Eat Your Greens: Portland’s Produce Row Café Gets A Face-Lift

The Produce Row Café had barely been renovated since it opened amid the fruit and vegetable wholesalers of Portland, Oregon, in 1974.

So when Wayman Robertson Studio, launched last year by a University of Oregon graduate, took on the 2,500-square-foot space, there were plenty of ideas to digest.

Wayman Robertson ultimately decided on what he calls the “classic styling of American taverns”—but flavored with the environmental sensitivity that Oregon is known for. So there’s dark-stained sapele woodwork, tufted seating, and chairs, pendant fixtures, and subway tiles that are either antique or vintage. Outdoor meals are served at tables made from wood repurposed from bowling lanes. Whenever the weather cooperates.