No. 10 Portland
OREGON
;
Keeping It Local (and Convenient)
Five years ago, Lisa Sedlar debuted Green
Zebra, a 7-Eleven–style convenience store.
Instead of Slurpees and hot dogs, fare at
this Portland staple is kombucha and dishes
like cilantro chutney chicken—made from
scratch with local ingredients. Each
5,000-square-foot location is stocked with
organic produce, a curated beer and wine
selection, and regionally sourced meats,
milk, and cheeses. Sedlar, former CEO of
New Seasons Market, is currently raising a
$10 million Series B round, with plans to
open three stores outside Oregon next year.
—H.W.
Don’t Stereotype This Cıty
; This Pacific Northwest
city’s reputation as a haven for
food enthusiasts is merited:
Natural wine bars and
critically lauded restaurants
seem to open every week.
But the biggest area of
employment growth in the
Look out across the city’s
skyline and you’ll see dozens
of cranes in every direction.
And though the local cannabis industry gets a lot of
attention, the two sectors that
are projected to grow the
most over the next decade are
slightly less sexy: health care
and computer and electronics
manufacturing. On the
ground, the startup areas that
are booming include tech
companies (Jama Software
and vacation rental company
than $200 million); early-stage food companies like
Umi Organic (organic fresh
ramen noodles), Honey
Mama’s (honey-and-cocoa
bars), and Red Duck Foods
Society Nine, Wildfang).
Some startups, like Rumpl—
which makes camping
blankets and ponchos—were
attracted to Portland because
it’s home turf to Adidas,
Columbia, and Nike. —H. W.
