Portland, Oregon, is experiencing an economic rebirth led by BIPOC entrepreneurs.

Celeste Noche

The backstory of Kann, a wood-fired Haitian restaurant, is not your typical rise-from-the-ashes tale.

His Caribbean-meets-Pacific Northwest cuisine immediately found a following.

The Portland Skyline, seen from across the river

The Portland skyline.Credit:Celeste Noche

Soon after, Gourdet landed an elegant permanent home on Southeast Ash Street.

Kanns ascent stands out as a bright spot in a city that has recently gone through some dark patches.

Retailers like REI shuttered stores, camps for the unhoused sprung up, and real estate values sank.

Pair of photos from Portland, one showing red wine being poured into a glass, and one showing Michelle and Charles, the owners of a bookshop

From left: A wine tasting at Abbey Creek; Michelle Lewis and Charles Hannah of Third Eye Books.Celeste Noche

But an unexpected silver lining has emerged.

It is a remarkable shift for a city with a complex racial history.

As recently as 2016, Portland was dubbed the whitest city in America by theAtlantic.

Pair of photos from Barnes & Morgan in Portland, OR, one showing the owner, Amir, and one showing the exterior of the shop

From left: Amir Morgan of Barnes & Morgan, a teahouse and boutique; Barnes & Morgan.Celeste Noche

Now that image is finally changing, as entrepreneurs like Gourdet help lead Portlands revitalization.

This break in the clouds can be seen all over Portland.

The area still had a slightly forlorn air, with stores boarded up and a few tent villages.

Pair of photos from Kann restaurant in Portland, one showing the dining room, and one showing the chef plating dishes

From left: The dining room at Kann; Kann’s chef, Gregory Gourdet.Celeste Noche

But there were success stories, too.

Everything else around us was boarded up.

Operating downtown was an opportunity I never thought Id have, Faustin said.

Pair of photos from the Hotel Grand Start in Portland, one showing the lobby, and one showing a guest room

From left: The lobby of Hotel Grand Stark; a guest room at the hotel.Celeste Noche

It gave me inspiration to think bigger.

A lot of positive things have happened in Portland to weigh against the gloom and doom, Faustin said.

The past few years have actually been the best time ever to be an entrepreneur here.

Bertony Faustin serving wine at Abbey Creek Vineyard

Winemaker Bertony Faustin at Abbey Creek Vineyard’s tasting room.Celeste Noche

But until five years ago, none of the citys bookstores was Black-owned.

They specialized in Black authors.

They created an online store, but had zero sales, Hannah said.

Exterior of the Hotel Grand Stark in Portland, Oregon

The historic building that houses Hotel Grand Stark.Celeste Noche

Everything changed when the protests began.

People wanted to be knowledgeable about what was going on in their communities, he said.

Overnight we went from selling two copies ofHow to Be an Antiracistto sixty a month.

People riding bikes along the river in Portland, OR

Cyclists along the Eastbank Esplanade.Celeste Noche

The community embraced us, Hannah said.

Oprah featured the store in her magazine, and big-name writers like Jacqueline Woodson held readings.

Now we have 15,000 followers on Instagram, and people come here from all over the world.

A girl reads a book in a bookshop

A young reader at Third Eye Books.Celeste Noche

She offers sound baths, sleep therapy, and Reiki.

Third Eye Books offers nourishment for the mind, Lewis said.

This offers nourishment for the body and soul.

A colorful dish at a restaurant in Portland, served on a pink plate

A Haitian-inspired dish of pork, fried plantains, pickled vegetables, and avocado at Kann.Celeste Noche

The citys economic downturn has also allowed underrepresented entrepreneurs to experiment with less conventional shops.

The 2020 crisis opened me up to possibilities, he said.

Members of the community, he said, helped him find a space with good rent.

The interior of the Barnes & Morgan shop in Portland

Shopping for clothing and tea at Barnes & Morgan.Celeste Noche

For Morgan, who grew up Muslim in North Carolina, a teahouse is a place of connection.

And when a railway station opened nearby in 1896, it brought Black people who worked on the trains.

Old Town became a thriving African-American community.

It was also inclusive, with Japanese, Chinese, and Jewish communities.

Morgan wanted to re-create that social mix.

Last year he partnered with Kann to give reservations to the first 300 shoppers on a summer Saturday.

More than a thousand people came out, Morgan said.

The line went for blocks.

Visitors saw firsthand that Old Town was not terrible.

The community realized that were stronger together.

A version of this story first appeared in the October 2024 issue ofTravel + Leisureunder the headline Silver Linings.