Vendors from Portland’s biggest food cart pod will scatter at the end of the month, as developers move forward with plans to build a hotel at Southwest 10th Avenue and Alder Street.

The Alder Street food carts were all given notice Thursday that June 30 would be their last day of operation. The news was first reported by the Daily Journal of Commerce.

BPM Real Estate Group of Portland plans to build a 35-story tower on the site. The company applied for a building permit in March and said Thursday that it plans to start construction this summer or early fall.

The building would include a luxury hotel with co-branded condominiums, as well as offices. The developer hasn’t announced the hotel brand. The site is owned by the Goodman family’s Downtown Development Group.

7 Block 216 development renderings

Business owners and employees said they were dismayed by the news.

Jameson Wittkopp, co-owner of the German bratwurst food cart Altengartz, said he has been at the food cart pod for almost 19 years — making him one of the most senior tenants there.

“They call me the ‘podfather,’” he said. Wittkopp said the closure will put many food cart owners out of business and put financial strain on many families.

“Several of my neighbors don’t know what they’re going to do,” he said. “There are plots on the east side, but there’s a lot of repetition — it’s full of those particular cuisines.”

Most owners said they want to continue operating their businesses, but face uncertain futures without a clear place to go.

“This city doesn’t make it easy,” said Abdulla Khudheer, the chef at Shish Kabab. “With this many food carts, it’s hard to find a prime location.”

“There’s a lot of disappointment and frustration," Wittkopp said. “I think there’s a sentiment that Portland is becoming something it’s never been.”

He said he felt the move was short-sighted on the part of the city.

“There’s a lot of residual money that’s going to be lost,” he said.

Though several of the food cart owners also have brick-and-mortar restaurants or carts in other cities, they said they are worried about how they’ll continue to serve their downtown customers.

“People come to us two or three times a week,” said Golnaz Behzadi, who owns A1 Foodbar.

Balbir Singh, of PDX Bawarchi, said the location has been successful for him, and he’ll continue to look for somewhere in the area to keep his food cart open.

“I have a lot of customers downtown,” he said.

Many customers at the food carts Thursday said they were from out of town or new to the area, but there were a few regular customers who said they visit the pod several times a week and will be sad to see it go.

According to the developer, early plans also called for a food hall in a nod to the site’s current use. Wittkopp said Portland Bureau of Transportation had sent questionnaires out to business owners about a “culinary corridor” on Southwest 9th Avenue, but those conversations have stalled.

—Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Elliot Njus contributed to this report.

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