space into a coffee shop and add an accessible platform lift at the front of the building. The ground floor will serve as the public-facing café space, the second floor as an administrative level, and the basement as staff and storage.
The café will likely have a more limited food program at first, as planning documents describe food preparation as cold assembly and reheating, with no frying, grilling, or grease-producing cooking permitted. Even with that smaller kitchen approach, the concept could still become a cozy daytime option for coffee, light bites, and browsing books in one of Portland’s more walkable eastside neighborhoods.
