Lil' America

Lil' America
Opening date	April 2023
Address	1015 Southeast Stark Street Portland, Oregon, United States
Lil' America
Coordinates: 45°31′10″N122°39′20″W / 45.5195°N 122.6555°W / 45.5195; -122.6555

Lil' America is a food pod (or group of food carts) in Portland, Oregon's Buckman neighborhood, in the United States.

Description and history

The pod opened at Stark Street and 10th Avenue in southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood in April 2023, ^{[1] [2]} in the space previously occupied by MidCity SmashedBurger. ^[3] Businesses in the pod are LGBTQ- and/or BIPOC-owned. ^[4] The project is a collaboration between ChefStable and the restaurant group Win Win. ^{[5] [6]} KOIN has described Win Win as an "organization that creates equitable and sustainable opportunities in the food industry for the queer and trans community". ^[7]

On August 29, 2025, owner ChefStable asked three vendors to leave by the end of October: Hawker Station, Makulít, and Speed-O Cappuccino. The decrease in the number of vendors is a result of the expansion of neighboring Dos Hermanos Bakery. Frybaby also announced plans to relocate by then. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Tenants

Entrance, 2025

Tenants, which pay a monthly flat fee to operate in the pod, ^[11] have included:

• Bake on the Run (Guyanese cuisine) ^{[12] [13]}
• Câche Câche ^{[14] [15]}
• Drip'n Crab ^[12]
• Flame Pizza ^[16]
• Frybaby ^{[17] [18]} (Korean fried chicken) ^[13]
• Hawker Station ^[12]
• Los Plebes ^[12]
• Makulit (Filipino cuisine), ^{[13] [19] [20]} the first to sign on to the project ^[21]
• Noah Halal ^[22]
• Speed-O Cappuccino ^[12]

Frybaby was named Food Cart of the Year by The Oregonian in 2023. ^[23]

See also

• Food carts in Portland, Oregon
• LGBTQ culture in Portland, Oregon

References

1. Wong, Janey (2022-10-31). "Meet the Five Food Carts Coming to Southeast Portland's Lil' America Pod". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
2. "Grand opening for Lil' America food cart pod draws foodies to SE Portland". kgw.com. 2023-04-01. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
3. "New, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+-Focused Food Cart Pod to Open in Southeast Portland". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
4. "Meet the Food Carts at Lil' America, Portland's Most Exciting New Pod". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2024-03-27. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
5. Russell, Michael (2023-04-01). "Meet Lil' America, Portland's new BIPOC/LGBTQ-focused food cart pod". The Oregonian . Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
6. Sorenson, Saundra (May 25, 2023). "Two Months In, Lil' America Providing 'Safe Space' for BIPOC- and LGBTQ+-Owned Food Trucks to Thrive". The Skanner . Archived from the original on October 3, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
7. "Kohr Explores: Portland food cart pod features BIPOC, LGBTQ+ chefs". KOIN.com. 2023-04-19. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
8. Hamilton, Katherine Chew (2025-09-15). "Portland's Entirely BIPOC- and LGBTQ-Owned Food Cart Pod Is Undergoing a Huge Shakeup". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
9. "Lil' America food cart owners say they were told to leave by management within 60 days". kgw.com. 2025-09-19. Retrieved 2025-09-20.
10. "SE food carts forced to exit as Dos Hermanos expands bakery". Portland Business Journal.
11. "A new Portland food cart pod is uplifting BIPOC and LGBTQI+ chefs". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Archived from the original on 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
12. Russell, Michael (2023-04-01). "Here are Lil' America's 7 BIPOC/LGBTQ-owned food carts". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-09-08. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
13. "9 Hellos and 6 Goodbyes: Portland's Biggest Restaurant Moves of 2023". Portland Monthly. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
14. "Câche Câche, the New Semi-Secret Seafood Spot, Is Swimming in Flavor". Willamette Week. 2023-07-12. Archived from the original on 2024-01-03. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
15. Russell, Michael (2023-04-05). "Cache Cache is an upcoming raw seafood bar that will vanish each night". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
16. Nakamura, Beth. "Flame Pizza food cart in Southeast Portland". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2023-10-15. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
17. Meagher, Sean. "Frybaby food cart - oregonlive.com". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
18. Wong, Janey (2023-02-28). "Frybaby's Sunny Hatch Is Reconnecting With His Heritage Through Korean Fried Chicken". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-09-30. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
19. "Makulít's Filipino American Fast Food Mashups Are an Early Standout at the New Lil' America Cart Pod". Willamette Week. 2023-05-10. Archived from the original on 2023-06-03. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
20. Wong, Janey (2023-03-10). "Filipino American Fast Food Cart Makulít Is Slinging Longganisa-Beef Burgers in Southeast". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-09-21. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
21. Wong, Janey (2022-08-02). "This New Food Cart Pod Will Exclusively Feature BIPOC and LGBTQ-Owned Carts". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2024-03-27.
22. Hamilton, Katherine Chew (2025-09-15). "Portland's Entirely BIPOC- and LGBTQ-Owned Food Cart Pod Is Undergoing a Huge Shakeup". Eater Portland. Retrieved 2025-09-15.
23. Russell, Michael (2023-09-25). "With Korean fried chicken and snow cheese, Frybaby is Portland's 2023 Food Cart of the Year". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2024-04-22.

External links

• Official website