The Portland Expo Center announces a new dining and entertainment option for visitors, customers and exhibitors. The West Delta Bar & Grill will debut on opening day of the 51st Annual Portland Boat Show Jan. 12.
Designed as an inviting and casual bar and grill, the menu focuses on “comfort foods,” such as homemade meatloaf, but also features burgers, sandwiches and salads using fresh, local ingredients. Oregon craft-brewed beers, Northwest wines and locally-distilled spirits will be highlighted and diners can enjoy a variety of sports events on four flat- screen televisions. During the boat show, which runs Jan. 12 - 16, Expo visitors, neighbors and customers of surrounding businesses can catch the National Football League play-off games on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 15 and 16.
“We’re thrilled to enhance the visitor experience at the Expo Center with the West Delta Bar & Grill,” said Portland Expo Center Director Chris Bailey. “We’ll continue to offer traditional consumer show concessions, but the bar and grill will fill a niche that our customers have wanted for some time.”
Named after the location of the Portland Expo Center – near Delta Park in North Portland - the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner during most scheduled event dates. The Expo event calendar can be found easily online by visiting www. expocenter.org. Outdoor patio seating will be available in the warmer months.
“Opening the West Delta Bar & Grill is smart business move,” said Peter O’Loughlin, whose company, O’Loughlin Trade Shows, produces popular consumer shows including the Portland Boat Show, Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show/Sport Fishing Boat Show and the Portland Home and Garden Show. “Customers always enjoy our shows at Expo but now we can significantly improve their experiences by offering a friendly place to eat a family meal or enjoy a microbrew while watching the game. Exhibitors are really looking forward to it as well; it gives them a chance to step away from the show floor masses, chat in comfort with a customer and ‘close the deal’ with clients.”
The Portland Expo Center has served as the region’s primary destination for public events and consumer shows for over 35 years. Originally constructed in the 1920s to function as the region’s agriculture commodities trading destination, the 50-acre campus is comprised of buildings offering modern, multi-purpose exhibition and meeting spaces totaling 333,000 square feet.
Located at 2060 N. Marine Drive, near I-5 and on the TriMet Interstate MAX yellow line, Expo offers 11 meeting rooms, professional catering facilities, parking for 2,500 vehicles and acres of outdoor exhibition space. Nearly 500,000 local and traveling visitors attend an average of 100 events each year. Expo generates on average $35 million in regional economic impact, $1 million in state and local taxes and supports hundreds of local jobs.
The Portland Expo Center joins the Oregon Convention Center, Portland Center for the Performing Arts and Oregon Zoo as the family of visitor venues owned and/or managed by Metro, the regional government. Metro serves 1.5 million people who live in the 25 cities and three counties of the Portland metropolitan area, and provides planning and other services that protect the nature and livability of our region.