BRING! Treats for Dogs and Madam Cooper’s Parlor both cite the PDX Pop-Ups program as being the catalyst to finally get them into a brick-and-mortar shop.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Some new small businesses have popped around downtown Portland.
Three businesses have successfully turned their recent “PDX Pop-Ups” into permanent brick-and-mortar locations.
“I knew as soon as she placed me in this spot that I was going to fight like the devil to keep it,” Madam Cooper’s Parlor owner Cooper Hays said.
Hays is Portland’s newest madam, courtesy of PDX Pop Ups.
“We serve cocktails and 6-minute burlesque shows, and they’re very classic burlesque. It’s kind of a step back in time,” Hays said.
But Hays said it took two-and-a-half years to get into a brick and mortar.
“Driving by empty storefronts downtown and calling the phone numbers on them and emailing and reaching out and really trying to get a hold of landlords — and in my personal experience, I found that the landlords weren’t highly motivated to rent their spaces, and especially not motivated to rent them to artists and people that aren’t major corporations,” Hays said.
Bring! Treats for Dogs owner Kristen Martin is another one of the successful pop-ups. Portland’s first dog-treat food truck now has a storefront on Southwest 9th Street.
“The pop-up program is so unique because you have a free opportunity to see what it would be like to have a brick and mortar,” Martin said.
The pop-up program covers six weeks of rent for the businesses.
Martin said Valentine’s Day weekend was the best weekend her business has had yet.
Valentine’s Day also a hit at Madam Cooper’s.
“We have been very pleased to see the foot traffic that is happening in Ankeny Alley that was definitely not happening at this time last year,” hays said. “It gives me chills to think about playing a role in the resurgence of this particular area.”
Hays and Martin both now have leases of their own.
“PDX Pop-Ups” is working to expand the traditionally holiday model into a year-round one to give more businesses the opportunity to move into unused storefronts.
