Portland to get a new public market

The new public market has been the talk of Portland for the better part of three decades as locals have anxiously awaited details and the location of what promises to be a must-visit destination. Now, those details are beginning to emerge as the project overcame a slew of financial, logistical and political challenges.

The James Beard Public Market is expected to open in the fall of 2025 and will house about 40 businesses (think fishmongers, cheesemakers, butchers and bakeries). The facility will be housed in the 100-year-old Selling Building about a block from Pioneer Square, and will be modeled after Seattle’s famous Pike Place Market.

The project has been in the works since the early 1990s, when food writer Heidi Yorkshire worked with Oregon restaurateur Ron Paul to champion the project. Their dream is finally moving forward, and will even feature a teaching kitchen that will be home to cooking classes and other events. The facility is named after James Beard, for whom the culinary awards are also named. Beard hails from Portland.