Departure Portland

What Departure Portland does

Departure Portland is a single-location, full-service pan-Asian restaurant operated by Sage Restaurant Concepts, a subsidiary of Sage Hospitality Group. Founded in 2009 and located on the 15th floor of the landmark Meier & Frank Building atop The Nines Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon, the restaurant offers an upscale experiential dining program built around modern pan-Asian cuisine, an extensive sake and cocktail program, and panoramic views of the Portland cityscape and Willamette River. Core service hours cover dinner seven nights a week, supplemented by a Monday-Friday happy hour and a private events program across four dedicated spaces accommodating 12 to 85 guests.

The business operates on a transactional dine-in revenue model with no proprietary technology platform; standard restaurant POS, OpenTable reservations, and a BentoBox-powered website comprise the operational stack. Pricing is unit-based at premium levels (appetizers $9-$24, entrees $22-$55, sushi $18-$23, with premium wagyu and spirits reaching $495), with a 4% surcharge and 20% automatic gratuity for parties of six or more. An OpenTable-linked loyalty rewards program provides repeat-visit incentives. Distribution is entirely direct-to-consumer through the single physical venue, with private event bookings as the primary B2B channel.

Customer segments include downtown Portland diners (primary), hotel guests of The Nines, private event bookers, and happy hour patrons. The restaurant has built brand equity over 15+ years through awards including James Beard Award semifinalist recognition (2018), Yelp Top 100 US Restaurants (2022), OpenTable 100 Best Restaurants for a Big Night Out (2018), and Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence (2023). Marketing is conducted via organic social (Facebook, Instagram, Yelp), email/loyalty programs, recipe content marketing, and earned media coverage.

Name

Departure Portland

Legal name

Sage Restaurant Concepts

Website

https://departureportland.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Departure Portland is a single-location upscale pan-Asian restaurant on the 15th floor of The Nines Hotel in downtown Portland, OR, serving dinner, happy hour, and private events. Operated by Sage Restaurant Concepts since 2009, it caters to local diners, hotel guests, and event bookers with premium Asian-inspired cuisine and a Wine Spectator-recognized beverage program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Upscale Pan-Asian Restaurant Dining

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Restaurants and Other Eating Places (72251)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Hotel & Resort Restaurants (THAFACAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK), Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

Keywords

• Pan-asian restaurant
• Rooftop dining
• Private event venue
• Sushi restaurant
• Happy hour bar

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Food Service: Full-service restaurant offering pan-Asian cuisine including sushi, house specialties, grilled items, and desserts. Revenue generated from per-transaction food purchases during dinner service (4pm-11pm Tue-Sat, 4pm-10pm Sun-Mon).
2. Beverage Program: Extensive beverage program including cocktails, sake, wine, and beer. Premium spirits pricing including high-end Japanese whisky and champagne. Wine program recognized with Wine Spectator Award of Excellence.
3. Happy Hour Service: Monday-Friday 4-6pm happy hour featuring discounted cocktails, beer, wine, and rotating small bites and sushi favorites.
4. Private Events: Private dining and event hosting across multiple spaces (East Deck, West Deck, State Room, Sea of Love) accommodating 12-85 guests. Revenue from venue bookings and customized event catering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Departure Portland is a full-service pan-Asian restaurant located on the 15th floor of The Nines Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. The restaurant offers modern pan-Asian cuisine including sushi, house specialties, grilled items, and desserts for dinner service (Tue-Sat 4pm-11pm, Sun-Mon 4pm-10pm), complemented by an extensive beverage program recognized with a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. Additional offerings include a Mon-Fri happy hour, private event hosting for 12-85 guests across multiple indoor and outdoor spaces, and an OpenTable-integrated loyalty program.

Product overview

Departure Portland is a single-location, full-service pan-Asian restaurant operated by Sage Restaurant Concepts, located atop the landmark Meier & Frank Building. The restaurant offers a unified dining experience centered on modern pan-Asian cuisine with a modern culinary exploration of Asia, featuring ethically-sourced sushi, street food-styled starters, meal-sized classics, rice and noodle specialties, and grilled proteins. The restaurant operates as a single integrated offering that includes core dining services (dinner service 4-9:30pm nightly), a Happy Hour program (Monday-Friday 4-6pm), private event spaces for groups of 12-85 guests, an OpenTable-integrated loyalty rewards program, and a public recipe library featuring home versions of signature dishes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pan-Asian Dining Experience Full-service dinner restaurant offering modern pan-Asian cuisine including sushi, steamed mussels, egg noodles, Alaskan halibut, wagyu, and other Asian-inspired dishes served nightly from 4pm. Located atop The Nines Hotel with panoramic city and river views.
• Happy Hour Program Monday-Friday 4-6 PM happy hour featuring specially priced cocktails, beer, wine, and rotating selection of small bites and sushi favorites at the bar and lounge.
• Private Events Private dining and event spaces including East Deck (25 seated/65 standing), West Deck (85 standing), State Room (24 seated/30 cocktail), and Sea of Love (12 guests) for group dining, corporate events, weddings, and special occasions accommodating 12-85 guests.
• Loyalty Program Rewards program integrated with OpenTable where guests earn rewards after every 3rd visit by signing up with their OpenTable email and opting into communications.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10th Anniversary milestone achieved
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Sage Restaurant ConceptscoreOthersSage Restaurant Concepts is the parent company and operator of Departure Portland. The restaurant is part of Sage's portfolio of restaurant concepts and shares branding, operational systems, and culinary leadership with the parent company. The website and operations are branded under Sage Hospitality Group/Sage Restaurant Concepts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Departure Denver: Same Departure brand operated by Sage Restaurant Concepts atop a hotel in Denver. Most direct peer—same concept, same parent, same chef lineage, comparable pan-Asian rooftop positioning.
• Bamboo Sushi Portland: Portland-based sustainable sushi/Asian concept with multiple locations and premium positioning. Competes for similar Asian-cuisine-seeking diners and benchmark for pan-Asian menu innovation in the Portland market.
• Imperial Restaurant Portland: Vitaly Paley's upscale Portland restaurant offering Pacific NW-driven cuisine with private event programming. Comparable fine-dining positioning, downtown Portland location, and event-driven revenue mix.
• Clyde Common: A landmark upscale hotel restaurant inside The Ace Hotel Portland with full-service dinner, cocktail program, and private events. Comparable single-location, hotel-based, experiential fine-dining positioning.
• Wild Ginger Seattle: Seattle-based Asian-fusion upscale restaurant with multi-location presence and a Pacific NW ingredient focus. Most comparable Pacific Northwest peer in pan-Asian premium dining with a regional footprint.
• Urban Farmer Portland: Also under Sage Restaurant Concepts, an upscale hotel-anchored restaurant in Portland with private event space. Directly comparable business model (full-service + private events inside a flagship hotel) and corporate parent.
• Pok Pok Portland: Andy Ricker's iconic Portland Thai concept with a national reputation and multiple locations. Comparable Asian cuisine experience, award pedigree, and destination dining appeal within the Portland market.
• Murata Restaurant Portland: Long-standing Japanese fine-dining institution in the Portland metro. Direct competitor for upscale Asian cuisine dining, special-occasion business, and similar clientele.

Emerging players

• Tasty N Alder Portland: Portland Asian-influenced restaurant by the Pok Pok team offering pan-Asian street-food style in a bustling setting. Comparable Asian-cuisine appeal with a more casual price point and weekday traffic pattern.

Broad incumbents

• Jake's Famous Crawfish Portland: Historic Portland fine-dining institution with multi-decade operating history. Comparable in market tenure and special-occasion dining reputation, though cuisine profile (seafood) differs from Departure's pan-Asian focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DeparturePDX
• Instagraminstagram.com/departurepdx
• Xx.com/departurepdx
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/departure-restaurant

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Departure Portland