New Portland Rising: How Entrepreneurs of Color Are Turning Crisis Into Opportunity

"Created by chef Gregory Gourdet, whose parents immigrated from Haiti to Queens, New York, in the 1960s, this wood-fired Haitian restaurant began as a two-day pop-up in the summer of 2020 when Portland was locked down from COVID and embroiled in Black Lives Matter protests. Four months later it traded its digs at a grilled-chicken restaurant for the Redd, a “food campus” in Portland’s Central Eastside, where patrons dined on dishes like butterfish crudo with watermelon shaved ice, and it soon landed an elegant permanent home on Southeast Ash Street. A stream of accolades followed, including best new restaurant awards from both the James Beard Foundation and Esquire. During a dinner service the chef was observed dashing back and forth in the open kitchen, “throwing chunks of marinated meat, fish, and vegetables onto orange flames.” A pictured Haitian-inspired plate — pork, fried plantains, pickled vegetables, and avocado — exemplifies the menu’s intersection of Caribbean flavors and Pacific Northwest ingredients. Reflecting on the moment that helped fuel its rise, he said, “There was definitely a boom in the support of Black businesses after the BLM protests,” and added, “BLM brought attention to the injustices Black folks face in this country, the inequities that have plagued us for centuries, and still plague us today.”" - Tony Perrottet Tony Perrottet Tony Perrottet is a historian and journalist based in New York City. He contributes to Smithsonian Magazine, The New York Times, and WSJ. Magazine, and is the author of six books. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines