Baby Blue Pizza (sometimes Baby Blue Woodfired Pizza)[1] was a vegan pizzeria in Portland, Oregon.[2] The restaurant operated from July 2019 to January 2022, closing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Description
The restaurant served seven[3] vegan pizzas with sourdough crusts and toppings like meatless pepperoni.[4][5] Sometimes gluten-free crusts were used.[6]
History
Vegan chef Odie O'Connor, who previously worked at Gracie's Apizza, began operating Baby Blue as a food cart on Hawthorne Boulevard in southeast Portland in July 2019.[7] Approximately two years later, O'Connor related the business to the Rose City Food Park. He closed the cart for approximately one month during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing him to explore making other types of pizza and open a separate small pizzeria called Boxcar Pizza.[1][8][9] Like many restaurants during the pandemic, Baby Blue operated via take-out or bike courier delivery at times.[10][11] The restaurant closed in January 2022; employees were given the option to work at Boxcar Pizza.[12][13]
Reception
Michael Russell included Baby Blue in The Oregon's 2020 overview of Portland's five best new pizzerias. He said Baby Blue "stands out for the quality of its chewy, blistered dough" and was "leaning the charge" amongst the city's new vegan pizzerias.[14][15] The Portland Business Journal gave the business a rating of 5 stars.[16] Waz Wu included Baby Blue in Eater Portland's 2021 overview of "where to find knockout vegan pizza in Portland" and said, "This successful pop-up-turned-food-cart slings some of the most exciting vegan pizza in town."[17] Wu also included the business in a 2021 list of 13 "vegan food carts to visit in Portland and beyond".[18] Baby Blue was a nominee in the Best Vegan Pizzeria category of VegNews magazine's Veggie Awards in 2022.[12]
See also
- COVID-19 pandemic in Portland, Oregon
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the restaurant industry in the United States
- List of vegetarian restaurants
- Pizza in Portland, Oregon
External links
- , KOIN
References
- Ty Vinson. Vegan Detroit-style pizza joint set to open in The Zipper this August The Oregonian, 2020-07-14, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Nicole Piech-Gitenstein, Eric Gitenstein. Portland, Oregon Food Crawls: Touring the Neighborhoods One Bite and Libation at a Time Rowman & Littlefield, 2020-06-01^
- KOIN's Cart of the Week: Baby Blue Pizza KOIN.com, 2020-02-04, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Brooke Jackson-Glidden. A Guide to Portland's New Pizza Shops Eater Portland, 2019-12-16, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Brooke Jackson-Glidden. Beloved Japanese Bakery Oyatsupan Opens a Tiny Bakery Cafe in Tigard Eater Portland, 2019-01-09, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Suzette Smith. Takeout Club: A Former Detroiter's Review of Two New Detroit-Style Pizzerias Portland Mercury, retrieved 2022-12-27^
- Brooke Jackson-Glidden. A New Vegan Pizza Cart Is Coming to SE Hawthorne Eater Portland, 2019-07-10, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Brooke Jackson-Glidden. The Portland Independent Restaurant Alliance Calls for a Boycott of Grubhub Eater Portland, 2020-07-17, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Nicole Axworthy. Detroit-Style Vegan Pizza Shop to Open in Oregon VegNews, retrieved 2022-12-28^
- Waz Wu. Portland’s Vegan and Vegetarian Food Carts Open for Takeout and Delivery Eater Portland, 2020-05-28, retrieved 2024-05-12^
- Waz Wu. Portland Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants Offering Delivery and Takeout During the COVID-19 Outbreak Eater Portland, 2020-03-30, retrieved 2024-05-12^
- Waz Wu. Vegan Pizza Cart Baby Blue Will Close at the End of the Month Eater Portland, 2022-01-10, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Suzette Smith. Vegan, Wood-Fired Pizza Cart Baby Blue Announces It Will Close at the End of January Willamette Week, 2022-01-09, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Michael Russell. These are Portland's five best new pizzerias, from creative toppings to obsessed-over dough The Oregonian, 2020-01-30, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Michael Russell. Portland is in the midst of a vegan pizza boomlet, and Baby Blue Pizza is leading the charge The Oregonian, 2020-01-31, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Note: Slide 19. New restaurants 2019 Portland Business Journal, November 18, 2019^
- Waz Wu. Where to Find Knockout Vegan Pizza in Portland Eater Portland, 2018-10-17, retrieved 2022-01-19^
- Waz Wu. 13 Vegan Food Carts To Visit in Portland and Beyond Eater Portland, 2018-09-04, retrieved 2022-12-27^