Northwest Dining Star Will Preisch Opens New Farm-Driven Restaurant 82 Acres

The afternoon before 82 Acres opens, executive chef Will Preisch is feeling good. On Wednesday, February 19, he’ll open the doors to his new restaurant, and it marks his return to Portland’s dining scene after leaving during the pandemic. There’s been a few trial runs, and the kitchen feels comfortable. He’s the first chef to take over the Quaintrelle space since the seminal tasting menu outfit closed in fall 2024.

At Preisch’s restaurant, however, diners can order a la carte, and those looking for bites and large plates alike are accommodated. The idea here is to put an accessible, farm-driven menu out for the neighborhood. That’s because since working at Holdfast Dining in 2020, Preisch has worked as the chef at the, yes, 82-acre large Abbey Road Farm. There’s a half-chicken that takes three days to prepare with brown butter jus and herbs de Provence, sunchokes prepared with maple and miso butter, plus other dishes prepared with herbs, eggs, garnishes, and pork and lamb from down the (farm) road. Arriving in the near future: a cheese cart with imported and local cheeses from Cowbell, plus honey and jam from Abbey Road. The farm is also why it’s been no problem for them to get eggs, either. “Our egg production is bonkers right now,” Presich says. “No hits of bird flu at all.”

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Drinks at the new restaurant come by way of Abbey Road Farm, too. The farmhouse is a winery and tasting room with a major bed and breakfast attachment. That’s where Preisch designed the five-course menu for guests — he’ll continue to be the executive chef over there, as well. The wines at 82 Acres will feature Abbey Road’s 16 varietals of grapes, in addition to international and local favorites. There’s a tiny three-seat bear at the restaurant for old-school cocktails and a few modern riffs. Non-alcoholic options include the Forbidden Fruit of Wilderton, featuring pomegranate, orgeat, and lime for the booze-less. Two desserts wrap the starting menu, including a date cake with yeasted caramel and whipped cream.

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Quaintrelle ran for eight years before closing, and there’s a nifty throughline: 82 Acres chef de cuisine Ray Leferink worked at the former restaurant, per the Oregonian. Preisch worked not just at Holdfast, which closed in 2020, but major institution Le Pigeon and Jeremy Fox’s vegetable paradise Ubuntu in Napa Valley.

This neighborhood restaurant, coupled with the technique and intentionality, is exactly how Preisch wants to make his return to the city’s scene. The farm and garden he’s come to love is now bolstering his dream project. A week before opening, he sat down with his chefs back at the farm and his chefs at the new restaurant. They worked with culinary farmer Katelyn Sharpe at Abbey Road to plan all the produce they want to seed now for menus later in the year. “We have control from what gets planted to what gets on the plate,” Preisch says. “I love Portland.”

82 Acres (2032 SE Clinton St, Portland) opens Wednesday, February 19 with hours Wednesday through Sunday, 5 p.m. to close.

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