Migration Brewing to anchor 1847 Food Park in downtown Milwaukie
Migration Brewing to anchor 1847 Food Park in downtown Milwaukie
Just months after pFriem opened its doors in downtown Milwaukie, Migration Brewery has announced it’s setting up shop down the street on the site of a demolished funeral chapel.
The 1847 Food Park, on prime property on the corner of SE Scott and Main Streets, sits square in the middle of Milwaukie’s burgeoning downtown. It will be walking distance from a recently built apartment tower, with more nearby apartments being built this year, along with a growing scene on Main Street of small businesses that include a bookstore, an artisanal green grocer, and record and antique store. The date 1847 marks the year Milwaukie was first settled by the Luelling family.
With a launch date set for this fall, the 1847 Food Park’s construction is moving fast and will host a slew of food carts, indoor dining area, a large viewing tower of the Willamette, and of course, beers by Migration. The brewery is also designing custom-made “1847” beers (names are still being worked on), as well hosting guest beers and ciders.
Left to right:
Colin Rath, Migration Brewing, Pubs Director & Co-Founder
Eric Saunders, RMCC Development
Nick Schroeder, Migration Brewing, District Manager
A new partnership
The agreement between Migration Brewing and the developers of the food park, RMCC Development, will have Migration as the anchor tenant and beer operators in a unique partnership.
RMCC Development was searching for an anchor tenant to bring energy and identity to their project when they connected with Migration Brewing, who had been looking for a “ground-up build” in a growing neighborhood. Both saw the potential for more than a lease agreement, sharing a vision for creating a community hub.
“We did lots of research and came up with this model and really wanted to tie into Milwaukie as much as we could,” said Eric Saunders, RMCC Development, developers of the 1847. “It’s taking the old and creating something new and modern for the community.”
Saunders’ team designed and built the space to fit Migration’s brewing and service needs, from the brewhouse layout to the patio flow, and will run the business side, like managing food carts, while Migration will provide the beer /cider program.
Migration was initially thinking about just making beers for the 1847 Food Park but then explored the idea of being the operator of the bar side. “We started realizing that it could be a good partnership in us operating it for them so that they can focus on what they do,” said Migration’s Pubs Director & Co-Founder Colin Rath.
This won’t be a pop-up or short lease, either. Both sides are invested in making it a permanent fixture in downtown Milwaukie.
Fast-track construction
If you’ve driven by the location off of 99/McLoughlin the past few months it wasn’t your imagination that the structures for the food cart park went up quickly back in May.
“We framed the structure in 12 days,” said Saunders. They built it out of mass plywood panels provided by Freres Engineered Wood down in Lyons, Oregon, with trusses from Damascus, Oregon-based DC Structures. “We literally got everything ready, brought in a crane, and put it together.”
A place for the community to gather
The 1847 Food Carts will feature multiple water stations for humans … and dogs, an outdoor fireplace, and a pergola-covered seating area. Food carts will be spread throughout. There’s space for up to 17 carts, starting with 10-12 upon opening. Weekly rotating carts will feature amenities like a dog washing cart or mobile haircutting and tattooing carts.
Rath says Migration will have 32 taps with beer (of course) as well as cider and wine, and will serve liquor with Migration overseeing all alcohol operations.
Inside, taps will be available on the main floor with seating and TVs, a second floor with roll-up doors for open-air seating, and a rooftop deck with a fire pit and views of the Willamette. The third floor can be rented for events and includes space for an auxiliary bar. And in the quasi-basement where the coolers are? A speakeasy called Six Feet Under, a clever nod to the former property.
With Pfriem’s recent opening, new shops arriving, and more neighbors moving in, as well as established businesses like Beer Store Milwaukie across the street, the 1847 Food Park is poised to become a gathering spot that helps tie together Milwaukie’s growing downtown.
“I feel very fortunate that we found this project to take on in Milwaukie. It’s a cool little downtown and there are multiple communities that are being underserved that we can give them a cool spot to go to,” says Rath.
“We really want to make this a destination and have select food carts that bring people from farther away than just a block down the street. The more people that come downtown, the better it will be,” adds Saunders.
