The Balboa is in the works for Portland’s Pearl District. The new bar and restaurant at 1134 NW Everett St. is owned by Kurt Huffman of ChefStable, the restaurant group behind many of the city’s best-known bars and eateries. The Balboa has applied for a full on-premises liquor license, though no opening date has been announced.
The application points to a lively space. The Balboa plans to be open every day from noon to 2:30 a.m., with 75 restaurant seats inside and 16 more on an outdoor patio, where food and drinks would be served. The entertainment plans include recorded music, DJs, dancing and pool tables, but no live music or karaoke.
The address is a block of retail space in a mixed-use building near NW 12th Avenue, a stretch of the Pearl that has been getting busier at night.
The Balboa joins a portfolio that includes Grassa, Loyal Legion, Lardo, St. Jack, Oven and Shaker, Ox, Coopers Hall, Bluto’s and Whey Bar, among others. ChefStable lists 17 projects at more than two dozen locations around the Portland area, and was named Oregon Restaurateur of the Year in 2019. It has also been a major force in the city’s late-night scene, with spots such as the speakeasy Voysey and the airport bar Aurora.
Huffman has history in the neighborhood. In 2016 he and two partners opened Pearl Tavern, a sports bar and restaurant at NW 11th Avenue and Everett Street, a few steps from the new address, which closed in 2018.
