Bipartisan Cafe is a coffee shop and bakery in Portland, Oregon's Montavilla neighborhood. Since Hobie Bender and Peter Emerson started the business in 2005, the Bipartisan has hosted various events, including meetings for civic groups and politicians, as well as viewing parties for political events. It has garnered a positive reception, mostly as one of Portland's best coffee and pie eateries. The marionberry pie was included in the American Automobile Association's 2022 list of the ten best regional Western dishes.

Description 
Bipartisan Cafe is a coffee shop and bakery in Portland's Montavilla neighborhood. The cafe is known as a community gathering space, as intended by its owners. Bipartisan has hosted political events, book readings and signings, as well as concerts. In 2008, The Oregonian's Benjamin Brink wrote: "The cafe quickly became a community gathering place, full of young families, longtime residents and students from the nearby colleges bent over laptops." According to Oregon Wine Press, "From day one, the café has been based on building community and 'working with people to try to create a place where they can get along on a real level.'" Lonely Planet has said the cafe is "where big ideas are hatched at small tables and the walls are plastered with episodes from US history".

Interior 
Described by Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden as "an eclectic space decorated with American historical memorabilia", the interior features framed posters of James Buchanan, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, and Martin Van Buren, as well as portraits of Geronimo, Martin Luther King Jr., and Harriet Tubman. There are also posters of Norman Rockwell's 1943 painting series Four Freedoms and other political memorabilia such as ballots, bumper stickers, campaign buttons and pins, and a voting machine from Palm Beach, Florida, used in the 2000 U.S. presidential election. Many of the items are from Emerson's personal collection, which he started in 1980.

In 2010, S.J. Sebellin-Ross of The Oregonian wrote: "Bipartisan Cafe has a maroon sofa and soft chairs permanently contoured by a parade of bodies, and a fat hole in the middle of the floor looking into the basement." There is also a play area for children. The newspaper's Su-jin Yim called Bipartisan "kid-friendly" in 2006.

Menu 
Bipartisan serves pie, including vegan and gluten-free options, as well as salads, sandwiches, and soups. The menu has also included bagels with lox as well as quiches.

Pie flavors have included banana cream, blueberry, cherry, chocolate cream, chocolate orange cream, chocolate silk, espresso cream, key lime, and marionberry, as well as marionberry mixed with lemon curd or peach. The owner's family recipe is used for the marionberry pie. The triple berry pie has  blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Bipartisan has also carried pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

The business uses Water Avenue Coffee. The seasonal eggnog latte has been described as Bipartisan's "most anticipated holiday item".

History 

The cafe was founded by Hobie Bender and Peter Emerson in 2005. The business is housed in a space which previously operated as a hardware store. Emerson has said he "wanted a place where there was political discourse and [he] wanted a place where you could have opposing views and have a civil conversation". Bipartisan has hosted politicians running for office, including Ben Cannon in 2006, Jefferson Smith in 2012, Ted Wheeler in 2016, and Jo Ann Hardesty in 2018. The restaurant has also hosted viewing parties for political events, including acceptance speeches by John McCain and Barack Obama in 2008, President Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address, and the 2016 U.S. presidential election. For the 2008 viewing parties, Emerson displayed life-sized cutouts of Hillary Clinton, McCain, and Obama. In addition to viewing parties for political events, Bipartisan has hosted meetings for civic groups. In 2009, a group from the City Club of Portland held a meeting about the 1980 Portland Comprehensive Plan featuring urban historian Carl Abbott and city planners as speakers.

In 2014, Emerson opposed Portland City Council member Steve Novick's proposal to set a street fee based on trip generation data, stating that the proposal would place the Bipartisan Cafe "in the same category as a global powerhouse". In 2015, Emerson supported a statewide paid sick leave bill, after initial skepticism. Emerson has expressed support for minimum wage increases. In 2016, the Portland Tribune reported that the Bipartisan Cafe had 25 employees, the longest-tenured of which were paid $10.50 an hour. The newspaper noted Emerson's desire to pay $15 per hour, which he said that he was unable to offer because the restaurant operated "on a narrow 5 percent profit margin". To compensate, Emerson said the he had hired more workers to reduce stress, provided free food to employees, and worked to accommodate staff members' schedule conflicts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the business operated a take-out window. Bipartisan also raised funds via GoFundMe to stay afloat. , unvaccinated patrons could enter the restaurant for take-out orders, otherwise proof of vaccination is required for indoor dining for people 12 and older. Marcia Fornataro was the baker, as of 2022. In 2023, the business was sold to former employee Josh Pangelinan.

Reception 
The book series Walking Portland (2012–2013) describes Bipartisan as a "stellar" family-friendly coffee shop with "fantastic" pies and pastries. Portland Monthly included Bipartisan in a 2013 overview of Portland's best pie shops. The magazine called the business the "unofficial community center" that "practically demands that you slow down and share a slice of pie and a steaming mug of Water Avenue Coffee with a friend". They have also recommended the espresso cream pie and said:
Nathan Skidmore included Bipartisan's cream pies in The Oregonian'''s 2008 overview of the best desserts in Portland. In 2008, the newspaper's Seth Lorinczi also said "the pies are benchmark; the crust thin, flaky and unadorned, the fillings fresh and abundant". In 2010, S.J. Sebellin-Ross called the triple berry pie's filling "dull" and the crust "pale" and "overworked"." Sebellin-Ross also called the curd in the marionberry lemon pie "cloyingly sweet" and the Chantilly cream "perfectly whipped and rich". Lizzy Acker ranked Bipartisan third in the The Oregonian's 2018 list of the city's best chocolate cream pies and wrote: "Bipartisan's chocolate cream had generally good texture, good flavor, but too much cream for many of the pie eaters, and a somewhat problematic crust." In 2023, the newspaper's Michael Russell said: "Before the rise of Lauretta Jean's, Random Order and Bipartisan Cafe were the go-to cafes for Portlanders seeking good pie." In 2010, Patrick Alan Coleman of the Portland Mercury wrote:

In 2008, Willamette Week included Bipartisan in an overview of the best places to drink coffee in Portland and said "the standout collection of political ephemera and housemade pies ... almost overshadow the perfect neighborliness" of the restaurant. In 2015, the newspaper's Jay Horton said the cafe "kickstarted Montavilla's rebirth with nationally acclaimed pies". In 2016, Penelope Bass called Bipartisan "a neighborhood pillar built of delicate, flaky crust ... where it's easy to while away a day among the neighborhood regulars". In 2020, Nina Silberstein of the Southeast Examiner said the cafe "boasts the best homemade pies in Portland". In 2023, Jacob Loeb of Montavilla News said the business "helped launch the century-old downtown main street's resurrection, defining Montavilla, and has served as the community's living room for nearly two decades".

Cheryl Strayed recommend the "lovely" cafe's coffee and pie in her 2019 guide to the city. Thrillist's Pete Cottell included Bipartisan in his 2020 list of Portland's best coffee shops with Wi-Fi. In the Daily Hive's 2021 list of seven recommended eateries for pie in Portland, Alyssa Therrien said Bipartisan had "perfected" the recipes for the cherry and chocolate cream pies. Eater Portland included Bipartisan in a 2017 list of 18 "hidden gem" restaurants in the city. The website's Michelle Lopez included the business in a 2022 overview of where to find "legit" pies in Portland, and writers included Bipartisan in Eater Portland'''s 2023 overview of recommended eateries in Montavilla. The marionberry pie was included in the American Automobile Association's 2022 list of the ten best regional Western dishes.

See also 

 List of bakeries

References

External links

 
 
 Bipartisan Cafe at Zomato

2005 establishments in Oregon
Bakeries of Oregon
Coffeehouses and cafés in Oregon
Montavilla, Portland, Oregon
Restaurants established in 2005
Restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Southeast Portland, Oregon