The Restaurant Formerly Known as Beast Will Transition Into a Gourmet Market

The new concept will also allow customers to experience Naomi Pomeroy’s prix-fixe dinners through a series called Dining In.

(Hilary Sander)
By Andi Prewitt

After a nearly eight-month slumber, Beast will reemerge as an entirely new entity.

Naomi Pomeroy's famed supper club is set to become a market with gourmet goods sourced from local purveyors. Ripe Cooperative, which revives the name of her restaurant group launched with ex-husband Michael Hebb, should open by the end of November, Portland Monthly first reported.

After Multnomah County transitioned into Phase 1 of Gov. Kate Brown's COVID-19 reopening plan, Beast was among the city's restaurants least likely to start serving customers again. The tiny communal dining room on Northeast 30th Avenue just couldn't feasibly recoup its operating costs under current physical distancing requirements.

Last spring, there was speculation that Pomeroy would not reopen her prix-fixe operation after she posted an announcement about a closure on Instagram before it was deleted. Then last month, Pomeroy confirmed that a different concept would take over the Beast space.

Now we have a clearer idea of what that will look like.

Ripe Cooperative will offer shoppers "a selection of things we consider essential," according to an email sent to Beast subscribers today. Those items include fine wines, custard-based ice cream, freshly baked bread, handmade pasta and other specialty pantry ingredients.

The market will also allow customers to experience the James Beard Award-winning chef's dinners through a series called Dining In. The four-course set menus will change monthly and feature themes (land, air, sea and field). You can purchase those à la carte or order a regular subscription.

Related: Chef Naomi Pomeroy Is Closing Her Iconic Restaurant Beast and Starting a New Concept In Its Place.

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