Restaurants and Institutions

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earth2table: What’s in the Name?
July 20, 2006

Stu Stein

July 20, 2006
It took several months, but I eventually found a place. It existed only on paper, but it was the right place nevertheless. I researched, revised, wrote and continued revising the business plan (see the table of contents). I spoke with a community Small Business Administration bank, a bank specializing in sustainable organizations, a nonprofit community development financial institution, and just about every multi-restaurant restaurateur in the continental United States.

Just remember, rejection can be informative, encouraging, constructive and enlightening--and oh yeah, frustrating!

So here we are in July 2006. Financing is finally secured, designers are designing, lawyers are racking up legal fees and the building that I am going into is about to break ground. I now present you with Terroir Restaurant & Wine Bar.

Terroir (pronounced ter-wahr) as defined here means a taste of a place, an item that uniquely reflects its place of birth. It is the combination of complex variables--climate, feed, soil, the human touch and seasonal shifts--that contribute to the character of an end product. Literally, the French translation for Terroir is "soil," a term for the effects of land on flavor. Ask two different winemakers or chefs for their definition of Terroir, and you will get three different answers. My favorite definition is from wine writer Matt Kramer, who once very poetically defined Terroir as “somewhere-ness.”

My Terroir will be a new, exciting seasonal-sustainable Pacific Northwest restaurant and wine bar located on the edge of the Irvington District, on the corner of North Fremont Street and North Williams Avenue in Portland. It will occupy the corner space on the first floor of the Backbridge Station and Backbridge Lofts (shown), a new development designed to serve as gateway between the vibrant neighborhoods of North and Northeast Portland and downtown.

There are places we go to feel special. There are places we go to feel right at home. There are places we go to celebrate once-in-a-lifetime events. And there are places we go simply because it's Friday. Enter Terroir. Whether you come in pursuit of the pleasure of a well-paired food-and wine-combination; to support our region's small farmers and artisan producers; because you’re curious (or in the know!) about the Pacific Northwest boutique wine-and micro-beer boom, or from some secret connection that only you can feel, you will come to Terroir. It’s that special place that puts equal emphasis on flavor while still respecting environmental and social concerns.

Cheers!

Stu

Posted by Stu Stein on July 20, 2006 | Comments (0)