Por Que No

Por Que No, formally styled in some contexts as ¿Por Qué No? Taqueria, is a small privately owned restaurant chain in Portland, Oregon. The business operates two taquerias: its original location on North Mississippi Avenue in the Boise neighborhood of north Portland and a second restaurant on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in the Sunnyside neighborhood. The chain is owned by Bryan Steelman and takes its name from the Spanish phrase meaning “Why not?” The brand was inspired by the informal, highly individual “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants Steelman encountered while visiting Mexico. Its identity combines Mexican street-food influences with a distinctly Portland presentation emphasizing local sourcing, seasonal ingredients, sustainability, colorful interiors, and a casual but highly popular service format. The restaurants are especially associated with long queues during favorable weather, happy hour, and Taco Tuesday, making the line itself part of the brand’s public image. Tacos are the core offering. The menu has included fillings such as barbacoa, calamari, carne asada, and cod, with recipes drawing on regional Mexican traditions ranging from Oaxaca to the Pacific coast. Por Que No also serves enchiladas, quesadillas, rice bowls, salads, tamale plates, ceviche, guacamole, pinto beans, and other sides. Notable preparations include pollo verde, in which chicken is slow-cooked in tomatillo salsa, and a tinga variation made with shredded beef rather than the more traditional chicken or pork. Drinks include margaritas, micheladas, cerveza roja, and aguas frescas, while whole-fruit SolPops paletas provide a frozen dessert option. The restaurants distinguish themselves through operational and sourcing choices as well as recipes. Tortillas are handmade, chips are fried on-site, fish is line-caught, pork has been sourced from Oregon producer Carlton Farms, and the menu has emphasized seasonal products. A sustainability project at the original location added a covered outdoor patio, a planted ecoroof, and solar water-heating panels. A later expansion and remodel increased seating, added a bathroom, and converted the residence above the original restaurant into a catering kitchen. Por Que No has developed a strong local reputation. Critics have described it as upscale or nouveau Portland comfort Mexican food rather than a conventional low-cost taqueria, while also praising the cooking, atmosphere, and attention to detail. The restaurants have appeared in local dining guides and readers’ polls, including Willamette Week recognitions for Mexican restaurant and taco categories. National and regional coverage has also highlighted the chain’s food, colorful décor, and energetic sidewalk dining. Beyond restaurant operations, Por Que No has participated in Portland charitable and civic initiatives. Reported activities include fundraising for Raphael House, Sisters of the Road, PDX Pop Now!, and Willamette Week’s Give!Guide, as well as food donations to Occupy Portland demonstrators. The business has publicly supported paid sick leave for local workers and endorsed Oregon Ballot Measure 88 in 2014, an unsuccessful proposal concerning driver cards for people unable to document legal status. Por Que No remains a small, locally concentrated restaurant brand rather than a national chain.

Por Que No emerged from Bryan Steelman’s interest in the informal taquerias and small Mexican restaurants he encountered in Mexico. Rather than presenting itself as a standardized national Mexican-food chain, the business developed as a locally rooted Portland restaurant with a strong emphasis on atmosphere, fresh preparation, and regional variety. Its name, derived from the Spanish expression “Why not?”, reflects the approachable and playful character of the concept. The original restaurant opened on North Mississippi Avenue in Portland’s Boise neighborhood. By the mid-2000s, it had become a recognizable part of the area’s developing food and nightlife scene. A 2005 Willamette Week review characterized it as a relatively new taqueria with above-average prices for its category, while arguing that the quality of its cooking justified the premium. The review specifically praised chef Mark Saldaña and the restaurant’s detailed treatment of familiar flavors. The same coverage noted that its clientele was predominantly, though not exclusively, white and that the restaurant occupied a niche in a neighborhood not then especially known for Mexican food. The brand’s culinary model centers on tacos but extends into a broad menu of entrées and side dishes. Recipes draw on Mexican regional traditions, including influences associated with Oaxaca and the Pacific coast. The restaurant has used fillings such as barbacoa, calamari, carne asada, and cod, alongside preparations including pollo verde and beef tinga. Its menu and operations have also emphasized handmade tortillas, on-site chip frying, seasonal produce, line-caught fish, and Oregon-sourced pork. These choices helped position Por Que No between a traditional neighborhood taqueria and a more polished Portland restaurant built around local sourcing and design. In 2009, Steelman obtained support from the Portland Development Commission for a covered outdoor patio at the North Mississippi restaurant. Orange Design and Construction led the project with assistance from Allusa Architecture. Construction took place in April and May 2010 and incorporated environmental features beyond the patio itself, including a planted ecoroof developed with help from the city’s Ecoroof Program and two solar water-heating panels. The project reinforced the brand’s association with sustainability and Portland’s environmentally conscious restaurant culture. The original location temporarily closed for approximately two months in 2013 for expansion and remodeling. The work converted the house above the restaurant into a catering kitchen, added a bathroom, and increased seating capacity downstairs. This investment reflected the restaurant’s continuing popularity and its need to support both dine-in service and catering-related production. Por Que No later expanded to a second Portland location on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in the Sunnyside neighborhood. Both locations became known for queues, especially during warm weather, happy hour, and Taco Tuesday. The Hawthorne restaurant broadened the brand’s presence beyond North Mississippi while maintaining the informal, colorful, and energetic identity associated with the original. The restaurant has also been active in community and civic causes. Its reported charitable activities include participation in an annual dine-out benefiting Raphael House, which supports people affected by domestic violence; Dining with Dignity for Sisters of the Road; the Make It Pop fundraiser for PDX Pop Now!; and Willamette Week’s Give!Guide. In 2011, the business donated food to Occupy Portland demonstrators. It later supported a Portland paid-sick-leave proposal and endorsed Oregon Ballot Measure 88 in 2014. Reception has generally been positive, although coverage has continued to acknowledge the brand’s higher prices and busy service environment. Willamette Week included Por Que No in several restaurant and inexpensive-eating guides. It was a readers’ poll runner-up for Best Mexican Restaurant in 2007, and later won Best Mexican Restaurant and Best Taco in 2022 and both categories again in 2024. Fox News included it in a 2014 national list of notable taco stands, while Frommer’s and USA Today praised the food, colorful setting, and outdoor dining. The brand has consequently become a durable Portland restaurant institution with a two-location footprint and a reputation extending beyond its original neighborhood.

• 2026

  Participates in Portland Dumpling Week

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  The restaurant was reported as a participant in the Portland Dumpling Week program.

• 2024

  Repeats readers’ poll wins

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Por Que No won both Best Mexican Restaurant and Best Taco in Willamette Week’s readers’ poll.

• 2022

  Wins Willamette Week restaurant categories

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  The restaurant won Willamette Week readers’ poll categories for Best Mexican Restaurant and Best Taco.

• 2014

  Strong regional and national food coverage

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Por Que No received prominent recognition from Oregon readers and national food and travel coverage, including inclusion in a list of notable U.S. taco stands.

• 2013

  Original restaurant expanded and remodeled

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  A two-month closure enabled the conversion of the upstairs residence into a catering kitchen, installation of an additional bathroom, and expansion of downstairs seating.

• 2010

  Patio, ecoroof, and solar-water improvements completed

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Construction added a covered patio and an ecoroof with vegetation and solar water-heating panels to the original location.

• 2009

  Green patio project receives public support

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Bryan Steelman received Portland Development Commission support for developing a covered outdoor patio at the North Mississippi restaurant.

• 2007

  Readers’ poll runner-up

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Por Que No was named runner-up in Willamette Week’s Best Mexican Restaurant readers’ poll.

• 2005

  Early critical recognition

  [1]Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org

  Willamette Week reviewed the North Mississippi taqueria, praising its cooking and atmosphere while noting its higher-than-average pricing and distinctive position in Portland’s dining scene.

A Portland neighborhood taqueria brand combining Mexican street-food influences, seasonal and locally sourced ingredients, handmade components, sustainability initiatives, and a colorful, casual dining atmosphere.

• Mexican street food

  Tacos

  The brand’s signature category includes tacos built around fillings such as barbacoa, calamari, carne asada, and cod. The recipes draw on several Mexican regional traditions while using a Portland-oriented sourcing model. Handmade tortillas, house-fried chips, seasonal ingredients, and varied seafood and meat preparations support Por Que No’s positioning as a more polished interpretation of taqueria food.

• Entrée

  Pollo verde

  Pollo verde is a chicken preparation slow-cooked in tomatillo salsa. It represents the restaurant’s broader menu beyond tacos and its use of bright, herbaceous Mexican flavors in a substantial entrée format.

• Entrée or taco filling

  Beef tinga

  Por Que No’s tinga preparation uses shredded beef rather than the chicken or pork more commonly associated with the dish. It has been offered as part of the restaurant’s taco and entrée repertoire.

• Mexican entrées

  Enchiladas, quesadillas, rice bowls, salads, and tamales

  The menu extends beyond tacos with enchiladas, quesadillas, rice bowls, salads, and tamale plates. These offerings give the two locations a broader casual-dining menu while retaining the brand’s Mexican street-food orientation.

• Beverages and desserts

  Margaritas, micheladas, aguas frescas, and SolPops paletas

  Por Que No serves Mexican-influenced drinks including margaritas, micheladas, cerveza roja, and multiple aguas frescas. SolPops paletas made with whole fruit provide a frozen dessert option that complements the colorful, casual restaurant concept.

• 2011Occupy Portland food donation

  Portland, Oregon

  The restaurant donated food to Occupy Portland demonstrators.

  Outcome. The donation formed part of the business’s reported civic and community involvement.

  Source
• 2010Green patio and ecoroof project

  Portland, Oregon

  Por Que No developed a covered patio at its original location as part of a sustainability-oriented construction project that also added an ecoroof and solar water-heating panels.

  Outcome. The improvements were completed in 2010 and expanded the restaurant’s outdoor and environmental features.

  Source
• Raphael House dine-out

  Portland, Oregon

  Por Que No has participated in an annual dine-out supporting Raphael House, an organization serving people affected by domestic violence.

  Outcome. Specific fundraising totals and campaign dates are not stated in the available material.

  Source
• Dining with Dignity

  Portland, Oregon

  The restaurant has supported Sisters of the Road through the Dining with Dignity fundraising initiative.

  Outcome. Specific campaign results are not stated in the available material.

  Source
• Make It Pop

  Portland, Oregon

  Por Que No has participated in Make It Pop, a fundraiser connected with the local summer music festival PDX Pop Now!.

  Outcome. Specific campaign results are not stated in the available material.

  Source
• Give!Guide

  Portland, Oregon

  The restaurant has contributed to Willamette Week’s Give!Guide charitable giving program.

  Outcome. Specific donation amounts and dates are not stated in the available material.

  Source

• 2014

  Support Oregon Ballot Measure 88Other

  Background

  The measure sought to provide four-year driver cards to people unable to document legal status.

  Action taken

  Por Que No supported the campaign for Measure 88.

  Aftermath

  The ballot measure was unsuccessful.

  Source

• 2013

  Expand the original location’s capacityStrategy

  Background

  Growing demand and the restaurant’s established role on North Mississippi led to a substantial renovation.

  Action taken

  The business converted the residence above the restaurant into a catering kitchen, added a bathroom, and increased downstairs seating.

  Aftermath

  The remodel expanded operational capacity and supported catering activity.

  Source

• 2013

  Support paid sick leave for Portland workersOther

  Background

  Por Que No joined a group of local restaurants backing City Commissioner Amanda Fritz’s paid-sick-leave proposal.

  Action taken

  Owner Bryan Steelman publicly expressed support and cited the restaurant’s practice of allowing employees to accrue paid time off.

  Aftermath

  The action positioned the brand as an advocate for employee benefits and workplace protections in Portland’s restaurant community.

  Source

• 2010

  Invest in sustainability-oriented restaurant infrastructureStrategy

  Background

  The original North Mississippi location required additional outdoor capacity and was used as a platform for environmentally focused improvements.

  Action taken

  Por Que No developed a covered patio, planted ecoroof, and solar water-heating system with support from Portland development and environmental programs.

  Aftermath

  The project strengthened the brand’s association with Portland sustainability practices while adding usable customer space.

  Source

1. 1Por Que Noen.wikipedia.org