Mississippi Marketplace

Proprietor: Roger Goldingay

Mississippi Marketplace offering up an eclectic array of foods

Portland, OR -What magic draws us to county fairs? The rides? The arcade games? The temptation of food carts offering snow cones and cotton candy and the whiff of steaming corn dogs wafting in the air?

As we mature, spinning rides and dubious games of skill lose their charms, but the appeal of enchanting foods — and the mysterious aura of food carts — retains its seductive power.

A food carnival is taking shape at the corner of N. Mississippi Ave. and Skidmore — the gateway to the Mississippi Ave. rejuvenation. Ten food carts  circle the lot, fronted by the Prost! beer pub. And, in season, you will find vendor tables featuring arts, crafts, and local produce and specialty foods.

The ring master of this circle of magic is, as you might expect, a bit larger than life himself. The affable, low key Roger Goldingay has a background as a professional soccer player, author, real estate developer and former owner of an organic farm on Sauvie Island. His exploits should suffice to put him on the five o’clock news every evening.

As a former soccer player for the original Portland Timbers and the Seattle Sounders, Roger will still be in the memories of local sports devotees. As a member of the Portland Timbers, Roger went head to head with arguably the greatest soccer player ever — Pelé. “He kicked my ass,” Roger recalls.

Roger has two books behind his byline. Co-written with his wife, Dr. Carol Otis, one volume is a compendium of medical advice for high school and college students. Another is a survival guide for female athletes.

As a real estate developer, Roger bought three land parcels at N. Mississippi and Skidmore with the intention of building a multi-story condominium structure with business space on the ground floor. Just as he prepared to launch that venture a little over a year ago, the economy took its latest dive.

“The risk was substantial,” Roger decided. “I pulled back out of the (condo) project.”The Big Egg, run by Gail Buchanan and Elizabeth Morehead, gathered rave reviews for their fried egg sandwiches.

Faced with payments on his land, no immediate income from it, and no prospective buyers, Roger found himself in a serious cash drain.

The necessity of action spurred Roger to begin conceiving innovative solutions.

A Better Idea

As an occasional patron of downtown food carts, Roger began to evaluate the possibilities and problems of that business model. Rather than copying the downtown food cart model — little or no place for customers to sit and eat, no protection from rain showers, and hit-or-miss food quality — Roger envisioned a group of carts with diverse offerings, high quality foods and some creature comforts for customers, including porta-potties with hand washing facilities.

Thus, Mississippi Marketplace was conceived.

Floating the concept to many cart owners drew a positive response. “We had a lot of applicants,” Roger says. Roughly 50 cart owners wanted to lease the 10 sites in the project.

And then there were others who wanted spaces to sell fresh produce, jams, jellies, olive oil, as well as jewelry, photography and other arts and crafts.

The abundance of potential tenants allowed Roger to be selective. “I wanted them to fit into the neighborhood,” an area he describes as “an eclectic, diversified neighborhood.

“Rather than hit-or-miss parking lot surfaces that tend to puddle, Roger opted for a costly, “very state of the art type of surface.”  He had to remove 400 yards of dirt and replace it with 400 yards of gravel. On top of the gravel, Roger laid a thick coating of porous paving. The result? “In rain the water percolates right through,” he says. “It enabled us to get the most usable surface.

“Only one problem… Money.Dogfeather’s Coffee — Ian Drake pours locally roasted organic coffees and fresh juices to get your eyes open. Fresh? “Fruit to juice in a minute,” he promises.

“Near the end of the project I needed some financing,” Roger says. In addition to the paving, meeting a number of city regulations had eaten into his bankroll.

Rather than call on the megabanks, Roger talked to Albina Community Bank and a local nonprofit business lender,  — Albina Opportunities Corporation (AOC). AOC, headed by Terry Brandt, operates on a progressive premise. “We’re in business to make minority business loans to those that have been traditionally under-served and under-banked in our community,” Brandt says. That includes women and ethnic minorities.

Although the owner of Mississippi Marketplace, Roger, did not fall into either of these categories, a number of the cart owners did.

AOC generally provides “gap loans” — the difference between what a commercial bank will loan and what the business needs.

“They provided a key piece (of financing) to allow me to complete it,” Roger says.

Fielding a Team

In reviewing the 50 or so food cart applicants, Roger set a few guidelines. Primarily he wanted to know “who was ready to go — and who was just talk?”

The food business, he observes, “takes a lot of hard work (as well as) business experience and food experience.”

Then there was the visual issue; if a candidate had a nice trailer, so much the better.

Mississippi Marketplace’s intriguing carts feature many creative specialty bites.

• Dogfeather’s Coffee — Ian Drake pours locally roasted organic coffees and fresh juices to get your eyes open. Fresh? “Fruit to juice in a minute,” he promises.
• Native Bowls — Jay and Julie Hasson serve a variety of rice bowls and sandwiches, plus a selection of desserts. If you’re not hungry, she may sell you one of the five dessert cookbooks she has written.
• Patty’s Wagon — a fusion of West African and Caribbean cuisine — Yellow Curry Chicken, Red Chicken Stew, Dahomey Fish.
• The Ruby Dragon — all vegan Middle-Eastern cuisine for morning, afternoon and evening, plus a dozen desserts.
• Southwestern Pizza Company — Dan Hare offers made from scratch pizzas such as Sagebrush, Tumbleweed, Stage Coach and Santa Fe.
• Sushi Tree — Jessica Owens serves an assortment of vegetarian sushi.

The Big Egg, run by Gail Buchanan and Elizabeth Morehead, gathered rave reviews for their fried egg sandwiches. If you have less than thrilling memories of your mom’s fried egg sandwiches, perhaps it’s because your mom’s bag of tricks didn’t include grilled Portobello mushrooms or fire roasted chile peppers. If the dessert urge is sneaking up on you, try “The Ultimate” — two chunks of Grand Central brioche, chocolate hazelnut spread, three slices of apple wood smoked bacon and a dusting of powdered sugar.

Jesse Sandoval had been operating his Nuevo Mexico cart in downtown Portland. When the former New Mexican moved his operation to Mississippi Marketplace, it enabled him to expand his range of offerings. Real New Mexican cuisine is not quite the same as what you find in most Mexican restaurants in Portland — or in Mexico. Starting with New Mexico grown chiles (yes, they are better), Sandoval’s posole will make you think of Santa Fe’s priciest restaurants (and, yes, they can be quite pricy).

The anchor operation of Mississippi Marketplace will be the Prost! tavern, which occupies a rehabbed church on the corner of N. Mississippi and Skidmore. Set to open in late October, Prost! styles itself as “German Bier, Food & Tradition. Prost! currently operates two taverns in Seattle.

Entrepreneurs Welcome!

Brandt says Albina Opportunities Corporation is actively looking for minority, female, immigrant and disabled entrepreneurs with business experience. He invites prospective loan candidates to call him at (503) 227-3950.

Today’s economy demands that businesses have a source of capital from banks or other institutions. Albina Opportunities Corporation is providing this breath of fresh air.

The innovations from all these cart owners point out one moral: if you give a person a chance, the chances are that success will follow.