"Warmer weather means tourists are now descending on our fair city, like raccoons advancing on a New Seasons dumpster. As any true Portlander will tell you, no restaurant, bar, or public park is safe from the rows of California plates or the dreaded daytripper. The impending plague of interlopers means that the sacred "locals only" spot will soon become a precious resource. With that in mind, here are five Portland spots that not only offer a premium hang year round, but are also guaranteed to be tourist-free."
"In a city full of boutique markets and organic grocery stores, a humble convenience store can often serve as a much needed oasis from more tourist laden shopping experiences. Straddling the border of Old Town and the Pearl, this quaint bodega manages to embody both the charming-yet-rough-hewn sleaze of old Portland, in addition to the manic, plastic, gleam of new Portland. Plus, you can literally find anything here. Though it may only have the square footage of the average Portland studio apartment, there is some combination of wizardry and non-Euclidean geometry that stocks this corner store with the inventory of two full-sized Walmarts."
"I've gotten everything here from rice paper to winter gloves, from cat litter to tinned fish. If you walked 9th Avenue's three narrow aisles long enough, I swear you could find a Fabergé egg. But not a single tourist."
"Did you know you don't need to be doing laundry to hang out in a laundromat? Just put three quarters in the powdered detergent dispenser and... boom, you're a customer. You are now free to spend as much time there as you want. It's like a public library without all the b"
Warmer weather brings tourists to Portland, threatening local-only spots. Five places are recommended as premium hangouts that remain tourist-free. 9th Avenue Mini Mart at 1028 NW 9th is described as a small convenience store near Old Town and the Pearl that offers a wide range of items, from everyday goods to unusual supplies. Hillsdale Cleaners Laundromat at 6324 SW Capitol Hwy is framed as a place to spend time without doing laundry, by paying quarters to become a customer. The remaining recommendations continue the theme of finding local-feeling spaces that resist tourist crowds.
Read at Portland Mercury
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]