Paddlers Coffee

Daisuke Matsushima moved to Portland on his own at fifteen and spent years soaking up its coffee culture before the 2011 earthquake and tsunami pulled him back to Japan to help rebuild, both the country and a sense of community he felt was missing. That pull led him to open Paddlers on a quiet Nishihara corner in April 2013, after a month spent living out of a cafe in Panajachel, Guatemala, and hitchhiking around coffee farms to learn the process firsthand.

The shop built its name on hand drip coffee made with beans from Portland's Stumptown Roasters, poured by a small rotating staff at a corner counter that catches the morning sun through big windows. A short food menu built around hot dogs and toasted sandwiches grew alongside the coffee program, turning the corner into as much a neighborhood breakfast spot as a place to drink a well made cup.