According to a recent permit filing, Ciao Bella is slated to open sometime soon at 726 SE 6th Avenue in East Portland.
A representative of Ciao Bella was not immediately available for commentary upon What Now Portland’s request.
While an official opening date and what Ciao Bella plans to offer have yet to be released, the address listed on the permit filing is listed as once being home to Bar King.
According to Bizapedia, Ciao Bella LLC was incorporated approximately two months ago. There are two registered agents on file, Kurt Huffman of ChefStable Group, and Bar King LLC.
When it comes to Bar King, an article from the Portland Eater written back in 2020 states, “The hotly anticipated restaurant, the product of two industry vets with a serious history in fine dining, opened in early March 2020, only to temporarily shutter less than a week later as COVID-19 descended on the city. After nine months of operational pivots, closures, and openings, owners Shaun and Jamie King will be closing Bar King and its bakery for good. Its last day of service will be January 2.”
“The restaurant looked to be a surefire hit from its first weekend. Grilled meats like ssam-style short ribs and blackened squid came out of its kitchen, equipped with a massive smoker and wood-fired hearth. Jamie King, an experienced bartender who spent time at some of New York’s top cocktail destinations, brought her own unique flair, offering bold drinks to pair with dishes like pork belly and dry-aged duck carved table-side. Its celebratory opening mood quickly faded, however, as King’s owners realized the untenable circumstance that they and the rest of the world were in.”
In regards to Kurt Huffman, he is listed as the owner of ChefStable Group, according to the company website. “Kurt Huffman got his first taste of the restaurant industry as a 10-year-old in a school cooking class in New Zealand. Four years later, he was working as a dishwasher and grill cook at Fat City Café in Multnomah Village. He went on to study at UC Berkeley, but at 25 he found himself in Scotland, balancing rugby and a good amount of beer drinking while pursuing a master’s degree in law from the University of Glasgow.”
“He had beer in mind when a French friend asked him to collaborate on a business in Lyon, France. They settled on a brewery, “because it’s such an obvious thing to do at 25,” which turned into a gastropub called Ninkasi. By the time Kurt left France, there were five locations.”
“He returned to his hometown of Portland and founded ChefStable in 2008. It began with Chef Andy Ricker who had just started Pok Pok in 2006 and was looking to open another restaurant. Huffman and Ricker teamed up and opened Ping. After that, recommendations for partnerships kept coming in and Kurt built his team to be able to design, build, and operate restaurants.”
“Since 2008, Kurt and his team at ChefStable have opened more than 40 restaurants and he personally has taken more trips to Portland Nursery than anyone could count. He is a firm believer in the power of partnering with the right people and can’t shake the feeling that every space should have more plants,” the website states.
