Cider Riot
Cider Riot! | |
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![]() The cider house's exterior in 2019 | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 2016 |
Closed | November 10, 2019 |
Street address | 807 NE Couch Street |
City | Portland |
County | Multnomah |
State | Oregon |
Postal/ZIP Code | 97232 |
Country | United States |
Website | ciderriot |
Cider Riot (stylized as Cider Riot!) was a cidery or cider house in the Kerns neighborhood in Northeast Portland, Oregon, United States[1] that was in business from 2016[2] until November 2019.[3]
The Oregonian has described the bar as "a Couch Street gathering place for antifascists, anarchists and other leftists."[4]
History
The company was founded by Abram Goldman-Armstrong, and opened a taproom in 2016.[2] Cider Riot earned two bronze medals at Bath & West International Cider Championships in 2017, and two additional awards in 2019.[5] Plaid Pantry previously carried Cider Riot's cider in a six pack, but Plaid Pantry's CEO says it did not sell well and was put on clearance to clear shelves for hard seltzer.[6]
Incidents
In May 2019, a brawl between far-right protesters and patrons attending a Rose City Antifa event took place outside Cider Riot,[7][8] resulting in the company filing a $1 million lawsuit.[9][10] Six participants, including political activist Joey Gibson,[11] were indicted in August. Five of the men are connected to the group Patriot Prayer.[12] Responding to an interview question by a beer and cider news New School Beer regarding the status and the effect of the lawsuit, Goldman-Armstrong said that if Cider Riot were to be awarded the asking damages, they planned on using the money to "stay open, invest in a bigger glycol chiller, more sales and marketing folks, etc."[13]
An investigation by Oregon regulators alleges Goldman-Armstrong "knowingly allowed his patrons to use 'illegal weapons' against right-wing agitators during a May Day brawl and refused to remove unruly customers from his property". He and a security guard working the day of the brawl are "accused of providing misleading statements to state authorities during the investigation". These allegations are in a report by a safety inspector for the state agency Oregon Liquor Control Commission.[14][15]
In October 2019, the driver of an SUV struck and killed an anti-fascist activist with the vehicle near Cider Riot,[16][17][18] shortly after he left the bar.[19] The owner of Cider Riot told KPTV that the deceased, Sean Kealiher, an outspoken activist involved in Portland protests, was at his business on the night of the incident.[20] SUV involved had been shot at by Hyatt Eshelman, a friend of the deceased and it was found abandoned with bullet holes at the Democratic Party of Oregon two blocks away from Cider Riot.[21][19] Willamette Week reported on October 15 that "his slaying remains unsolved."[21] The motive has not been established by the police.[22] In December 2019, The Oregonian's Andrew Theen commented that this incident is "perhaps the city’s most prominent traffic-related death".[23] As of December 2019, this incident remains under investigation with no arrests made.[23]
Cider Riot was put up for sale for $875,000 in September 2019. Goldman-Armstrong said he hoped the buyer would "share [his] view on human rights".[24] In an interview with The Oregonian in September 2019, Goldman-Armstrong said his decision to sell the business was not related to the "clash outside Cider Riot, and the months of headlines it's generated".[25] Cider Riot closed on November 10, 2019.[3]
References
- ^ "Drank: Burncider (Cider Riot)". Willamette Week.
- ^ a b "Portland's Best Cider Finally Has a Home Pub". Willamette Week.
- ^ a b Staff, FOX 12. "NE Portland's Cider Riot! closes its doors Sunday". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Goodykoontz, Emily; Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon; Ryan, Jim (2019-10-12). "Activist dies after being hit by SUV near Cider Riot, Portland left-wing hangout". oregonlive. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
- ^ "Cider Riot! Wins Big at World's Biggest Cider Competition While Alter Ego Opens Its First Taproom". Willamette Week.
- ^ Davidson, Kate. "Northwest Cider Battles Hard Seltzer For The Beer Case". www.opb.org. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
- ^ Ramakrishnan, Jayati (2019-05-02). "Scores of antifa, far-right group members clash outside NE Portland bar". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sparling, Zane (May 1, 2019). "Antifa, Patriot Prayer brawl outside Cider Riot". Portland Tribune.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ramakrishnan, Jayati (2019-05-04). "Owner of Cider Riot sues Patriot Prayer, Joey Gibson for $1 million after May Day clash outside Portland bar". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Zielinski, Alex (Aug 22, 2019). "New Evidence Shows Joey Gibson's Role in Planning May Day Attack at Cider Riot". Portland Mercury.
- ^ Ryan, Jim; Theen, Andrew; Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2019-08-15). "Joey Gibson faces felony charge in fight at NE Portland's Cider Riot, preparing to turn self in". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ellis, Rebecca. "6 Men Indicted For May's Cider Riot! Brawl In Portland". OPB. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Johnson-Greenough, Ezra (September 20, 2019). "Cider Riot is For Sale, Abram Goldman-Armstrong Tells Us Why". New School Beer. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
- ^ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2019-09-21). "Patriot Prayer-antifa clash lands Cider Riot in state regulator's crosshairs". The Oregonian. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Stimson, Brie (September 21, 2019). "Owner of Antifa-friendly Portland bar let patrons use 'illegal weapons' against conservative activists, state probe says". Fox News.
{{cite news}}
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(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Ellis, Rebecca. "Portland Anti-Fascist Activist Killed In Hit And Run Outside Cider Riot". www.opb.org.
- ^ "A Patron Was Hit and Killed By an SUV Last Night Near Cider Riot". Willamette Week.
- ^ Henriksen, Erik; Zielinski, Alex (Oct 14, 2019). "UPDATE: Portland Activist Killed After SUV Collision Near Cider Riot". Portland Mercury.
- ^ a b Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2019-10-29). "Fatal clash near Portland left-wing hangout followed random argument, not political attack, lawyers say". oregonlive. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ Kelly, Brenna (October 14, 2019). "Graffiti covers Democratic Party of Oregon office in NE Portland where known activist was killed". KPTV.com. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Three Nights Later, Questions Still Swirl Around a Portland Antifascist's Killing". Willamette Week. Retrieved 2019-10-19.
- ^ Thomas, Keaton (2019-10-26). "Crowd gathers to remember Sean Kealiher, activist who died after crash and gunfire". KATU. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ a b Theen, Andrew (December 20, 2019). "Vision Zero: Portland saw most traffic deaths since 1997, many 'out of our control'". The Oregonian. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Owner of Antifascist Cidery Cider Riot Hopes to Sell to Someone Who Shares His "View on Human Rights"". Willamette Week.
- ^ Kavanaugh, Shane Dixon (2019-09-19). "Cider Riot, scene of Patriot Prayer-antifa clash, for sale in NE Portland". oregonlive. Retrieved 2019-10-16.
External links