Portland’s Lil America Food Cart Pod Is Going Through a Shakeup | Eater Portland

"An ambitious food cart pod launched by ChefStable in April 2023 with a mission to exclusively host BIPOC- and LGBTQ-owned carts, it promised mentorship, cultural events, and amenities like dry storage, a dish pit, and a walk-in fridge. On August 29, three of its six carts were asked to leave to make room for construction tied to an expansion of the Dos Hermanos bakery, with only two carts remaining during the build and a rebrand planned to position the pod as an extension of Dos Hermanos. While $2,000 monthly rent and plentiful amenities were praised as competitive, several cart owners said the mentorship component—meant to come from Jasper Shen and Linh Tran of the now-closed XLB—never materialized regularly, security camera requests were denied until after the three carts were given notice to leave, and cultural events dwindled in favor of trivia nights. The indoor area that once housed Cache Cache will become shared seating for the bakery and carts, with the intention to grow the pod again after construction." - Katherine Chew Hamilton