LaVerne's

LaVerne's is a retro neighborhood bar, restaurant, and event space that opened in September 2025 in Portland's Woodlawn neighborhood, occupying a 1909 building at 700 NE Dekum Street that still includes the historic Village Ballroom. It comes from the team behind Dig A Pony and Hey Love, led by Sophie Thomson and Aaron Hall with co-owner Lauren Kawa Funk. The owners built the venue around a playful fictional backstory of a bar "frozen in place somewhere around 1986" — wood paneling, vinyl and fringed booths, soda-fountain barstools, and a rotisserie centerpiece — with a soundtrack of postwar-through-early-'80s soul, jazz and country.

The food leans into Yucatán-style comfort fare anchored by achiote- and ancho-rubbed rotisserie chicken, street tacos, nachos and red pozole, with a notably deep roster of vegetarian and vegan options. The drink program is intentionally unpretentious, and its non-alcoholic menu is listed alongside the cocktails rather than as an afterthought: verified zero-proof options include the NA Spicy Passionfruit Margarita, the Verdita (pineapple, lime, mint, cilantro, jalapeño), and an Oregon Blackberry Soda, plus non-alcoholic beer including N.A. PBR and N.A. Guinness and rotating NA wine. Dry-January coverage has also highlighted a "Parch NA Margarita" built with the Parch non-alcoholic agave spirit.