Blue Star Donuts Finds a New Home
Blue Star to move and expand kitchen operations to the former Oregon Culinary Institute building in SW Portland
Portland, Ore. (April 19, 2021) – Blue Star Donuts Portland has officially signed a lease for the former Oregon Culinary Institute building at 1701 SW Jefferson Street, mere blocks away from the Portland Timbers stadium and Lincoln High School.
“We’re beyond excited about this new home!” says Katie Poppe, Co-Founder, and CEO. “Throughout the last year, we’ve had to operate out of a small temporary kitchen. While it’s been so good to us, it’s also really restrained our production capacity.” Adds Poppe, “It’s definitely a little bittersweet, as we were all saddened by the closure of OCI and its influence on the culinary community of Portland and Oregon. We have a lot of exciting plans on how to carry the torch and honor this legacy.”
Blue Star intends to move its kitchen operations into the building as soon as possible. With the larger production space, the crew will be able to scale back up its retail operations, and also expand their successful new eCommerce and Wholesale lines, which were born out of the multiple pivots manifested in April 2020 as the COVID-19 Pandemic ravaged the entire restaurant industry. The Company plans to open the retail side of the new location in the fall of 2021.
ABOUT BLUE STAR DONUTS
Blue Star Donuts is a gourmet donut shop born in Portland, Oregon. After a much-anticipated opening in 2012, the Portland-grown bakers expanded to eight locations in the Portland area. Four Portland locations have since been permanently closed due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The unique brioche-based donuts and signature cake donut recipes quickly became a foodie favorite, recognized as the best in Portland and the United States by Conde Nast, The Washington Post, and USA Today. Their gourmet gems have gained international attention on the Food Network, and were also featured on the cover of Bon Appetit Magazine. Head Pastry Chef Stephanie Thornton was recently featured as a contestant on Chopped, and Co-Founder and CEO Katie Poppe is a recipient of the Portland Business Journal’s “40 under 40” award and “Oregon’s Most Admired Companies”, and is also a PCNW regional finalist for Ernst & Young’s “Entrepreneur of the Year” award.