According to a recent permit filing, Loyal Legion will be expanding to the Portland International Airport, located at 7000 NE Airport Way.
“Alongside Grassa, Loyal Legion has a planned opening date for the airport on May 22nd of 2024. Loyal Legion will also be the same as prior locations, but this location will have a massive tap list just like Portland and Beaverton that will be exclusively dedicated to Oregon craft breweries. Our pricing will be the same as well,” Kurt Huffman, the owner of ChefStable and co-founder of Loyal Legion, told What Now Portland.
“The biggest difference between Loyal Legion at the airport versus Portland or Beaverton will be a gigantic space of 7,200 square feet. It will have a kid play area tucked in the back, a large TV viewing area, and a speakeasy.”
“The history behind this location for Loyal Legion and Grassa are both fairly recent, with us applying for the spaces about a year and a half ago. We’re very fortunate to have been awarded one for each as part of the new terminal core expansion project,” Huffman added.
According to Loyal Legion’s company website, “Loyal Legion’s sole purpose is to celebrate the Oregon Craft Brewing tradition. Loyal Legion’s first location is in SE Portland, in the historic P.P.A.A. building, located on SE 6th & Alder St. The P.P.A.A. building was an architectural “unauthorized copy” of the Voysey building in London, England. The building was originally commissioned by the International Organization Of Oddfellows (I.O.O.F.) and was named the Orient Lodge #17 at its completion. The Lodge was used as the I.O.O.F. meeting hall through the first half of the 1900s.”
“Some of the most advanced building techniques of the day were used at its construction such as a complete steel-reinforced concrete structure which was unheard of on the East side of the river at the time. They had planned to add three more stories at a later date but this work was never completed. The Portland Police Athletic Association bought the building in the fifties.”
The P.P.A.A. used the upstairs ballroom for private events and continued to lease the ground level to different tenants including a print shop, which occupied that space for approximately 50 years. The PPAA bar adjoining the event space was infamous for its rowdy drunken nights until the 90s when the Portland Police cracked down on their own brethren.”
“Where did the name “Loyal Legion” come from? Loyal Legion co-founder Kurt Huffman came across the “Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen Employment Services” sign in 2008 as he was building his first Portland restaurant. The sign was built into the wall in the basement of the Hung Far Low building in Old Town Chinatown. The sign was made of metal sheets attached to a wood frame, a traditional sign construction in the decades before the invention of plywood. Kurt brought in a friend and sign historian Lee Littlewood, to help us renovate the sign and it now hangs front and center overlooking our 99 taps,” the website adds.
