BY JASON COHEN NDAMUKONG AND KATYA SUH are eating chicken tenders. His order includes both regular and Nashville Hot, while she picked out the sauces (honey mustard, spicy peach and “Comeback”). There’s also fries — for him, though Katya had already announced her intention to swipe a couple. “That’s fine,” her husband replies. It’s a perfect early-summer Portland day at Bae’s Chicken on Northeast Alberta Street, where the Suhs are meeting up with Oregon Business for an interview — and yes, this entire moment is a celebrity profile cliché. But in this case, the cliché is not only intentional but appropriate. Ndamukong Suh conceived and co-founded Bae’s with longtime Portland restaurant guru Micah Camden (cofounder of Little Big Burger, Blue Star Donuts and SuperDeluxe, the latter of which includes Suh as an investor). And this particular Bae’s — there’s also one in Portland’s Old Town, as well as a concession at the Moda Center — is in a building called Alberta Alley, which is owned by HMS Development, a company Ndamukong cofounded. The indoor/outdoor space at the corner of Alberta and Northeast 30th is Katya, which opened in December and takes its inspiration from music, art and sneaker culture (including Katya’s online “Kicks & Cocktails” video series, which, yes, features both cool sneakers and delicious cocktails). “Kaya’s going to be one that I hope changes the way in which cocktails are done in the city of Portland,” Katya says. “And everywhere.” ⁄Profile⁄ Hometown Heroes Ndamukong and Katya Suh throw down roots in Northeast Portland. also home to a location of Camden’s Boxer, as well as Kinnamons, an over-the-top cinnamon-bun concept owned by MMMCo and Ndamukong’s Generals Restaurant Group. (In mid-December, new locations of Boxer and Kinnamons opened in Beaverton’s Cedar Hills Crossing.) And last but not least, Kaya, a high-end cocktail bar conceived and run by Ndamukong and Katya Suh in Alberta Alley in Northeast Portland PHOTOS BY JASON E. KAPLAN 20
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==