All-Day Cafe Favorite Fair Weather Returns With a Beautiful New Clinton Street Space in Portland

A COVID-struck pop-up makes a triumphant return to a growing Portland restaurant strip. Fair Weather has taken over the former Jacqueline space, both businesses owned by the Fake Empire restaurant group. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian-inspired seafood outfit Jacqueline moved into the former La Moule location a few blocks down the road at 2500 SE Clinton Street last fall.

Fair Weather was a popular pop-up for coffee and pastries, but owner and chef Derek Hanson shut it down in 2021. Though the breezy morning service stayed at the major seafood spot, Fair Weather’s own vibe was cut off before its time. Now, as of the first week of February, the all-day cafe is officially back with a bright and airy location. The newcomer is open from 8 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday. “The old neighborhood regulars are coming back in,” Hanson says. “It’s been a lot of fun.”

A lot of the whimsical and decadent items that made Fair Weather a hit before are back. Jasmine rice porridge bowls with shiitake mushrooms, bok choy, and drizzles of chile crisp are back. The yeasted waffle with hazelnut praline butter is back. The shrimp and grits are back. And those old-school cruller doughnuts tossed in cinnamon and sugar are so back.

Fair Weather

Fair Weather

Fair Weather

That’s all thanks to chef Cici Wollack, the new head chef at Fair Weather and a Michigan born-and-raised who’d worked at Jacqueline ever since she moved to Portland. Prior to the West Coast move, she cut her teeth at colorful Ann Arbor institutions Black Pearl and Blue Llama Jazz Club and Restaurant. The coffee here comes from Portland wunderkind Dear Francis, known for smart design and smarter blends. Dinners are on the horizon in about three weeks for Fair Weather, as well. Think wine bites: kumquat-topped duck confit pierogies on the small side, with pasta and lobster-topped porridge for mains.

When the pandemic made hay of restaurants throughout the country, Jacqueline was especially hard hit. Hanson says to-go seafood and oysters, shockingly, didn’t do well. After a few months, the business went dark, shutting down in fall 2020. In fact, he says four out of five businesses went out of business on the corridor. Then, in 2021, he retooled Jacqueline into Fair Weather. But that meant Fair Weather went the way of the dinosaur in the summer of 2021.

Allie Defrang

A few new businesses are marking the return of the strip, though, such as the farm-forward 82 Acres, the newest venture from Abbey Road Farms and chef Will Preisch. Hanson says the former Houston Black Light space will get a new tenant any day now. It was when his friends bought the old La Moule spot and invited Jacqueline to relocate in November 2024 that all the stars aligned for Fair Weather’s comeback. “That worked out great,” Hanson says. “I got a shiny new space for Jacqueline, and Fair Weather worked so great out of the space we were in.”

In a perfect world, Fair Weather is a big part of restoring Clinton Street’s communal energy. Events, everything from private parties to wine pours from local producers, are big on Hanson’s radar. He had a lot of time during COVID with his family, and time to explore the Belmont neighborhood mainstays. Red Sauce Pizza became a weekly tradition with his nine-year-old son. Prince Coffee and Beaux Berry Ice Cream joined the roster. It means the world to him to get that attitude and environment moving with this new-familiar project. “I’d like to be that type of place,” Hanson says. “It’s been a roundabout way, but we’re getting there.”

Fair Weather (2039 SE Clinton Street) is open at 8 a.m. for coffee and 9 a.m. for brunch Wednesday through Sunday.

Allie Defrang