Portland’s First Real Bookstore Bar to Open in Sabin This Month [Updated]

Book nerds, rejoice: Sabin is getting a place where a gal can drink a beer and read in peace this month. Rose City Book Pub, coming soon to the recently closed County Cork space, is a bookstore-meets-bar-meets-restaurant with beer, wine, and comfy cafe-style menu.

Owner Elise Schumock, who grew up in Northeast Portland, originally hoped to open the bar and pub by October 14; instead, renovation and license delays are setting her back. It’s possible Rose City will open as just a bookstore, depending on the liquor license, but Schumock says it should be open “in some capacity within the week.” At the very least, the bar will be open before the grand opening November 3.

The bar will have towering walls of built-in bookshelves, a tiny living-room-style nook for book clubs and casual drinks, and a few hidden nooks quiet boozy book time. County Cork’s bar will stay intact, as well as its large community table and a pew or two. There, guests can choose from a handful of cocktails made with Northwest spirits, or one of the bar’s 20+ beers.

Rose City will also serve as a full-functioning bookstore, with a focus on used literature and children’s books. Schumock says, from what she’s seen, Portland is already dying for a good book bar. “Just yesterday, I turned away two people who wanted to come in with a book and a magazine,” Schumock said earlier this year. They should have no problem coming back for a hefe and a Harper’s by Halloween.

• Rose City Book Pub [Official]
• Rose City Book Pub [Facebook]
• Rose City Book Pub [Indiegogo]
• Irish Pub County Cork Says Goodbye to Sabin [EPDX]