Franchise Opportunities in Portland, OR

The City of Portland is distributing $500,000 in digital gift cards in an effort to shore up businesses in downtown Portland and a Southeast Portland marketplace.

The city is partnering with Portland-based Kuto, a payment processing startup, to distribute the $50 digital gift cards. But to get gift cards, you’ll need to jump through some hoops.

First, you’ll need to download Kuto’s free app from Google Play or the Apple Store and add your bank account information to get started. The gift cards are only being issued during certain events at various business districts. The next opportunity in downtown is Wednesday May 11th, at Columbia Square, 111 SW Columbia, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. People who are in that location can claim a gift card to spend at 100 participating retailers and restaurants.

City officials say the goal is to drive a stronger recovery of small businesses in the area that took a big hit due to the lack of office workers and tourism downtown. The initiative was organized by the city, Worksystems, Prosper Portland, Business for a Better Portland, Portland State University, Bricks Need Mortar, Downtown Clean and Safe, and Kuto. The money comes from local and federal COVID-19 relief programs, including funds approved by the Portland City Council in last month’s spring budget adjustment.

The program launched on Wednesday at Pioneer Courthouse Square, but at least 4,000 downtown gift cards are still available on a first come, first served basis, according to Kiyo Kubo, CEO and co-founder of Kuto.

Portland Mayor Tom Wheeler said the presence of downtown workers is “critical to the revitalization of the city” and that “these dollars and customer relationships will make a difference to shops and restaurants that have been hardest hit during the pandemic.”

While the program’s first round will give $50 gift cards to 5,000 people who live or work in downtown Portland, a second effort will launch Saturday at the Portland Mercado as part of the Makers de Mayo event. Kuto app users can claim $50 in digital gift cards to spend at retailers and restaurants at the Mercado and Foster-Powell neighborhood.

Those who claim the $50 credits have two weeks to use the money before it expires, Kubo said. Unused funds will be returned to the program to be given out at future events.

The Mercado is a Latin American public marketplace developed by the nonprofit Hacienda Community Development Corp., on city-owned property and with financial support from the city. It opened in 2015.

In total, the city aims to distribute 10,000 Kuto gift cards. The remaining funds after the downtown and Portland Mercado events will be used in similar efforts to support other Portland business districts, city officials said.

“I think it’s a really wonderful program because the city is giving citizens $500,000 and the only way they can spend it is at local businesses,” Kubo said. “So, all of that money just flows directly to these businesses as $500,000 in income.”

-- Kristine de Leon, [email protected], 503-221-8506

The waiting game: The Winterhawks became the first team to advance to the second round of playoffs after sweeping the Prince George Cougars. It was the Winterhawks’ first sweep since 2014. They will now meet the Seattle Thunderbirds in the second round. This marks the first time these two teams have met in the post-season since 2015.

Battle with Seattle: The Thunderbirds ended the regular season only five points behind the Hawks, and only one place behind them in the division and the conference. To get here, Seattle eliminated the Kelowna Rockets in five games, 4-1. In their first three games with Kelowna, the Thunderbirds won by a wide margin of victory: 6-0, 7-3, 5-1. It wasn’t so easy in the next two overtime games, but they did it. Top names on the scoresheets were the usual suspects: Henrik Rybinski, Jordan Gustafson, Jared Davidson, Kevin Korchinski and Lukas Svejkovsky.

Scouting report: 53 WHL players are listed on NHL Central Scouting’s final draft rankings. Portland forward James Stefan is ranked 157th and import defenseman Mark Alscher is listed at 177th. Three players and one goalie from the Thunderbirds are listed: Kevin Korchinski (7th), Reid Schaefer (31st), Jordan Gustafson (43rd), and Thomas Milic (28th among goaltenders).

Game changer: Goaltender Taylor Gauthier picked up his first playoff shutout with 28 saves in last Tuesday’s Game 3 victory, then stopped 29 of 30 shots in Game 4 to secure the sweep. The heroics earned him the WHL Goalie of the Week honor for the week ending May 1. It was the fourth time since joining the Winterhawks in January that he earned this honor. More importantly, he’s now a signed prospect of the Pittsburgh Penguins. That was the best news I heard all season.

One more thing before he goes: Jonas Brøndberg was sent to Prince George as part of the trade for Taylor Gauthier. The sweep of the Cougars also marked the end of his junior career. He was drafted in the second round of the 2019 WHL Import Draft, 100th overall. Over the course of his junior career, Jonas played in 125 games, took 162 shots on goal, scored two game winning goals, and nabbed 10 goals and 29 assists. When Fraser Rodgers asked Jonas what he will remember most about his junior career and/or his favorite memories, he simply said “all of it.” The player drafted 100th overall was 100% happy with his junior hockey career. Jonas’ future is still unwritten, but we can take comfort in knowing his time in the WHL was all good.

Welcome back: Matt Bardsley is returning to the Western Hockey League as the General Manager of the Spokane Chiefs. Most recently he was an NHL Scout for the Philadelphia Flyers. Bardsley was instrumental in cultivating past Winterhawks championship rosters, and he went on to serve as GM for the Kamloops Blazers from 2018-2021. Fun fact: The Kamloops Blazers eliminated the Chiefs in the first round this year, in epic fashion. It was a sweep (9-0, 6-2, 5-1, 3-0).

Media time out: I took a time out from hockey this year because life went sideways, and my heart just wasn’t in the game. Simply put, I lost the mood. Until now. During the break before the second round, I finally watched the reboot of “Dune.” While I was at it, I checked out a few other movies starring Timothée Chalamet. I finally see what all the hype is about. It’s real. He’s the Connor Bedard of Hollywood. At 26, among many other accolades, he has already been nominated for an Oscar, hosted Saturday Night Live and graced the covers of several major magazines, including Time. In that cover article, Chalamet was asked what he stands for. His answer? “I feel like I’m here to show that to wear your heart on your sleeve is O.K.” He’s right. When it comes to playoff hockey, it’s more than O.K. It’s a moral imperative. After a hockey season where I stopped wearing my heart on my sleeve, it’s time to get back in the game. That’s the totally true story of how Hollywood’s man of the hour changed my game.

Also, the reboot of “Dune” is a treasure trove of very cool quotes, like this one from Josh Brolin as Gurney Halleck in the scene where he trains Paul Atreides to fight: “Mood? What’s mood to do with it? You fight when the necessity arises no matter the mood. Now fight!” That pretty much sums up the playoffs right there. It doesn’t matter what their mood is or how much a team might want to give up when they’re losing, they must fight for everything, or they are finished.

Second act: Based on their recent history, the Winterhawks hold the edge over the Seattle Thunderbirds, but that guarantees nothing. The last time the two teams met in the playoffs, Portland was victorious. Two years later in 2017, Portland lost in the first round to Kelowna and Seattle went on to become the WHL Champions. Both Portland and Seattle dispatched their respective first round opponents this year with relative ease. That will not be the case in the second round. The matchup with Seattle will be a fight – literal and otherwise – to the end. That’s what makes this rivalry great. You already know the battle will be epic before it even begins.

“A great man doesn’t seek to lead. He’s called to it. And he answers. But if your answer is ‘no,’ you’ll still be the only thing I ever needed you to be: my son.” – Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, “Dune”

Lead the way: For fans, the heart of the long-standing rivalry with Seattle is rooted in something much bigger than the game. It’s about being all in with your whole heart, to the end. It’s what we stand for and what we believe in. We have been called to lead. We will answer by showing the Portland Winterhawks the best of who we are. I know they will do the same. The second round will open on the road. The Seattle Thunderbirds are calling. The Portland Winterhawks will answer. It’s who they are and what makes them great. No matter what happens, they will still be the only things Portland ever needed them to be: our team, our home and our family.

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If pay, time off and health benefit demands aren’t met soon, the hospital’s 1,600 nurses have authorized their union, the Oregon Nurses Association, to lead a strike

Nurses at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center in Portland, one of Oregon’s most profitable hospitals in recent years, have voted to authorize a strike.

The vote means it’s now up to the Oregon Nurses Association’s labor cabinet to decide whether to continue negotiating over a new contract for the nurses at Providence St. Vincent, or to call a strike. The union is required to give Providence 10 days notice before striking, a step it has not taken yet.

Contract negotiations between the Portland hospital and the Oregon Nurses Association are happening at a time when nurses are in high demand. Working conditions during the pandemic have prompted many nurses to leave the profession entirely and the nationwide labor shortage is making it hard for employers to hire skilled employees.

“One of the things Providence repeats over and over is ‘to care for me and ease my way’ and we’re looking for Providence to do that for its employees in addition to its patients,” said Jessica Lobell, a maternity nurse and the vice president of the bargaining unit at the hospital.

Pay, which is lower than what’s offered at OHSU and Kaiser Permanente, time off, health benefits, and staffing coverage for nurses’ meal breaks are among the issues the Oregon Nurses Association says are sticking points. The union contract expired in December 2021.

Providence St. Vincent management still hopes to reach an agreement with its 1,600 nurses and has proposed bringing in a federal mediator to help with negotiations, a step it says ONA has not wanted to take.

Management and labor agree Providence St. Vincent has been paying its nurses less than local competitors, due to a 4-year contract that locked in relatively low annual increases before the pandemic — and inflation — drove up wages.

“We recognize we’ve got to catch up,” said Jennifer Burrows, Providence St. Vincent’s chief executive officer.

The hospital belongs to the Providence Health & Services network, one of the largest employers in the state. Hospital leadership has offered a 9.5% pay increase this year, followed by a 3% increase in 2023 and 2.5% in 2024. ONA maintains that’s not enough, given St. Vincent’s status as one of the region’s top trauma centers and most profitable hospitals.

Burrows says Providence must balance its interest in providing competitive pay and benefits for staff against a need to provide care to the public at a reasonable cost.

Nurse to patient staffing standards and coverage for nurses to take meal breaks are another point of dispute. Currently, nurses use a “buddy break” system to make time for meal breaks during their 12-hour shifts. That means a nurse takes on additional patients to allow her buddy to go on break.

Lobell says the buddy system leads to nurses missing meals and breaks, particularly when they are caring for sicker patients who need more one on one attention. The union wants staffing plans for the hospital to include break relief nurses to solve the problem. It has also proposed making nurse to patient staffing ratios a part of the union contract.

The hospital’s management team says it follows state law regarding staffing ratios and that the proper venue to address staffing issues is through the hospital’s staffing advisory committee.

ONA’s nurse bargaining team at Providence St. Vincent is scheduled to meet with Providence management again for bargaining sessions May 10 and 23.

Burrows says her team is focused on successfully concluding negotiations, but is also working with a staffing agency and will bring in travel nurses if a strike moves forward.

Portland payments startup Kuto is teaming with the city of Portland and others to get $500,000 into the hands of residents to spend at small businesses.

Through the Kuto mobile app consumers will be able to claim $50 gift credits that can be spent at small businesses within certain targeted neighborhoods.

The first activation is an event May 4 at Pioneer Courthouse Square from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. People who are in that location can activate the cards to spend at businesses in downtown. The measure, called Downtown Workers Are Here for Portland, is meant to encourage workers returning to offices to spend with local businesses who have been hurting through the pandemic.

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Funds for these initiatives are from federal and local Covid-19 pandemic relief programs. There are 100 downtown restaurants and retailers participating.

“These dollars and customer relationships will make a difference to shops and restaurants that have been hardest hit during the pandemic,” said Mayor Ted Wheeler in a written statement. “I want to extend a warm welcome to those returning downtown for work. Your presence is critical to the revitalization of the city.”

The next activation is in the Foster-Powell neighborhood at the Portland Mercado on May 7. In total the program aims to distribute 10,000 digital gift cards. The initiative is organized by the city, Worksystems, Prosper Portland, Business for a Better Portland, Portland State University, Bricks Need Mortar, Downtown Clean & Safe and Kuto.

The Kuto app credits are available on a first come, first served basis. If after two weeks they aren’t used the credits expire and the money cycles back into the system to be given out, said Kuto co-founder and CEO Kiyo Kubo.

Signing up is easy for both the consumer and the business, Kubo said.

Kuto is a payments app that connects a consumer’s bank account to the Kuto platform. When the consumer enters a business that is on the platform they can complete a touchless transaction. For instance, if someone walks into a brewery they can order a beer and food and when they are ready to pay, their Kuto profile appears on the business’ point of sale terminal, the business confirms the person there matches the face on the profile and the transaction can be completed. The money is taken directly from a bank account and transferred to the business.

The idea is that it helps businesses cut out fees associated with credit and debit cards, said Kubo. These transactions are akin to writing a check in the way the money is transferred, which is to say this app does not use the blockchain or cryptocurrency on the backend.

As the company has developed its payments platform it has also created a way for organizations to create gift cards to support local businesses and a way for local businesses to offer rewards to customers to encourage return business.

Last fall, it participated in a similar program with the city and others to encourage students returning to Portland State University to spend at downtown businesses. Last holiday season the company partnered with the group Bricks Need Mortar for gift cards to boost sales to local retailers.

“Kuto is Portland’s answer to big banks,” said Kubo in a written statement. “We move money between consumers and the local businesses for about 65% less in merchant fees than it typically costs to do it with a credit or debit card, and businesses are happy to give that back to their regulars as rebates on their next visit. Paying with Kuto benefits the local businesses and any customer who uses Kuto.”

Kubo and co-founder Nick Farina are familiar faces in the Portland startup community. They previously founded Meridian, a location-based app that was acquired by Aruba Networks in 2013. Once they left Aruba in 2017, they began working on a payments idea. However, that payments idea was derailed by the pandemic.

Kuto, which launched in 2020, ends up being a combination of these two areas of expertise that the duo have developed: location and payments.

The Kuto app has about 600 businesses across its platform. Those businesses are in Portland and Corvallis. They are hoping to roll out to other Oregon cities this year.

Keep Digging

In terms of gardening, May is blooming quite nicely here in Portland. And in terms of music, the new month has produced some excellent local music growth. We're excited about a “Warm Up” hip-hop show at the newly reopened Church Bar, two new releases from Portland-based producers, as well as Eyelids’ pivot from a record release of their now-delayed A Colossal Waste of Light to a promising grand “weirdo” evening of deep cuts and previously unheard live tracks.

MUST-SEE: One can’t miss upcoming show.

After going on a hiatus and closing its doors back in December 2021, Northeast Portland’s Church Bar recently resurrected under new management. The Southern- and church-themed drinking and dancing spot is finally back on its beloved “eat, drink, repent” bullshit. What better way to celebrate Church’s return than by getting lit with a night of live music from Portland native rapper Kahlil Khalil. The Warm Up—a stellar hip-hop bill he curated—will feature producer/rapper/singer Majik9, producer/songwriter/engineer Wavy Josef, and rapper/singer/songwriter Sotae. (Sat May 14, 9 pm, Church Bar, 2600 NE Sandy, $10 at the door)

MUST-LISTEN: Two great new releases from locally relevant artists.

On May 1, Portland-based producer Blangblanglang, AKA Bryce Bowell, dropped a new instrumental beats tape, Blangtape Vol. 2, via his independent label Big World Recordings. Clocking at around 30 minutes and spanning 13 tracks, the whole project is thoroughly vibe-y, ethereal, at-times jazzy, and borderline hypnotic. The songs are referentially titled and will likely resonate with anyone who knows this area well: “Buckman Heights” is named after an apartment complex in Northeast Portland. The suburban “Sunset Drive” is likely named after a loop in SW Portland’s Hillsdale neighborhood. Other highlights include the boom-bap-ish “Romanov Estates,” and the aptly titled “Lazy Tuesday.”the sinister as well as “Various Gunn Sounds,” which swaps in synthetic strings to build tension and convey the feeling of atmospheric violence.

Another noteworthy May Day release came from stalwart Portland producer/musician Snugsworth, who’s been on a roll the last couple months, having dropped his April single “Coup De Grâce,” and the lovely Femboy EP this past March, which saw the artist adding vocals atop his usual, original productions. Snugsworth’s latest single—which he calls a “silly little remix”—is “Ball So Hard,” and it's centered on a sample of “Niggas In Paris (Ball So Hard)” from Jay Z and Kanye West’s 2011 studio album Watch the Throne. The upbeat remix is fun and danceable, and should be played in the downtime between acts at every local hip-hop show.

ADDED TO THE QUEUE: Some upcoming music buzz to put on your radar.

There's been a good amount of buzz around Portland indie rock mainstay Eyelids's forthcoming album, A Colossal Waste Of Light, and the group wanted to debut the new record on June 10 at Mississippi Studios, playing a bill with Herman Jolly (who's also the frontman from Sunset Valley). Unfortunately the group recently announced that the record wouldn't available until October: "You know the drill. Delayed," they wrote on the band's social media page. It's fairly well known that the pandemic created an unexpected, increased demand for vinyl at the same time that shutdowns and supply hiccups slowed down production. So now the renamed Almost Record Release Party, will instead be a grand “weirdo” night, full of commemorative posters, live versions of the new record, deep cuts they’ve never performed before, as well as some other surprises they've saved for the night of the show. "Everyone in attendance might want to set aside the following night to partake of a very STRANGE, MYSTERIOUS gift from Eyelids as well," the group wrote. (Fri June 10, 9 pm, Mississippi Studios, 3939 N Mississippi, $15, tickets)