Keeping It Weird, Eris Cocktail Lounge Will Soon Make Its Debut

According to a recent permit filing, Eris Cocktail Lounge will soon debut in the former Rendez Vous spot at 817 SE 34th Avenue.

“We are currently stuck in our construction phase, but we’re about a month behind the original goal. I’m looking at the end of this month for opening, depending on when everything goes through,” owner Tony Pepe told What Now Portland .

“I used to work at Vintage Cocktail Lounge in Montavilla and ran it through COVID as a co-manager as well as a little before that solo. We were a 3 ^rd rank cocktail bar, but the owner sold it. I moved on from that about a year ago, moved to Redwood, and continued to look for a spot of my own. Rendez Vous’s owner decided to sell and offered it up to me.”

“The space already had a lot of what I was looking for, but I needed to add some things such as the bar build-out. My philosophy is to have a different type of cocktail bar, but not going to have a huge food menu. Food options will be shared bites and fun stuff like that, while there will be an extensive cocktail menu of 25-30 drinks. Everything will be made in-house.”

“The name comes from the Greek goddess named Eris. It also has a spin inspired by the Robert Wilson “Illuminatus! Trilogy.” In old-school mythology, Eris becomes the goddess of chaos, so essentially, the motto will be around looking at creationism through chaos. Let’s get weird, let’s do it!”

“Drinks have to be good but also funny at Eris. There will be a lot of cool and fun aesthetic features, such as a bookshelf painted like a tardis, and chairs that are all vintage and look like they belong in a 1970s elk lodge. There will be no coffee drinks or typical drinks, it will be more upscale than that but still accessible. Everybody is welcome.”

“We eventually want to have fun requests from our customers and see what we come up with together. An example of drinks to expect was one that I came up with that is like a Long Island tea, but a Nordic version. I also hope to be able to teach spirits classes in the future, where I will cover the history and making of spirits while teaching you how to make cocktails with them.”

“Eris will be a fantasy and sci-fi-themed bar. Things like a Sigourney Weaver poster with Jonesy the cat, a bathroom will be dark blue with spray glitter, and Terri Pratchett and Neil Gaiman inspiration will be incorporated.”

“I will be creating a space on the wall to promote local artists without charging a fee. There will also be a mural that a friend of mine is commissioning. Our menu cover will be a mash-up of Greek goddesses and 50’s pin-up girls!”

“We will have slightly dim lighting and no TVs as well. I want Eris to be a place where people can connect. We also will not be open during the day, the earliest will be 3-4, and we won’t be open 7 days a week. The latest we will be open will be midnight, with one day off a week.”