| Pied Cow Coffeehouse | |
|---|---|
 | |
 The restaurant's exterior in 2012 | |
 Interactive map of Pied Cow Coffeehouse | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Closed | September 2023 (2023-09) |
| Owner | Jimmy Chen |
| Location | 3244 SE Belmont Street,Portland,Multnomah,Oregon, 97214, United States |
| Coordinates | 45°30′59″N122°37′53″W / 45.51636°N 122.63138°W /45.51636; -122.63138 |
ThePied Cow Coffeehouse, or simply thePied Cow, was acoffeehouse andhookah lounge inPortland, Oregon'sSunnyside neighborhood, in the United States. The restaurant had an "eclectic" interior decor and, in addition to coffee drinks andhookah, servedfondue, desserts,mezze platters, and wine. It was known for being reportedly haunted by a woman named Lydia and had received generally positive reviews.
The Pied Cow appeared inRobyn Miller's 2013 filmThe Immortal Augustus Gladstone, which also featured acameo appearance by restaurant owner Jimmy Chen, and on theartwork forKyle Craft's 2018 albumFull Circle Nightmare. The restaurant closed in 2023, and theVictorian house was listed for sale.
The Pied Cow was acoffeehouse andhookah lounge along Belmont Street, housed in a reportedly hauntedVictorian house insoutheast Portland'sSunnyside neighborhood.[1] The menu included coffee-based drinks, cheesefondue,mezze platters,hummus, desserts,beer,[2] wine, tea,[3] andhookah.[1] Menus displayed quotes byFriedrich Nietzsche.[4] The interior was "eclectically decorated"[1] and had a "clutteredaltar dedicated to everyone fromNick Cave toBuddha".[4] Dylan Jefferies and Delaney White of theDaily Vanguard called the Pied Cow "whimsical", writing that "numerousVictorian paintings and eclectic items adorn the walls, and a staircase is built up like a kind of altar, with various flowers, silks and dolls ornamenting every step".[5]
According toThrillist, the restaurant'spatio was covered during winter months and thelawn was used during the summer months. The exterior had tall hedges and trees, as well as benches, plastic chairs, and "mismatched" lawn furniture.[6] The large white tent used for outdoor dining was illuminated by heat lamps andChristmas lights.[4] In 2014, a writer forThe Columbian said the Pied Cow had a "variedclientele".[3] In 2012,Willamette Week's John Locanthi said the establishment did not serve peopleunder the age of 21.[2] In contrast, in 2019 the paper said, "Anyone who grew up in Portland, especially in Southeast, knows the Pied Cow as a place to go to before turning 21."[1]
_-_062.jpg)
Before the Pied Cow, the house was occupied by a "lively" restaurant called Buttertoes.[5] The restaurant was opened by three sisters in 1979 and continued operating into the early 1990s. The walls hadmurals of fairies andmermaids.[7] In 1996, Jennifer "Jenny" Joyce paintedKeep on the Sunnyside, a ten-panel mural celebrating the "history and character" of the neighborhood, along SE 30th Avenue atBelmont. One of the panels depicts the house and theThaddeus Fisher House. Faded over time by multiple cleanings and neglect, the mural was repainted by the Portland Street Art Alliance, which supports muralists and otherstreet artists, with Joyce's permission in 2018.[8]
Robyn Miller's 2013mockumentary filmThe Immortal Augustus Gladstone about a "150-year-oldepilepticvampire withgay tendencies" was set in Portland and filmed in part at the Pied Cow. The restaurant's owner, Jimmy Chen, made acameo appearance. Described as "strangely poetic" byThe Washington Post, the film won Best Picture at the Oregon Independent Film Festival.[9] The photograph used asartwork forKyle Craft's 2018 albumFull Circle Nightmare was taken at the Pied Cow. Additionally, the restaurant served as a set for themusic video to Craft's song "Heartbreak Junky".[10]
In September 2023, the business announced plans to close.[11] The house was listed for $1.5 million,[12] and interior decorations were put up for sale.[13] Chen attributed the closure to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[14] The house sold in January 2024 and the restaurant Foxtrot opened in the space in late 2024.[15][16]
_-_7.jpg)
The building, which has housed Buttertoes and the Pied Cow, is reportedly haunted by a "kind and gentle" woman named Lydia,[5] who "made items fall off shelves in the kitchen on a regular basis".[7] In 2017,The Oregonian's Grant Butler said the house "looks like the perfect setting for a ghost story" and wrote, "What gained [Buttertoes] notoriety was its reputation for being haunted by a ghost named Aunt Lydia."[7] Jefferies and White described the apparition in more detail:
The Ghost of Aunt Lydia, as she is known, is reportedly a friendly and gracious ghost. She is known to be seen with her hair pinned up, wearing black boots and a high-collared dress... Aunt Lydia would often rearrange table settings and move things in the kitchen.[5]
The owners of Buttertoes hired apsychic who determined there was "a spirit was present in the home". A waitress reportedly resigned from the restaurant "after feeling so uncomfortable while closing by herself", according to Jefferies and White.[5] In 2009, a server who had worked for Pied Cow for three years described a sink where she had felt "creeped out", saying, "I've semi-frequently had the feeling of seeing someone come down the stairs and go into the office."[17] In 2013, employee Zachary Schauer recalled seeing Lydia after a long shift and said, "I just didn't give a shit and went upstairs. Several different people have seen her, and nothing really crazy has happened. It's a pretty typical young Catholic girl in a white dress kind of deal."[18]
In a 2009 overview ofPortland's reportedly haunted sites, Chen "declined to comment on the restaurant's alleged haunting. But in the kitchen, the wait staff buzzes with talk of the creepy basement."[17] Jefferies and White said the Pied Cow "certainly plays up the haunted vibe" and wrote in 2019, "Many believe that the Ghost of Aunt Lydia still haunts the quirky Victorian house, and patrons of the Pied Cow still keep an eye out for her while sipping mint tea and smoking ornate hookahs."[5]
_-_1.jpg)
In 2009, thePortland Mercury described the Pied Cow as a "pie shop/hookah bar/dispensary of all-around-delicious eats".[17]Portland Monthly has said, "If you're looking for an unusual coffee house experience, this place is it. Walking into the Pied Cow is like stepping into your great-grandmother's parlor, complete with 19th century furniture and an array of wall art. Adding to the quirk, there's hookah on the patio and solid marionberry pie."[19] In his 2012 book,Peaceful Places Portland, Paul Gerald wrote:
The lingering image after having a cup or plate at the Pied Cow could, depending on the season, be of anopium den, aCasbah, or a picnic on some hippie's farm. Inside, the room seems always dark, as if to be a retreat from light itself. Servers come and go from a tiny kitchen, and the looming space of the big old Victorian house adds a sense of mystery; not only does it feel somehow hidden from Belmont Street, but one is also left to wonder what's upstairs... At the Pied Cow it always seems like nighttime, but it's far from gloomy.[20]
_-_6.jpg)
In his 2012 guide to local hookah establishments, John Locanthi ofWillamette Week said the Pied Cow was dog-friendly and had "a more limited selection of flavors, mostly offering single fruit flavors". Furthermore, he opined, "The tranquilcourtyard is the perfect spot to take adate. Mellow music, elegant wooden benches and delicious snacks are the perfect accompaniments to a warm summer evening."[2] Jennifer Gilroy recommended the Pied Cow for hookah in her 2015 overview ofsmoking options in Portland.[21] In her article on the "best secret nooks andhidey-holes in Portland cafes", the newspaper's Shannon Gormley called the restaurant "a goth's approximation of anOld World cafe" and wrote in 2017, "Since the Pied Cow doubles as a late-night hookah bar, it's rarely crowded during regular coffee-shop hours, which makes the tiny tables pushed up against large windows perfect loner havens... [T]he tent houses a few tables, but during off hours, you're most likely to have it all to yourself."[4] In 2018, Lauren Yoshiko recommend thepecan pie "on the back patio (hookah optional), where there is often a very friendly neighborhood cat awaiting your attention".[22]
A writer forThe Columbian found the wait staff friendly and opined in 2014, "On a warm summer evening, the ample outdoor seating of Pied Cow under light-strung trees is just chill."[3] Thrillist called the Pied Cow "a Portland classic" and said the exterior landscaping will make you "feel like you're dining in your own private garden".[6]Zagat gave the Pied Cow ratings of 4.6 for food, 4.5 for decor, and 4.0 for service, each on a scale of 5. The guide said, "Beautiful meetsbohemian at this Sunnyside coffeehouseset in a grand Victorian, where regulars fall in love with the exquisite desserts and other sweet and savory nosh plates; the romantic patio doubles as a hookah garden, and while it can get crowded, it's still a date-worthy choice, especially on summer nights."[23]
