Photo: Portland Realty Team

The Montavilla neighborhood seems to rest on the back burner of most people's collective image of Portland (at least for the people living in inner Portland), and it shouldn’t. The neighborhood had a history of prostitution and is home to a majority of the city’s used car lots but even outside of the realm of a bar crawl it’s as important to Portland’s being as any other neighborhood in the city. Today, the neighborhood is full of families, street fairs, a farmers market, and more.

Like many neighborhoods in Portland it has gone through undeniable change, so don’t forget to marvel the older neighborhood gems like the Academy Theater. Give the businesses on SE Stark Street near 82nd Avenue your dollars and we promise you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Note: We don't have any bad blood with Tanuki or The Country Cat. We decided to write up lesser-known spots in the the 'hood.