Coffee, Shopping, a Hike, and a Wine Bar in Gresham

Steve read about a wine bar in Gresham called The Scout that he wanted to visit, and we decided to make it a whole day. My older daughter wanted to go to a new coffee shop in Gresham she heard about on TikTok called Alolia Cafe, and I had been wanting to check out the stores Daiso and Miniso. I also thought it would be nice to do a hike at Gresham Butte, since it was such a gorgeous day, and I hadn’t been there for several years.

We started with coffee at Alolia Cafe. The owner was working, and she told us the name is a combination of parts of her two daughters’ names. The coffee shop is in a tiny little house-shaped stand-alone brick building. Inside, the unapologetically girly décor makes you feel like you’re floating in a pink version of heaven, like maybe Paris Hilton or Elle Woods will float out on a cloud to bring you a pink beverage. I like the idea of showing who your business exists for through your décor choices, which Alolia does successfully, although they also tell you on their Instagram page that they’re a “chic cafe for girls.” Even so, we saw several men stop in while we were there, and not just with their wives and girlfriends. Who wouldn’t want one of these beautiful drinks? They just make you happy. I don’t care who you are. Don’t ever be too cool or too manly to enjoy a beautiful beverage. That’s just sad.

Alolia Cafe from the outside.

Alolia Cafe menu.

Alolia Cafe decor and seating.

Alolia Cafe sign and seating.

I ordered a Lavender Dream, a lavender-honey latte. My daughter got the Blush N Bloom, a matcha with strawberry purée and rose syrup; and Steve got the Alolia Drink, a strawberry-coconut juice. We ordered croissants and bagels too. In addition to being beautifully presented, the drinks were delicious. My croissant was perfect. Really cute place. 

Blush N Bloom.

From left to right: Blush N Bloom, Lavender Dream, Alolia Drink.

We went to Miniso next, which was just a few blocks away. Miniso is a Chinese retailer with thousands of stores around the world and over 300 here in the United States. There are several locations around the Portland Metro. They are known for their collaborations with popular movies, TV shows, and other pop culture phenomena to create kawaii plushies and figures that fans can purchase. They also have kitschy beauty products and supplies, kawaii school supplies, Asian snacks, and probably a lot of other things I’m forgetting. Fun place. It would be a great place to shop for gifts for people who like cute things.

After that, we went to Daiso, which was a short drive away. Daiso is a Japanese home goods retail chain. Like Miniso, they have thousands of stores around the world, with almost 200 in the United States. A lot of the organizational products there reminded me of products you could buy at the dollar section at a supermarket called Daiei that existed in Hawaii when I was in my teens and 20s. That’s not an insult. It was a golden age for young people in Hawaii moving out of their parents’ homes for the first time. You could affordably organize your new place. But Daiso has some nicer things too—dishes, décor, gifts. They also have art supplies, party supplies, and Asian snacks. I probably forgot a bunch of stuff, but I spent over an hour in there and could have bought a lot more stuff than I did. The prices are affordable.

My daughter departed us after that for other plans, but Steve and I continued on to our hike at Gresham Butte. Like I said, I hadn’t been there in years, but I always remembered it fondly as a hidden gem that is often totally free from any other human beings. I was pleased to learn that it hadn’t changed much from my memory of it. We saw only one other person on the trail. 

Gresham Butte is a neighborhood, but there’s a whole natural area around it that includes two buttes: Gresham Butte and Gabbert Butte. Hogan Butte is just east of Gabbert Butte, but I think it exists in its own natural area and park, and it is separated from the other buttes by Regner Road, a busy road. The hike I wanted to do was along the Gresham Butte Saddle Trail between Gresham Butte and Gabbert Butte, where you veer off at the Gresham Butte Saddle junction, hike up Gabbert Butte to the water tower, and find the Gabbert Butte Truck, an abandoned utility truck from the 70s, covered in graffiti. 

The Gresham Butte Saddle Trail goes along an old logging road between Gabbert Butte, to the south, and Gresham Butte to the north. We started at the Gresham Butte East Trailhead, although you can start from the Gresham Butte West Trailhead as well. From the East Trailhead, you hike a little over half a mile to the Saddle junction, where you can choose from three paths: turn right to hike up Gresham Butte, go straight to continue over the Saddle toward the West Trailhead, or turn left to hike up Gabbert Butte. (Obviously the directions are the opposite if you are coming from the west.)

We turned left to hike up the substantial hill that was Gabbert Butte. It’s about another half mile straight uphill until you reach the water tower. You follow the trail to the left of the water tower, and it takes you to the truck. After you’ve had your moment with the truck, you can follow the trail behind it to loop back to the trail that goes down the Butte to the Saddle junction. At the Saddle junction, some people will then continue on over the Saddle and connect with the Springwater Corridor to do a longer loop around the north end of Gresham Butte and end up where they parked. But we kept our hike short and sweet, hiking back to the car after we got to the Saddle junction from Gabbert Butte. 

Steve and I with the Gabbert Butte Truck.

The Gabbert Butte Truck.

It was wine time.

Finally, we drove to The Scout, a wine bar in downtown Gresham. It was a lovely small place with a great mix of local and foreign wines. There was a musician playing a guitar and singing, and patrons were sitting around the bar and on a cozy couch. We sat at a small table near the bar. For the past year, Steve and I have been looking at every wine shop we go to for Alsatian Gewürztraminer, which used to always be available, but has been harder and harder to find locally. We were delighted to find the last bottle of a 2019 vintage. We had a couple of glasses of wine with some charcuterie and left with six bottles of wine to take home. Great place. We’ll definitely be back.

What a lovely, full day. Life is good.

Snacks and wine at The Scout.