Olive or Twist (sometimes Olive or Twist Martini Bar) is a cocktail bar in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
's
Pearl District
The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...
, in the United States.
Description
Olive or Twist is a cocktail bar in
northwest Portland
Northwest Portland is one of the sextants of Portland, Oregon, United States.
Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, most of Old Town Chinatown, the Northwest District, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of ...
's
Pearl District
The Pearl District is an area of Portland, Oregon, formerly occupied by warehouses, light industry and railroad classification yards and now noted for its art galleries, upscale businesses and residences. The area has been undergoing significan ...
. According to ''
Portland Monthly
''Portland Monthly'' (also referred to as ''Portland Monthly Magazine'') is a monthly news and general interest magazine which covers food, politics, business, design, events and culture in Portland, Oregon. The magazine was co-founded in 2003 b ...
'', the bar's name references "the Dickensian heyday of gin, as well as the two most common martini garnishes". The interior, described by the magazine as "understated", has low lighting and shades of beige, charcoal, and gray. The bar's floor-to-ceiling windows are partly frosted. The Rose City Martini has cucumber-infused Hendrick's gin, rose water, and lime. The Peruvian includes pepper vodka, mango, lime, and chiles as a garnish.
History
Olive or Twist was owned by Sam Fowler, as of 2011. The bar was referenced in a 2015 episode of the television series ''
Grimm
Grimm may refer to:
People
* Grimm (surname)
* Brothers Grimm, German linguists
** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist
** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm
* Christia ...
''.
Olive or Twist has been included in local lists of
Black-owned businesses
Black-owned businesses (or Black businesses), also known as African-American businesses, originated in the days of slavery before 1865. Emancipation and civil rights permitted businessmen to operate inside the American legal structure starting in ...
. In 2021, Olive or Twist was described as one of the city's oldest Black-owned businesses. For more than a decade, the bar hosted Da Gathering, a "casual" event for Black male professionals "to meet people with similar experiences, purposefully devoid of the formalities of a networking or career mixer".
Following
protests in the city over the
murder of
George Floyd, Fowler said: "Some of those activities have hijacked the message. When I hear people talk about all the issues that were going on last summer in particular with the
BLM
BLM most commonly refers to:
* Black Lives Matter, an international anti-racism movement and organization
* Bureau of Land Management, a U.S. federal government agency
BLM may also refer to:
Organizations
* BLM (law firm), United Kingdom and ...
, the violence had nothing to do with BLM. I just wanted to make sure people realize that they're like two factions. But once again, how do we get people that think breaking my window is going to solve a problem—how do we get them to the table? ... We did have to come to a reckoning. That's unfortunate, but sometimes that's what it takes. And like I said I just hope that as we come out on the other side, that it will be better."
Reception
''Portland Monthly'' said "Olive or Twist asserts itself like an impeccable—but very opinionated—host" and "the low noise level make Olive or Twist a nightspot for unwinding in relative seclusion without leaving the downtown scene".
[ In 2015, '']Portland Business Journal
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
'' readers voted Olive or Twist the best-named bar in Portland. ''Atlas Obscura
''Atlas Obscura'' is an American-based online magazine and travel company. It was founded in 2009 by author Joshua Foer and documentary filmmaker/author Dylan Thuras. It catalogs unusual and obscure travel destinations via user-generated conten ...
'' editors also selected the bar for a 2015 list of establishments with the best pun names.
See also
* List of Black-owned restaurants
Following is a list of notable Black-owned restaurants, sorted by location (of headquarters in cases of chains):
South Africa
* Mzoli's – Gugulethu
United States
Arkansas
* Jones Bar-B-Q Diner – Marianna
California
* Blaze Pizza – P ...
References
External links
*
*
Olive or Twist
at Zomato
Zomato () is an Indian multinational restaurant aggregator and food delivery company founded by Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah in 2008. Zomato provides information, menus and user-reviews of restaurants as well as food delivery options fro ...
{{Restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Black-owned restaurants in the United States
Drinking establishments in Oregon
Pearl District, Portland, Oregon
Restaurants in Portland, Oregon
Year of establishment missing