Tokyo Sando to join Midtown Beer Garden months after announcing closure

Jashayla Pettigrew
·2 min read

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A popular Portland food cart is making a comeback just months after customers were saddened by news of its closure.

Tokyo Sando, defined by its freshly-made Japanese sandwiches, has relocated from its original spot on Southwest Second Avenue to Harvey Milk Street.

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In November 2023, owner Taiki Nakajima announced that his food cart would be closed until further notice as he took a trip to visit family in Japan. He first opened the business in February 2020, and said the almost four years since had been a “tough time” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We struggled to keep the business operating in the challenging times, but tried to stay open 7 days a week, because we didn’t know what else to do, other than keep open the cart,” Nakajima wrote in a since-deleted Instagram post. “Now, due to the condition of what Portland has become, we don’t know why we’re making Japanese food in Portland.”

That following month, hundreds of customers lined up for what they believed was Tokyo Sando’s final day in town. But it appears the food cart’s time in the city isn’t over.

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The owner recently announced that his business would be joining the Midtown Beer Garden. The space opened in August 2023 as a revitalized version of the city’s oldest food cart pod that had been rocked by an explosion the year before.

Midtown Beer Garden now holds more than 20 new and well-known food carts, with picnic seating for 300 people and an area for musical guests and other events.

Located on 431 SW Harvey Milk St., Tokyo Sando will reopen for business on Friday, Feb. 8 at 11:30 a.m. The food cart will continue serving Japanese sandwiches while supplies last.

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“We think we want to fall in love with the city of Portland again,” the owners said in a statement.

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