Friends Share Community Space
Community center · Centennial ·
Vietnamese coffee pop-up with banh mi sandwiches
Vietnamese coffee pop-up with banh mi sandwiches
"A Sunday-only pop-up cafe serving banh mi with fillings like fried egg, fried tofu, and fried chicken sausage alongside coffee, tea, and cocoa; opened November 2. The limited-weekend format focuses on Vietnamese sandwiches and classic café beverages." - Janey Wong
"Opened as a Sunday-only Vietnamese coffee shop pop-up in the Friends Share community space in southeast Portland on November 2, 2024, this project was founded by Daisy Cao, the founder and community programs director of Friends Share. It was inspired in part by Cao’s childhood memories of drinking Folgers coffee with condensed milk and a baguette to dip every morning. Between 2015 and 2021 she worked in specialty coffee, and as she immersed herself in the industry Cao strived to learn everything she could about the process of bean to cup, including spending time in a roasting and production facility. After leaving the industry to work as an urban planner, Cao began to crave the simplicity of her childhood coffee, opting for pre-ground Cafe Du Monde beans and a phin filter over single-origin specialty coffee bags. "I think what I missed about Vietnamese coffee was how simple it is, how comforting it was to me, and how fun it was to share with other people because it appealed to everyone’s palate and was easy to understand," Cao says in an email to Eater Portland. Using beans sourced from Trung Nguyên, the cafe offers coffee served black and with homemade soy milk-based vegan condensed milk; both the black and the sweetened coffee are available hot or iced. In addition to coffee, the cafe serves hot and iced chocolate, as well as tea. The food menu consists of fried egg (trứng ốp la), fried tofu (đậu hũ chiên), and fried chicken sausage (chả gà chiên) banh mis, served on baguettes from An Xuyên Bakery. Cao emphasizes familiar comforts and connection, hoping people will sit with friends rather than just grab a quick cup: "Vietnamese coffee culture is more than just about getting your quick fix, it’s a social ritual," Cao says. She frames the space as community-focused: "We pride ourselves in being a third place," Cao says. "A 'neighborhood living room,' and creating this space where people can immediately feel safe and at home is crucial for us." The cafe is open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m." - Rebecca Roland
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