NWSL preseason is a great opportunity to support woman-owned small businesses in Portland, Oregon. This weekend OL Reign is heading down to Providence Park to participate in a preseason tournament hosted by Portland Thorns FC. We’ve put together a list of woman-owned eateries, cafes, boutiques and more to encourage fans to #SpendLikeItMatters. Who knows, you might catch one of your favorite players supporting one of these Asian-owned, Black-owned, Latinx-owned, LGBTQ-owned, Native-owned, Pacific Islander-owned, Woman-owned small businesses in Portland!
Aesthete Tea
#WomanOwned #BlackOwned #LGBTQOwned
Aesthete Tea is about more than just tea. Owner Briana Thornton founded the tea brand with her mother, Maggie Cassidy, who’s an herbalist. Through Aesthete, Briana and Maggie seek to connect community by providing workshops, classes, and events that promote a more conscious way of living. Visit Briana’s teashop to try her sustainably-sourced herbal blends and loose leaf teas. Her mission is to bring the respect, knowledge, and power of the earth to the modern world through cultivating, consuming, and healing with herbs.
Bonus: Thanks to BECU, enjoy any 12 oz. tea during Women’s History Month or until the tab runs out.
Bison Coffee House
#WomanOwned #NativeOwned
This cozy Portland coffee shop pays homage to Native ancestry and tradition. While you wait for your latte at Bison Coffee House, you’ll notice many Native artifacts, collected for display by owner Loretta Guzman. The mounted bison head is a tribute to the livelihood of her people, the Shoshone-Bannock tribes. Even the coffee served at Bison Coffee House is from a Native-owned roaster In North Carolina. To accompany your coffee, grab a scone or a cookie, all of the delicious baked goods you’ll find there are baked in-house!
Bonus: You’ll often find the coffee shop is host to Native community events and fundraisers!
Blendily Botanical Kitchen
#WomanOwned #AsianOwned
At Blendily Botanic Kitchen, owner Ivy Chuang creates a spectrum of handmade botanical products for you to practice self care from head to toe. She uses fresh plants and flowers in her creations that are either grown or gathered by the Blendily team or sourced directly from farms and purveyors that honor the land they cultivate. Want to know exactly what’s in the skincare you’re buying? Ivy’s ingredients are on display, and the products are handmade in-store.
Bonus: Blendily Botanic Kitchen also has a location in Seattle!
Books with Pictures
#WomanOwned #LGBTQOwned
Katie Proctor is a queer single mom who has been running Books with Pictures since 2016. Books with Pictures is a comic book store that was built from the ground up to prioritize inclusivity and diverse representation. Katie and her team want to be able to give every customer who walks through their doors a story about someone like them. At Books with Pictures the staff will listen to your interests and curiosities to open new doors in the comic book world. Katie’s goal is to provide comics for everyone, and her stock includes super hero comics, indie comics, kids’ picture books, all-ages comics, LGBT comics, and small-run handmade comics.
Chochu Local Island BBQ
#WomanOwned #FamilyOwned #PacificIslanderOwned
When you enjoy a meal from Chochu Local ISLAND BBQ, you “eat like a local.” Chochu is a food cart, food deliverer, and catering company that serves delicious Mariana Island recipes from Guam, Rota, Saipan, and Tinian cuisine. You can pick up a plate of amazing chicken, shrimp, octopus, or beef kelaguen, delicious red rice, and bold Kimchi noodle salad anytime the craving strikes! Owners Michael San Nicolas and Joy San Nicolas opened the food cart eager to share their favorite Chamoru dishes with the broader Portland community!
Citizen Ruth
#WomanOwned #FamilyOwned #LGBTQOwned
Jenn Lazar and Cara Centko initially founded Citizen Ruth in 2007 as a jewelry company. Over the years, the business grew into a brand and boutique offering feminist pop-culture work from over 250 female, queer, and marginalized artists. The couple believes in providing visibility, creative freedom, and monetary value to their artist collective. From greeting cards and wall art to mugs and magnets, shop Citizen Ruth’s collection of “badass goods that support the resistance.”
Coral Story Beauty
#WomanOwned #NativeOwned
Morning Dove Barranger founded Coral Story Beauty in 2018, five years after postpartum skin and health issues left her searching for green beauty products. She created a place with a large variety of clean beauty products for you to walk in, talk to someone who has done the research on natural and organic products, and find the best makeup and skincare for you. Morning Dove’s gorgeous Portland store is home to everything you need to pamper yourself, from silk robes to decadent bar soaps.
Either / OR
#WomanOwned #AsianOwned #LGBTQOwned
Either/Or offers a fresh coffee shop experience, with espresso flights, house-made chai, and seasonal sodas. Owners Ro Tam and Natasha Miks serve a variety of beans from the city’s best roasters, keeping offerings like their tasting flights fresh and inspired.
Epif
#WomanOwned #LatinoOwned
Nicolle Dirks and Jose “Pepe” Arancibia ran a vegan bar in Pepe’s hometown Valparaiso, Chile before moving to Portland and bringing their experience with them. Epif offers a twist on the traditionally meat-heavy South American dishes by making them vegan. With options inspired by the Andes region of South America ranging from vegan cheesy chive empanadas to chocolate canela cheesecake, even non-vegans and vegetarians alike can enjoy Epif. Epif also offers a wide range of Pisco cocktails and mock-tails.
Fun fact: Epif’s bar top is made from skateboard remnants, the four tabletops were brought from Nicolle and Pepe’s bar in Chile, and the front door was bought in Peru by Nicolle’s parents.
Green Muse
#WomanOwned #BlackOwned
Green Muse, formerly known as Green Hop, seeks to uplift Black and POC stakeholders in the cannabis industry, as well as illuminate the ties between cannabis and art, fashion, music, sports, and science. The mission of this Black-owned dispensary hinges upon the specific, over-policed histories of both hip hop and cannabis, and the ways that hip-hop pushed forward the legalization of marijuana. Owners K.C. Crews and Nicole Kennedy consider their business ownership political in many ways. Residing in the historically Black Woodlawn neighborhood, they persist as anti-gentrifiers, as one of few Black-owned businesses in the neighborhood. Green Muse not only hosts engaging community events and sells quality cannabis goods, but they continue to educate about the ways that drug laws continue to target BIPOC people and operate the Green Hop Academy to empower POC to have a stake in the cannabis industry.
Hip Chicks do Wine
#WomanOwned #LGBTQOwned
After touring Oregon wine country, Laurie Lewis and Renee Neely opened Hip Chicks do Wine in 2001, the oldest urban winery in Portland. In the years since, Hip Chicks do Wine has remained busy producing their fruit-forward, food-friendly wines, hosting wine-centric events, and sponsoring Pride Northwest each year by creating limited production special pride labels.
Mimi’s Fresh Tees
#BlackOwned #WomanOwned
Kamelah Adams founded Mimi’s Fresh Tees in 2018 to encourage people to wear their truth. Stop by the social justice t-shirt store and stand up, speak out, and take action toward a more more equitable and inclusive world. Fun fact: In 2021, the Portland Thorns wore her Pride Month “Love Over Hate” shirts on the field at Providence Park.
Sugar Street Bakery
#WomanOwned #BlackOwned
Whether you’re hungry for a fresh bakery sandwich (mmm, like a turkey club), or in need of dozens of cupcakes for a special event (red velvet, anyone?), Sugar Street Bakery & Bistro in NE Portland has your back.This local bakery is owned by Justine Flaherty and Kenric Craver, two Portland locals who are passionate about giving back to the community. In addition to their expertise in the kitchen, both have worked at Providence Medical Center, and they pour their heart into all of the work they do. You’ll notice they pay homage to the City of Roses by naming each of their cupcakes after the streets in their neighborhood!
Don’t miss their other location in SE Portland.
With Love, From PDX
#WomanOwned #BlackOwned
If you’ve been brainstorming the perfect gift for a special someone, why not give them a gift that supports not one, but many Portland small businesses?! In 2015, Inger McDowell-Hartye launched her gift box company, With Love, From PDX. Each of her special, curated gift boxes contains an exciting variety of artisan goods from Portland’s most beloved brands. Shop themed holiday baskets, wine and food baskets, and baskets that cater to your special someone’s hobbies and interests!
Woonwinkel
#WomanOwned
When you walk into Woonwinkel, you’ll be transported to a world of bright colors, bold shapes, and inspiring products by small makers. Woonwinkel means “living shop” in Dutch, and it’s the brainchild of Kristin VanBuskirk who (unsurprisingly) has spent 20+ years in the color design business and loves to share her passion for joyful colors. The store stocks gifts, home goods, and more from independent designers who take social and environmental responsibility seriously.
Bonus: Woonwinkel is only a 10 minute walk or five minute drive from Providence Park. It’s the perfect place to shop before catching OL Reign’s preseason friendly versus Portland Thorns.
Are we missing your favorite woman-owned small business in Portland, Oregon? Be sure to suggest them to us here.