Din Tai Fung Will Open a New Restaurant in Portland’s Pioneer Place

Portlanders will soon be able to eat Din Tai Fung’s famous xiao long bao in the heart of the city. The Taiwan-based chain is planning to open a new location within Portland’s Pioneer Place mall, a whopping 11,000 square-foot space serving steamer baskets full of bao and dumplings.

Next Portland’s Iain Mackenzie first spotted the business records indicating the chain’s impending move to the downtown Portland mall, which he tweeted on March 22. The chain’s local operating partner, David Wasielewski, confirmed the forthcoming location, noting that the business would open in 2023. Wasielewski estimates the restaurant will seat 250, one of the biggest Din Tai Fungs the restaurateur operates. “We really believe in the local community, the Portland market, so we think we’ll use every inch,” he says. “We opened our first store in Washington Square, and even through COVID, the community was there.”

Julian Soto, from the team at Pioneer Place owner Brookfield Properties, says that the team has been trying to get Din Tai Fung in the space for years. “We’ve always been waiting for the right time and the right opportunity,” Soto says. “We kept the relationship warm, and then we were able to come together on a deal that made sense for both groups.”

Din Tai Fung was long known as one of the world’s best places for soup dumplings, once winning a Michelin star for a Hong Kong location. Bing-Yi Yang opened the first Din Tai Fung in 1958 as a cooking oil shop, before reopening as a restaurant in the ‘70s. It quickly became a destination for xiao long bao, eventually growing into a global brand. Din Tai Fung opened its first Oregon location in 2018, within Tigard’s Washington Square mall; this would be Din Tai Fung’s second location.

This story will be updated with more information.

Updated March 24, 2022, at 1:26 p.m.: This story has been updated to include comment from Brookfield Properties.

Updated March 24, 2:01 p.m.: This story has been updated to include comment from David Wasielewski.

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