Cafeography
Portland · Pearl District

Cafés in Pearl District

Barista’s first bar on NW 13th, a Princess Bride café inside Powell’s City of Books and early espresso near Jamison Square.

Photo: Brett Sayles, Pexels License

The Pearl District, northwest of downtown, runs from West Burnside Street north to the Willamette and from NW Broadway west to Interstate 405. Until redevelopment began in the mid-1980s it was warehouses, light industry and rail yards. The city called it the Triangle, and the name "the Pearl", credited to the gallery owner Thomas Augustine, first appeared in print in March 1987.1

The Brewery Blocks replaced the Weinhard Brewery, which ran from 1864 to 1999. Jamison Square, with a fountain that imitates a tidal pool, opened in 2002, Tanner Springs Park in 2005 and The Fields in 2013.1 The Portland Streetcar's NS Line, opened in 2001, crosses the district between Northwest Portland and downtown.2

Local tip: For coffee before the bookstore and galleries open, Barista on NW 13th and Sisters Coffee on NW Marshall both start at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends.

At a glance

14Cafés listed
4With opening hours
06:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: Sisters Coffee Company, from 06:00 (Mon–Fri 06:00–18:00 · Sat–Sun 07:00–18:00).
  • Closes latest: Above GRND, until 23:00 (Daily 09:00–23:00).
  • Most common features: wheelchair access (14%), specialty (7%), open late (7%).

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

Coffee chains in Pearl District

Guilder inside Powell's City of Books

Powell's City of Books fills a full block between NW 10th and 11th avenues and West Burnside and NW Couch streets, with nine color-coded rooms and more than 68,000 square feet of retail space.3 Guilder opened its café in the store's southwest corner, at 1005 W Burnside, on November 26, 2021; it was the first coffee shop in the building since the pandemic began, decorated on a Princess Bride theme.45

At its opening an espresso cost US$3.25 and a cappuccino US$4.50, and the café served daily 10:00–20:00.54 Walter Powell founded the bookstore in 1971, and the City of Books reached its present size with an expansion that opened in 1999; it stocks more than four million new, used, rare and out-of-print books for its shelves and online sales.3

Barista and the 06:00 bars

Billy Wilson opened the first Barista in the Pearl in early 2009, and it has served coffee from roasters including Coava and Stumptown.6 At 539 NW 13th Avenue it opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends.

Sisters Coffee, which roasts in Sisters, Oregon, reopened its Pearl café in January 2019 after a fire in a residential unit upstairs set off the sprinklers and closed it for five months; the remodel added a bigger bar and a mural of the Three Sisters peaks.7 The café on NW Marshall Street also opens at 06:00 on weekdays. Caffè Umbria at 303 NW 12th Avenue opens at 06:30 on weekdays and has outdoor seating.

Later hours and tea

Above GRND at 419 NW Broadway is open daily 09:00–23:00, the latest in the Pearl. Abba Coffee Roasters at 525 NW 11th Avenue serves 07:30–15:30 on weekdays and 08:00–16:00 on Saturday, and Roste Chocolate House at 475 NW 14th opens at 08:00 on weekdays and 09:00 at weekends.

For tea, Qi Fine Teas is at 512 NW 9th Avenue, and World Cup Coffee and Tea House is at 721 NW 9th. Toward Old Town, Glyph Café & Arts Space is at 804 NW Couch Street; on the north side of the district, Byways Cafe is at 1212 NW Glisan, Jebale Coffee at 1350 NW Lovejoy and Snow Bunny Coffee at 1415 NW 11th Avenue.

Sources

  1. Pearl District, Portland, Oregon, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Portland Streetcar, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  3. Powell's Books, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  4. Princess Bride-themed coffee shop opens inside Powell's, KOIN 6 (November 2021), accessed October 2026
  5. There's a Coffeehouse Inside Powell's Again, and It's Princess Bride-Themed, Willamette Week (November 27, 2021), accessed October 2026
  6. Barista (restaurant), Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Sisters Coffee Opens Wonderfully Reimagined Portland Cafe After a Fire, Daily Coffee News (January 21, 2019), accessed October 2026
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In Pearl District, also browse: Specialty coffee Open by 6am

FAQ

Pearl District cafés: questions

Is there a café inside Powell's City of Books in Portland?

Yes. Guilder opened a café in the southwest corner of Powell's City of Books, at 1005 W Burnside Street, on November 26, 2021, decorated on a Princess Bride theme. At its opening an espresso cost US$3.25 and a cappuccino US$4.50. The bookstore fills a full block in the Pearl District, with nine color-coded rooms.

Where did Barista coffee start in Portland's Pearl District?

Billy Wilson opened the first Barista in the Pearl District in early 2009, at 539 NW 13th Avenue, and it has served coffee from roasters including Coava and Stumptown. It opens at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends.

Which Pearl District cafés in Portland open earliest?

Barista at 539 NW 13th Avenue and Sisters Coffee on NW Marshall Street open at 06:00 on weekdays and 07:00 at weekends, and Caffè Umbria at 303 NW 12th Avenue opens at 06:30 on weekdays. For a late coffee, Above GRND at 419 NW Broadway is open until 23:00.

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