Why These Portland Shops Are Fighting Over Matcha

From a post-fire comeback to matcha mania, here’s what’s brewing in Portland’s food and drink scene.

Stumptown Keurig Pods?

The beverage conglomerate Keurig Dr Pepper is acquiring JDE Peet’s, the parent company of Stumptown Coffee Roasters, for $18 billion. The company will split into two in 2026, with one focusing on cold beverages and another on coffee products. No word on how the sale will affect Stumptown employees, 70% of which are based in Portland, nor which side gets Stumptown's iconic cold brew. [Portland Business Journal 🔒]

RingSide Returns After Blaze

RingSide Steakhouse has reopened after a kitchen fire forced a four-month closure. Originally opened in 1944, it’s one of Portland’s oldest family-run restaurants. Word on the street is that the dining room and menu look almost identical to what they were before the fire. [OPB]

Chocolatier Opening New and Improved Workshop Space

Creo Chocolate is opening its third location in the Piedmont neighborhood in September — the space will be dedicated to its production tours and build-a-bar workshops for customers to make their own chocolate. The grand opening is scheduled for Sept. 13. [Oregonian 🔒]

A Matcha Dustup

Pop-up cafe Whisk & Bloom has been selling some of the most sought-after matcha in the world since it opened in 2024, but recently received a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action if it didn’t stop selling the Japanese Marukyu Koyamaen tea. The letter was from Nara Tea, another Portland shop claiming it had exclusive rights to sell the matcha in the United States — a claim it later walked back. The disagreement is part of the growing pains in a rapidly-expanding matcha market. [Portland Eater]