Burger Stevens’ Takeout-Only Italian Spinoff Will Become a Permanent Restaurant

Another pandemic pivot is going permanent.

When COVID-19 first shut down Portland last year, chef Don Salamone, owner of the popular burger cart Burger Stevens, took the opportunity to convert his takeaway window at eastside night spot Dig A Pony to home-style Italian food of the sort he used to eat at home growing up—literally, many of the menu items were old family recipes.

Related: Chef Don Salamone Makes One of Portland’s Best Burgers. But It Took a Pandemic for Him to Start Cooking the Food Closest to His Heart.

It proved popular enough that, with Dig A Pony reopening this past weekend, he’s kept the pop-up going, serving chicken Parm heros, gnocchi alla vodka, fried calamari and an Italian sausage smash burger.

And then, next year, Stevens Italiano is going brick-and-mortar.

As first reported by Eater, the restaurant will be located at 12055 SW 1st St. in Beaverton. There, Salamone will serve pastas, brick chicken and large entrees, along with cocktails at a full bar.

“We’re going for a midcentury vibe, East Coast Italian, à la Rochester,” Salamone told Eater. “It won’t have red-checkered tablecloths, but I’m hoping for black-and-white-checkered floors, some of the stereotypical shit. It’s just a little more of an updated version.”

He aims to open in spring 2022.