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Saint Jack. Lardo. Ox. XLB. Pok Pok.
What do these iconic Portland hot spots have in common? They’re just a few of the 60 restaurants, bars, and bakeries that Kurt Huffman has helped support through ChefStable, a project he launched to let entrepreneurial chefs stay focused on the kitchen, not the spreadsheets.
“I love this city and I loved growing up here,” Huffman says.
He’d always loved and worked in restaurants—starting as a dishwasher at Fat City Cafe at 14—but he didn’t think food could be a real career. He graduated from Reed College in 1993 as a history major and planned to go to grad school. Then a trip to France changed everything. He and a buddy opened a brewpub in Lyon, France. That business took off, but the pull of Portland eventually brought him home.
Huffman made up his mind to go to business school. But in 2008, he had a chance conversation with Andy Ricker, chef and owner of Pok Pok, then still a food cart. Ricker was about to open an indoor dining room but was struggling to figure out the business side of the house.
Huffman had an idea. “I wanted to start a company that could translate business jargon in a way that made sense to creative brains, ease the tension between the restaurant and accounting, and support chefs, their vision, and their talent,” he says.
He asked Ricker to let him help stabilize Pok Pok’s finances and keep the business on an even keel. In exchange, Huffman would get access to Pok Pok’s back end and use the beloved Thai eatery as a test case for his idea, which became ChefStable. “And then things took off,” Huffman says.
Word spread that Huffman could help chefs find backing and support. Chris Israel of Zefiro fame reached out for help with Grüner. They opened Foster Burger, Whiskey Soda Lounge, and so many more.
Over time, about a third of the projects have closed and Huffman lives with memories of his mistakes. But the freedom to fail is a cornerstone of his business. He’s also committed to staying attuned to market changes. “We survived COVID because we made a pivot to casual but high-quality counter service,” he says, citing Bluto’s, Lardo, Grassa, and XLB.
He keeps a focus on the social part of food and beverage. “I firmly believe in being a community activator,” he says. “After 16 years, I feel pretty confident that we’ve contributed some good things. I wouldn’t want to live in a community without an interesting, dynamic food culture.”
Have some happy hours: Huffman suggests looking in bars for some of Portland’s most exciting food right now. He calls out a Naomi Pomeroy project, Expatriate, as an early adopter of the tiny, tight, fun bar-focused menu. And he gives credit to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission, which he calls “the most business-friendly agency in the state by a factor of 100.” Celebrate it at a bar near you.
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