Mara Okafor
Chef and co-owner
Cooked in Portland and Lyon before opening Copper Lane with Dev. Writes the menu every Monday.
In the kitchen Tuesday to Saturday
A bistro on the corner since 2014
Mara and Dev opened Copper Lane Kitchen in a former hardware store with 22 seats and a wood grill. It is still their restaurant, and still on the same corner.
The short story
The building was Hollis Hardware for forty years. When it closed in 2013, Mara walked past the empty window every day on her way to a hotel kitchen downtown, and Dev kept saying the corner needed somewhere to eat that wasn't a chain.
They signed the lease in January 2014, kept the shop's wooden counters and opened in June with a grill, 22 seats and a menu that fit on a postcard. The rule was simple: cook what the farms bring on Monday.
Eleven years later the room seats 46, the storeroom is a private dining room, and the rule hasn't changed.
Eleven years on one corner
- 2014
22 seats and a wood grill
Opening night was a Tuesday. Forty-one people came, mostly neighbors.
- 2015
June and the starter
June joins to make dessert and starts the sourdough that is still on every table.
- 2019
The back room
The old storeroom becomes a private dining room for 24.
- 2021
The patio
Sixteen seats on Copper Lane from May to September, dogs welcome.
- 2026
A second oven
Bread for the neighborhood, not just the dining room: loaves at the host stand from 3 pm.
We wanted the kind of place where the person at the door knows your name by the third visit, and the cook knows your allergy by the second.
Who you'll meet
Fourteen people work here. These four are the ones you'll see most.
Dev Ramaswamy
Co-owner, front of house
Runs the dining room and every private dinner. Picks the wine list, mostly from people he has met.
At the door Wednesday to Sunday
June Albrecht
Pastry and bread
Started the house starter in 2015. Teaches the Saturday bread class.
Bakes Tuesday to Sunday, from 5 am
Teo Marquez
Sous chef
Runs the grill and the knife skills class. Joined in 2018.
On the grill Tuesday to Saturday
Who we buy from
Five of the twelve farms and makers on this week's menu. All within 60 miles.
- Alder Creek FarmGreens, squash and herbs
- Hollow Oak MillStone-ground flour
- Tidewater Fish Co.Steelhead and clams
- Bramble DairyButter, cream, feta
- Six Rivers CoffeeRoasted in Hollis Park
- 46seats inside, plus 16 on the patio from May to September
- 2014the year we opened on Copper Lane
- 6nights a week, Tuesday to Sunday
- 12farms and makers on this week's menu
- InspectedCounty health inspection passed, September 2026
- Since 2014Same corner, same owners
- Step-freeLevel entrance and an accessible restroom
- Allergen trainedEvery server, every season
Say hello
Calls are answered from 3 pm. Emails within a working day.
- Call the host stand(503) 555-0142
- Find us418 Copper Lane
- Hours today Open Tuesday to Sunday
- Tables for 1 to 8Book online