Spotlight: pFriem Milwaukie
Back in the depths of the Depression, the Public Works Administration helped the small town of Milwaukie (population 1,800) build a city hall building with its own firehouse. From 1938 until 2023, it served the town, which grew more than tenfold during that time. This past Monday, it started a new life as pFriem’s Portland-area home.
Who can say if pFriem’s run will last another 85 years, but the impression when you walk in is a restaurant built for the long run. pFriem was able to completely redesign the building’s interior, which had been a warren of cramped offices crouched under those dismal old drop ceilings, and it feels natural, like the building had been created to house a pub and restaurant.
Since its earliest days, pFriem has had a self-consciously European feel. This comes in part from co-founder Josh Pfriem’s affinity for German lagers and Belgian ales, and partly from co-founder Rudy Kellner’s Czech heritage. The new Milwaukie location draws on that connection, and echoes the ambiance of pubs in Bavaria and Bohemia. The blond wood tables and gray wainscoting are direct nods to those places, but there’s something in the gracious space itself that evokes those pubs’ feel as well. Germans have a word for this, Gemütlichkeit, which literally means cozy. But it also communicates a sense of comfort and ease. pFriem’s new place is big and impressive, but perhaps its more notable qualities involve how homey it feels.
pFriem did a lot to preserve and highlight the building’s original character—and in some ways they accentuated it. A two-story arch at the center of the building is the most distinctive feature of the moderne/Art Deco architecture. pFriem worked to carry the theme of the arch throughout the building. They also worked with local artists on projects throughout the building, and patrons get the first taste of it with the mural painted at the entryway. It’s a nice way to introduce these themes for visitors, who will recognize them throughout.
Echoing their Hood River location, a "Bear's Den" is just off the entry to the left. To the right is a small seating area and beyond that the main dining room. This was the erstwhile parking bay for the fire truck, complete with a roll-up door for its entry. All of that translates perfectly into a pub. The ceiling rises high overhead, and a horseshoe bar—another arch—is the centerpiece of the room. On sunny days, servers can roll up the entrance and let patrons spill out into the beer garden beyond, into the expansive grounds in the front of the building.
A nearly identical seating area is immediately above the lower pub, accessible by a staircase that wraps around the bar. The upstairs pub, which pFriem can use for private parties or events like trivia night, has the same arch-shaped bar. Connecting the two stories is a subtle feature—a brass pole that runs from the ceiling in the second story down through both bars. It was the original pole firemen used to slide down, and on the main floor, you can see the (now covered) manhole-sized circle next to the pole above the bar. In the pubs, the pole has been repurposed into a tower for two Czech-style faucets.
Anyone familiar with pFriem’s Hood River restaurant will recognize the menu in Milwaukie. Closer to a gastropub than a typical brewpub, it has several of the same menu items as in Hood River—pimento burger, clams and chorizo, fish and chips, and sausages. The beer lineup is also much like you find in Hood River, and for pFriem’s biggest Portland-area fans, this is undoubtedly the highlight of the new place.
With their new Milwaukie location, pFriem has gone big, creating a space with several seating areas, three bars, a restaurant, and expansive drinks menu. It has taken pFriem thirteen years to expand from their original location on the banks of the Columbia River, and they clearly didn’t want to do this halfway. Drinkers in the Portland metro area—and the happy residents of Milwaukie—will be pleased with the results. It’s impressive, but more than that, it’s a wonderfully comfortable space people will want to spend an hour or three.
Location: 10722 SE Main St in Milwaukie
Hours: 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Contact: (971) 465-6161, website
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