This Albina Avenue Bar Just Relaunched with Italian Sandwiches and Big Cookies

Victoria Bar, the 10-year-old NE Portland bar, is getting a major menu facelift. Victoria is set to change over to owner Adam LeBeau’s eponymous sandwich and Italian food residency LeBeau Fine Goods starting Wednesday, July 9.

“I love sandwiches more than anything in the world,” says LeBeau, who c0-owns the Lightning Bar Collective, which includes Victoria, Bar June, and the Uncanny. “If you give me a sandwich and a cookie I’ll be happy as hell.”

LeBeau’s schiacciata sandwiches, which will be available for lunch and dinner, are a Sicilian (or Tuscan, depending on who you ask) riff on focaccia — slightly thinner than focaccia, they’re meant to work as a bread for any time of the day. Expect many vegan and vegetarian options, such as a miso mushroom sandwich and a vegan Italian with plant-based salami and ham. That said, the meaty sandwiches — including prosciutto and truffle honey, turkey pesto, and Caprese — aim to please, too. Familiar Victoria menu items like the Buffalo cauliflower and other crowd pleasers won’t go anywhere; the vegan-friendly brunch menu, a hit all in its own right, remains untouched from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

On the cookie front, another LeBeau side hustle answers those cravings. He started Sticky Boy cookies as its own LLC, using the same kitchen at Victoria. The cookies sit in jars on the bar, wide-brim-looking treats like miso brown butter with chocolate chunks. “In the first three weeks I’ve sold $1,000 worth of cookies just from the bar top,” LeBeau says.

Still, night life in Portland broadly has suffered, he says, and he hopes LeBeau and Sticky Boy can be a part of bringing energy back to the scene. After starting three bars, he says he’s seen a big shift toward the nonalcoholic scene and robust food offerings cannot be ignored. He says what used to be a 70 percent booze and 30 percent food split has evened out closer to a 50-50 in all of his bars.

If he and other owners are to bring Portland out in droves again, he says this is a good place to start. “I hope this takes Victoria back to what it used to be: a great bar, with great food, and great energy,” LeBeau says.

Le Beau Fine Foods (inside Victoria Bar at 4835 N Albina Avenue) is open 4 p.m. to midnight Monday through Thursdays, noon to 1 a.m. Fridays, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays, and 9 a.m. to midnight Sundays.