ADVERTISEMENT

Subscriber Exclusive

Case Study: Portland’s Grand Fir is a Brewer-Chef Super Team-Up with a Vision

In Portland, Oregon, a lauded brewer and a celebrated chef join forces for a modern brewpub that’s greater than the sum of its parts.

Kate Bernot Jun 20, 2024 - 13 min read

Case Study: Portland’s Grand Fir is a Brewer-Chef Super Team-Up with a Vision Primary Image

Photo: Ezra Johnson-Greenough

Even the briefest look at Whitney Burnside’s and Doug Adams’ résumés would suggest there’s no universe in which the husband-wife duo wouldn’t open a brewpub.

Burnside is a celebrated brewer with a culinary degree and years of experience at Upright, Elysian, and Pelican; most recently, she was brewmaster at 10 Barrel’s outpost in Portland’s Pearl District. Adams is equally respected as a chef, a finalist on Bravo’s Top Chef series, and a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Rising Star Chef award. A brewpub, on paper, seems destined.

Today, however, nothing in craft beer or hospitality is guaranteed. Opening a brewpub in Portland, Oregon, in 2022 meant confronting a slowing craft-beer market, a restaurant industry still in pandemic recovery mode, and a widely reported decline in the city’s population. At home, the couple was raising a three-year-old daughter without any nearby family.

Access All of the Brewing Industry Guide

Subscribe today to access all of the in-depth brewing stories & advice you won't find anywhere else (including this article).

ARTICLES FOR YOU