Silicon Forest, Open Roads: The Greater Portland opportunity

Brandon’s restaurants sit on the metro’s west side, one of the strongest local economies in the Pacific Northwest.  Washington County is the wealthiest county in Oregon,1 with a median household income around $104,000 and one of the lowest unemployment rates in the state.2 It’s the heart of the Silicon Forest : Nike’s world headquarters sits in Beaverton, with Intel and Columbia Sportswear nearby. The county’s population has grown more than 7% in a decade, and towns like Tigard are known for family-friendly neighborhoods and top-rated schools.3  For an operator, that adds up to a deep, durable customer base.

The metro also keeps gaining exactly the kind of households that spend.  California is now the single largest source of people moving to Oregon, around 25,000 in 2025 alone, drawn by lower costs, far less traffic, and good schools. Brandon is one of them, and so were several of the Franchisees who bought restaurants alongside him.  There’s a built-in advantage at the register, too: Oregon has no statewide sales tax, one of only a handful of states with that perk, which keeps a little more money in customers’ pockets on every purchase

For a Franchisee moving a family, daily life is part of the decision, and Portland makes a strong case.  Compared to LA, the traffic here is very mild, Brandon says. It was a very nice surprise. He found people friendlier and more patient, the schools strong, and his kids settled in fast. Even the more relaxed pace turned into an advantage.  It gives us an opportunity to connect with the guests more by not rushing everything, he says.  That livability is what makes operators want to stay, and what makes it easier to recruit and keep good people

Greater Portland is also a market where real ownership opportunities open up.  When Brandon’s seller, a longtime, well-regarded operator, retired, his 18 restaurants were split into five separate packages and sold to new operators, several of them arriving from California. It’s the kind of generational handoff that creates room for new Franchisees to step in.  Brandon’s seller made it easy. He hand-picked his buyer, introduced him to the management team before the sale, and gave him a tour of the restaurants.  The seller was just so easy to work with, Brandon says. The stores were already strong; what they mainly needed, the seller told him, was an operator that’s going to be here every single day.