PORTLAND, Ore. — June 3, 2024 — Salem-based craft cider producer La Familia Cider Firm has introduced the June 5 opening of the La Familia Taproom at 3638 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland. That is the corporate’s second location, becoming a member of the La Familia Cider Home, which has been positioned on Courtroom Road in Salem since 2020.
True to its title, La Familia is a household owned and operated enterprise to its core. Jose and Shani Gonzalez oversee the cider making and enterprise operations, their daughter Jazzelle runs the Salem cider home, and son Jay Jay will handle the taproom in Portland.
“Jay Jay and Jazzelle have been part of the corporate from the beginning, and so they’re the extra public faces of La Familia,” mentioned Jose. “They created the vibe in our taprooms, so each one that visits us feels their affect.”
The Portland location, just like the Salem one, can be family- and pet-friendly. Its 29 faucets will supply 15 ciders from La Familia and different producers, and the opposite 14 will serve craft beers. Cider cocktails and different drinks can even be accessible, together with a small however satisfying menu that includes Mexican meals made out of domestically sourced components.
“I’m trying ahead to welcoming all of our prospects to our Hawthorne taproom, whether or not they’re already cider followers or simply excited by making an attempt one thing new,” mentioned Jay Jay. “There’s one thing about connecting with followers of our household’s cider that’s actually particular. To pour a glass, and inform them, ‘I helped make this,’ and listen to what they suppose is admittedly rewarding.”
La Familia Taproom will transfer into the area that Portland Cider Home has occupied since 2014, in an amicable handoff that displays the 2 corporations’ long-standing friendship.
“Our buddies at Portland Cider have constructed nice relationships with their prospects on Hawthorne over the past 9 years, and we plan to take nice care of them, too,” added Jay Jay.
Since 2017, La Familia has been recognized for its distinctive, Mexican-inspired ciders that replicate the homeowners’ personal heritage. The thought was sparked when founders Jose and Shani Gonzalez have been having fun with some cider, and Shani mused that it will be nice to have cider flavors impressed by the fruity aguas frescas that they grew up with. The thought grew from there, and immediately La Familia Cider produces Guayaba (guava) and Jamaica (hibiscus) ciders year-round which can be bought in additional than 500 retailers throughout the Pacific Northwest, together with seasonal releases. The corporate donates cider and a proportion of its earnings to native nonprofit organizations that assist households navigate the authorized immigration course of.
“We’ve been making and distributing cider for greater than seven years now, and it’s simply as thrilling immediately to see our cans on the shop cabinets because it was once we started,” mentioned Jose. “Having two taprooms now provides us an opportunity to speak to much more of our followers face-to-face, study extra about what they need from their cider, and allow them to meet our cider-making familia in individual.”
