Cafeography
Portland · Central Eastside

Cafés in Central Eastside

Coava’s flagship on SE Grand, Water Avenue’s home bar, Smith Teamaker’s tasting room and cake at Rimsky-Korsakoffee until midnight.

Photo: Josh Hild, Pexels License

The Central Eastside is the industrial strip on the east bank of the Willamette, part of Portland's Central City. In 1845 James B. Stephens claimed 640 acres across the river from the new townsite, and in 1868 the Oregon Central Railroad broke ground in what was then East Portland, incorporated as a city in 1870.1

The Central Eastside Industrial District, between Powell Boulevard and I-84 and from the river to SE 12th Avenue, is zoned for industry; in 2014 it held about 17,000 jobs, among them architects, contractors, manufacturers and wholesale distributors.2 Roasters work among them: Coava roasts in the district, and Water Avenue at SE 8th and Main.34 The streetcar loop runs on Grand Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to OMSI.5

Local tip: Coava's Public Brew Bar on SE Main opens only from Wednesday to Sunday, 08:00–15:00; on Monday or Tuesday, the Grand Avenue flagship opens at 06:00.

At a glance

26Cafés listed
10With opening hours
07:00Earliest opening
00:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Coava Coffee, from 07:00 (Daily 07:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Rimsky-Korsakoffee House, until 00:00 (Wed–Sun 19:00–00:00).
  • Most listed streets: Southeast Washington Street (3), SE Main St (2).
  • Most common features: wi-fi (23%), outdoor seating (23%), indoor seating (15%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Portland.

Coffee chains in Central Eastside

Coava on Grand and Main

Matt Higgins started Coava in 2008, roasting first in a North Portland garage and then right next to the bar of its flagship on Grand Avenue.63 The flagship, at 1300 SE Grand, opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends.7

The roaster moved six blocks to a new building in 2016, and its Public Brew Bar opened there in April 2017.3 At 1015 SE Main Street it serves 08:00–15:00, Wednesday to Sunday.7

Water Avenue, Roseline and Smith Teamaker

Water Avenue Coffee, co-founded by Matt Milletto in 2009, has its flagship café at SE Water Avenue and Taylor Street and was bought by Harder Day Coffee in August 2024.4 At 1028 SE Water Avenue it opens daily 07:00–17:00. Roseline Coffee, launched in October 2012 with a 1.5-kilo roaster, has a café at 1015 SE 11th Avenue with the same daily hours.8

Smith Teamaker opened a 13,000-square-foot blending and production building at 110 SE Washington Street in December 2015, with a 20-seat tasting room.9 Across the street, Ranger Chocolate Co. at 107 SE Washington opens daily 08:00–15:00. On SE Stark, PUSH X PULL at 821 serves daily 07:00–18:00, and at the Burnside end of the district Grendel's Coffee House at 729 East Burnside opens at 07:00 from Monday to Saturday.

Evenings on SE 12th and SE Milwaukie

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House at 707 SE 12th Avenue has served coffee and dessert in a Craftsman house built in 1902 since 1980. Its tables are named for composers, and one rises 18 inches every 45 minutes.10 There is no sign outside; it opens 19:00 to midnight from Wednesday to Sunday, with live classical music, and takes cash and cards.11 Triumph Coffee at 201 SE 12th stays open until 20:00 every day.

At the southern end, Rose City Coffee Co at 3370 SE Milwaukie Avenue, in Brooklyn, has been open 24 hours since November 11, 2025: pastries and bagels around the clock, and the full menu, with flatbreads and mocktails, from 15:00 to 05:00.12

Getting across the river

Tilikum Crossing, opened on September 12, 2015, carries MAX Orange Line trains, buses, streetcars, bicycles and pedestrians but no private cars, and lands beside OMSI.13 Nossa Familia has a café at 1633 SE 3rd Avenue.

Sources

  1. Central Eastside, Portland, Oregon, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. One Street, Three Zones and 17,000 Jobs, The Southeast Examiner (October 1, 2014), accessed October 2026
  3. Coava's Roastery Headquarters, Coava Coffee Roasters, accessed October 2026
  4. Water Avenue Coffee, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  5. Portland Streetcar, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  6. Coava Coffee Roasters, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Locations, Coava Coffee Roasters, accessed October 2026
  8. Roseline Coffee, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  9. Revenge of the Tea, Willamette Week (November 11, 2015), accessed October 2026
  10. Rimsky-Korsakoffee House, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  11. Rimsky-Korsakoffee House, Rimsky-Korsakoffee House (2026), accessed October 2026
  12. Small Bites: Rose City Coffee Co, Bluto’s, Woodblock Bakery, and More, Bridgetown Bites (October 31, 2025), accessed October 2026
  13. Tilikum Crossing, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
Keep exploring

More of Portland

Pearl District

14 cafés

Downtown

63 cafés

Northwest & NW 23rd

29 cafés

Buckman & Kerns

30 cafés

Hawthorne & Division

38 cafés

Mississippi & Williams

36 cafés

Alberta Arts District

31 cafés

In Central Eastside, also browse: Specialty coffee Wi-Fi Outdoor seating Bakery cafés Open by 6am

FAQ

Central Eastside cafés: questions

When is Rimsky-Korsakoffee House in Portland open?

Rimsky-Korsakoffee House at 707 SE 12th Avenue opens from 19:00 to midnight, Wednesday to Sunday, and closes on Monday and Tuesday. It has served coffee and dessert since 1980 in a Craftsman house built in 1902, with live classical music, tables named for composers and no sign outside; it takes cash and cards.

Where are Coava Coffee's cafés in Portland's Central Eastside?

Coava's flagship at 1300 SE Grand Avenue, where the company once roasted beside the bar, opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends. The Public Brew Bar at the roastery, 1015 SE Main Street, opened in April 2017 and serves 08:00–15:00 from Wednesday to Sunday. Matt Higgins started Coava in 2008.

Where is Smith Teamaker's tasting room in Portland's Central Eastside?

Smith Teamaker opened its blending and production building at 110 SE Washington Street in December 2015, a 13,000-square-foot space with a 20-seat tasting room. Ranger Chocolate Co. is across the street at 107 SE Washington, and Water Avenue Coffee's flagship is a few blocks away at 1028 SE Water Avenue.

For café owners

Own a café in Central Eastside?

Free listings are free for good. A featured page gives you photos, a menu and your own URL, in your café's own design, for less than a coffee a day.

Get listed, free See a page in its own design