Party Report: Departure Five Year Anniversary Celebration

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Byron Beck, GoLocalPDX Features Editor

Departure Lounge

Jeff Brown, Dave Marsh, Juan Martinez and Peter Karpinski at Departure 5 Year Celebration.

Departure Restaurant and Lounge celebrate its fifth year in Portland on Sunday night. Taking place at the very tail-end of Feast Portland it became the unofficial wrap party for a weekend of food and fun.

Departure Restaurant and Lounge sits high atop the Nines Hotel in downtown Portland. This Pan-Asian paradise, designed by super-hot, Skylab architect Jeff Kovel, features two outdoor lounges, a bar and restaurant that has become a de facto celebrity hangout who are there for chef Gregory Gourdet's twisty takes on cuisine as much as they are there for the panoramic views of Portland.

Departure Lounge

Stephen Marc Beaudoin and Mike Thelin at Departure.

Celebrity Central

Over the years several stars have made this their hangout including Michael Jordan (who pretty much closes the place down for his own private parties when he's in town) to k.d. lang (who pretty much made her decision to move to Portland after a night out on Departure's deck with Gus Van Sant). Dave Chappelle also frequents this super hot boite spot.

The party itself featured many of chef Gregory's best dishes, including an incredible array of sushi. Departure signature cocktails for the night: The Jade Dagger (tequila, cliantro, jalapeno, fresh lime and yuzu), Tetuso (gin, passionfruit, grapefruit, bitters), and the Indochine (vodka, Clear Creek brandy, fresh lime, blackberry and Prosecco).

Those in the crowd at the party included many of the folks who were there at Departure's beginning half-a-decade ago including Peter Karpinski, the soul of Sage Restaurant Group who owns and operates Departure as well as its downstairs neighbor, Urban Farmer.

In fact, Karpinski spilled the beans to GoLocalPDX that Sage is about to open another Departure very soon in Denver, Colorado, also designed by SkyLab's Jeff Kovel that will feature a sky-high pool.

Related Slideshow: Departure Lounge: 5 Year Anniversary

Departure Restaurant and Lounge celebrate its fifth year in Portland on Sunday night. Taking place at the very tail-end of Feast Portland it became an unofficial wrap party for a weekend of food and fun.