What Now hosted its Portland Accelerate networking event on Thursday, October 8, with a fabulous turnout of attendees coming together for an afternoon of networking and relationship-building across the local business community.
Held at Pamana, located inside The Hoxton Hotel at 15 NW 4th Ave, and moderated by Marian Ebhamen, What Now Event Host, the event took place from 3 to 5 p.m. The occasion welcomed 37 total attendees, including 28 food and beverage and hospitality representatives and nine preferred partners of What Now.
F&B/Hospitality Attendees
Alex’s Eats — 63 W Oak St., Lebanon, Oregon
Owner Alejandro Naranjo and manager Azyra Lopez attended the event representing Alex’s Eats, an independent food truck. The concept serves Mexican street food, including tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and huaraches, alongside aguas frescas.
Brooklyn Carreta Bar & Carts — 4534 SE McLoughlin Blvd, Portland, OR 97202
Corey Atchley, general manager, represented hospitality venue Brooklyn Carreta Bar & Carts at the event. Brooklyn Carreta combines a full bar with an assortment of food carts and indoor and outdoor seating.
Cariño Coffeehouse — 1002 Main St, Vancouver, WA 98660
Co-Owner of Cariño Coffeehouse Melissa Mancillas attended representing the coffee business. The family-owned, Mexican-American coffeehouse, founded by Melissa and her sister Janelle, offers traditional coffee drinks, Mexican specialty beverages, and food.
Fizz N Sip — 10909 Southeast Main Street, Milwaukie, Oregon
Owners Alex Sakhashchik and Veronika Sakhashchik attended for Fizz N Sip, representing the fast-casual business. The Portland beverage brand is planning a second location in Milwaukie.
Fusion Shave Ice — 807 NE Couch St., Portland, Oregon
Melissa Calotis, co-owner, and Paul Chung, general manager, represented Fusion Shave Ice at the event. The company runs a mobile cart for parties and events, and operates Fusion Social House, which serves shaved ice, Asian-inspired comfort food, and craft cocktails.
Hoplandia — 4320 N Interstate Ave., Portland, Oregon
Hoplandia Co-Owner Scott Eisenberg and Chief Operating Officer Tucker Cary attended the event. Hoplandia operates a taproom in Portland’s Overlook neighborhood, with craft beer, a pub menu, a covered patio and space for watching sports.
Le Muselet — 151 SW 1st Ave., Portland, Oregon
Ron Acierto, owner, represented his upcoming bar Le Muselet. His prior venture, Muselet Restaurant and Wine Bar in the South Waterfront neighborhood, permanently closed in July 2016, and he is planning to revive it with a rebrand.
Lil Pig Lil Pig and Thirsty Sasquatch — 2014 Main St., Vancouver, Washington
Marcy Rush and Brandon Rush, co-owners of Lil Pig Lil Pig and Thirsty Sasquatch, represented the businesses at the event. The husband-and-wife hospitality team debuted their latest venture, a counter-service restaurant and market, in May.
Madrina Cocina Mexicana — 1237 SW Jefferson St., Portland, Oregon
Owner and Founder Lucy De Leon of Madrina Cocina Mexicana attended as the restaurant’s representative. The downtown Mexican eatery and taqueria operates next to sister concept Taqueria y Mercadito.
Maison 1 — 518 NE 20th Ave., Portland, Oregon
Samyel Zidrashko, owner, and Liliya Zidrashko, co-owner, attended together on behalf of Maison 1. The business plans to develop a coffee atelier in Portland’s Kerns neighborhood.
Maison Kokoro — 103 NW Oregon Ave., Bend, Oregon
Pastry chefs Kaylee Kreifela and Maya Howell attended as representatives of the bakery Maison Kokoro. The French-Asian bakery is working to develop a permanent home in downtown Bend.
Pepper Lunch — 920 7th St., Oregon City, Oregon
Franchisee Peter T. Ng attended with Managers Phyllis Ng and Calvin Ng, and General Manager Lillie Polivka, on behalf of Pepper Lunch. The Japanese fast-casual chain is bringing multiple locations to the state, including one opening soon in Oregon City.
Tamale Boy — 2323 N Williams Ave., Portland, Oregon
Owner Jaime Soltero attended representing the Portland-based Mexican food business Tamale Boy. Founded as a catering operation in 2008, Tamale Boy has expanded into a restaurant and catering business serving regional Mexican cuisine.
The Turning Peel — 4546 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97206
Owners Akshay Dua and Candy Yiu of The Turning Peel attended together as representatives of the sit-down restaurant. The pizzeria just celebrated its third anniversary, and has won many local awards in its time in the Richmond neighborhood.
Trouble Bar — 5008 SE Division St., Portland, Oregon
Owners Jack Sehres and Andrew Gonzales of Trouble Bar represented their business at the event. The two renovated the former North Bar Pub location into a 90s-themed dive bar filled with nods to nostalgia.
Willamette Wine Spa — Portland and Dundee
Kelly Lewis, owner of Willamette Wine Spa, attended the event as well. The concept is a premier vinotherapy day spa with locations in Portland and Dundee, offering antioxidant-rich wellness treatments.
Preferred Partner Attendees
CHEF’STORE
Courtney Hadfield, VP of Marketing, and Tessa Ingram, Senior Manager of Field Sales Initiatives, attended on behalf of the foodservice supply company CHEF’STORE. CHEF’STORE serves restaurant operators and other foodservice businesses with products and supplies intended to support day-to-day operations.
DoorDash
Morjan Mohamed, Merchant Lead, represented delivery and commerce platform DoorDash. The business works with restaurants and other merchants to connect their businesses with customers through delivery, pickup, and online ordering services.
Global Payments – Genius Point of Sale
SRMs Erica Nunez and Patrick Latham of Global Payments – Genius Point of Sale attended as representatives of the payments technology provider. Its platform offers point-of-sale tools and integrations designed to help restaurant operators manage transactions, ordering, and business operations.
Human Interest
Anna Black, PAM, represented Human Interest, employee benefits company. Human Interest provides retirement plan services, including 401(k) solutions, designed to help small and midsize businesses offer retirement benefits to their employees.
Prudential Overall Supply
Mychal Amell, Sales Representative, and Brian Neal, Corporate Sales Representative, attended on behalf of Prudential Overall Supply. The uniform and textile services provider serves businesses with uniform rental, workwear, and related services that can support restaurant and hospitality operations.
SpotOn
David Liberman, Strategic Hospitality Partner, represented the restaurant technology company SpotOn. The business provides hospitality businesses with point-of-sale, payment processing, online ordering, and other operational tools intended to help restaurants manage service and grow their businesses.
What Now Media Group shares restaurant opening news in 33 cities across North America, breaking news, and provides timely insight into yet-to-open brick-and-mortar businesses. The platform shares news of thousands of openings across all 33 cities annually.
Stay tuned for future Accelerate events from What Now Media Group in 2026. For more details, see the Accelerate page here.
Click here for a complete list of our partners. To learn more about becoming a preferred partner, click here.
