In the works: a new food hub in Portland

You know about the Urban Farm Fermentory and all its award-winning kombucha, cider, and other deliciousness. But UFF founder and head idea-man Eli Cayer has taken over the lease of a former taxi garage right next door on Anderson Street and is driving it in a fascinating new direction.

Normal 0 false false false

Cayer's a big idea guy, and he's been dreaming about progressive, grass-roots ways to make Portland a better city for more than a decade now. (Remember the Hub? Or the plan to dispense biodiesel from a site downtown? Or the cycle-rickshaws that long predated the ones now pedaling the city streets?)

In the former ABC Taxi headquarters (the company moved to Bishop Street recently, out off Warren Avenue), Cayer has gotten contracts and city permits for the kernel of something he hopes will be much bigger.

In the coming weeks, the Portland Phoenix will be exploring different aspects of this new endeavor, including talking with the businesses that will be moving there and setting up operations.

At the moment, things are still getting prepped. Here's a look at the space as it was last week, with the UFF van parked inside. There's a big wide-open room in which construction has begun to split it smaller work areas for production of local food.

Take a peek here, and tell us in the comments what you think Cayer should include in this fascinating nascent project!