The Blue Monk was a bar,

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

, and

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

in southeast

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, in the United States. Upstairs featured a restaurant with an open kitchen serving mostly

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine (, ) is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp.101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes and List of cooking techniques, cooking techniques developed across the Italian Peninsula and late ...

, while downstairs hosted music performances in a variety of genres, but mostly jazz. The business closed in April 2014 after its lease was bought out by an undisclosed party.

Description

The Blue Monk was a bar and music venue located at 3341 Southeast Belmont Street, in the Belmont retail and residential district in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood. The venue mostly hosted a variety of music performances, but mostly jazz, the inspiration of its name. In her book ''Insiders' Guide to Portland, Oregon'', Rachel Dresbeck offers the following description of the venue:

The Blue Monk started out as a jazz venue but has now expanded into related genres—including swing dancing and belly dancing... The Blue Monk has a good happy hour, good free pool, and a good cheap cover as well. Upstairs is a fetching contemporary room with an open kitchen, where cooks are busy preparing spaghetti, shrimp scampi, and other mostly Italian dishes. Downstairs, Portland's finest musicians are jamming.''Insiders' Guide to Portland'': * *

History

In March 2014, members of

Portland Police Bureau The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officially the Portland Bureau of Police, is the law enforcement agency of the city of Portland, the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. While oversight of Portland's bureaus shifts among the five City ...

's Gang Enforcement Team, who were reportedly responding to the

fire marshal A fire marshal, in the United States and Canada, is often a member of a state, provincial or territorial government, but may be part of a building department or a separate department altogether. Fire marshals' duties vary but usually in ...

's report of overcrowding, limited venue access and blocked off the street during a concert scheduled to be headlined by

battle rap Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...

per and hip hop artist

Illmaculate Gregory Poe (born February 4, 1986), better known by his stage name Illmaculate (a.k.a. Illmac), is an American battle rapper and hip hop artist from St. Johns, Portland, Oregon. He attended Roosevelt High School in Portland. Career At age 1 ...

. However, to protest the police presence, Illmaculate left the venue before taking the stage, ending the basement show early. Following the incident, the rapper tweeted, "I will not perform in this city as long as the blatant targeting of black culture and minorities congregating is acceptable common practice." The show's disruption contributed to recent accusations from the local hip hop community that Portland Police was executing an "ongoing, targeted assault" on rap shows. In April 2014, the bar's lease was bought out by an undisclosed party. The Blue Monk closed permanently on April 29, and was replaced by

The Liquor Store The Liquor Store was a bar, restaurant, and music venue in Portland, Oregon. Established in 2015, the business operated in a space previously occupied by the Blue Monk, a jazz club and restaurant, in southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood ...

. Personnel offered little explanation, but said on Facebook:

After over a decade of providing entertainment to the Belmont area, The Blue Monk will be closing its doors on Tuesday, April 29th. We are proud to have become possibly the most diverse venue in Portland with a little bit of something for everyone, including poetry, literary events, belly dance, comedy, pop, folk, bluegrass, swing, rock, funk, soul, electronica, hip-hop, and of course, jazz. There is just one week to stop by to say farewell, check out some great live music, and/or enjoy your favorite menu items. We would love to see you before we go and extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the customers, performers, promoters, and employees that have made us who we are.

References

External links

* * * * {{Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon 2014 disestablishments in Oregon Defunct drinking establishments in Oregon Defunct Italian restaurants in Portland, Oregon Defunct jazz clubs in the United States Defunct music venues in Portland, Oregon Jazz clubs in Oregon Restaurants disestablished in 2014 Sunnyside, Portland, Oregon

Description

History

See also

References

External links