Pacific Coast Restaurants Replacing Gordon Biersch at Brewery Block #2

PORTLAND-Pacific Coast Restaurants Inc. will fill the void created recently when Gordon Biersch Brewery abandoned plans to locate in the historic Blitz-Weinhard Brewhouse portion of Gerding/Edlen Development’s 1.7-million-sf Brewery Blocks redevelopment project on the northwest edge of Downtown Portland.

Portland-based PCRI’s co-founder and Chairman Robert MacLellan tells GlobeSt.com the nearly 10,000-sf space it has leased at 12th and Burnside will be transformed into a new-concept eatery that will be designed with beer in mind. MacLellan would give up few other details about the restaurant, saying only that it should open in 12- to 14 months. A third-party source says the as-yet unnamed restaurant will be a derivative of PCRI’s Portland Steak & Chophouse.

While mum on the concept details, MacLellan did give up some other details. He tells GlobeSt.com there was stiff competition for the space, as national chains also wanted it. “We competed with the 900-pound gorillas,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “But in the end, we were the only ones who could say ‘the owner will be in the building on a weekly basis.’”

Regarding lease negotiations with MacLellan, Scott Eaton, Gerding/Edlen’s Director of Leasing and Marketing, said at one point, after several hours of negotiations, MacLellan ordered up some sandwiches from one of his nearby restaurants and had them delivered. “So we’re all sitting around the table and here’s Robert, laying out place settings for each of us, and I’m thinking ‘sit down, Robert, we’ve still got to tell you no a couple of more times, and I don’t want to feel guilty.’”

Still listed on Gerding/Edlen Development’s Web site as a tenant in the building, Gordon Biersch’s pull-out is rumored to be related to the poor performance of new stores it has opened. A representative of Gordon Biersch did not return a phone call seeking comment.

Gerding/Edlen is a privately owned commercial real estate development company headed by Bob Gerding and Mark Edlen. Currently, their largest project under construction is the Brewery Blocks in Portland’s Pearl District. The five-block development project includes approximately 500,000 sf of office space, 250,000 sf of retail space, 135 condominiums and 230 apartments. Most of the office and retail space has been completed, while the condos are under construction and the apartments have yet to break ground.