John Bissell, the former Colorado chef who has run the award-winning Southeast Portland restaurant Ava Gene’s for the past two-and-a-half years, is leaving the restaurant to open Dream Deli, a new deli blending Italian and Jewish influences.
Inspired by the Italian and Jewish heritage of Bissell and his wife, Dream Deli co-owner and PR professional Jessie Levine, the upcoming project will open just one block east of Ava Gene’s on Southeast Division Street, taking over the Richmond neighborhood’s former Gone West boutique.
“We chose our favorite aspects of Italian and Jewish delis to create this dream version,” Levine said, explaining the name. “Also, we’ve been dreaming of some version of this concept for the duration of our 12-year relationship, and I think that John’s food has a dreamy element.”
Bissell, who was previously tied to Stone’s Throw, a Submarine Hospitality-backed “all-day cafe” envisioned for but never realized in the former Clyde Common space. The new deli will also focus on lunch and utilize Oregon products, but that’s where the similarities end — Dream Deli is an independent project from Bissell and Levine.
“Stone’s Throw was going to be an all-encompassing sit-down restaurant, with room service and in-room dining, and Dream Deli could not be more of the opposite,” Bissell said. “It’s 900-square-feet, a little over a dozen seats, and we’re just trying to find our place in the Richmond community.”
(On a side note, a recent visit for Ava Gene’s $45 multi-course Monday Night Supper shows that the restaurant has been in good hands — it was one of my favorite Ava Gene’s meals in memory. Bissell will remain on board for the next two months.)
A core lineup of sides, salads and sandwiches will anchor Dream Deli’s menu, from an Oregon whitefish melt to “the #19,” a pastrami or corned beef sandwich that’s a nod to Langer’s Deli in Los Angeles. But Bissell is still in whiteboard mode, with a “pretty fluid” list of items coming and going with the seasons, plus a limited pastry program bolstered by breads from the just-opened Good Dough bakery. Many of the meats will be made in house using pigs brought in from Revel Meats, a relationship Bissell has fostered at Ava Gene’s.
One other idea they’ve kicked around? “A Jewish wedding soup, taking cues from Italian wedding soup and matzo ball soup, little baby matzo balls, inlaid with tiny italian meatballs, served in a very comforting broth,” Bissell said.
“Oh, and beans,” Levine wrote in a follow-up email. “We really like beans!”
Dream Deli hopes to debut in fall, 2025 at 3542 S.E. Division St.
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com
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