Even when Lisa Herlinger was selling ice cream sandwiches in the Portland Farmers Market seven years ago, she knew her business would expand eventually.

That’s because her sandwiches, made with local ingredients, delighted anyone who tried them, she said. So when Herlinger and her sister opened Ruby Jewel on Northeast Mississippi Avenue in 2010, the shop’s popularity did not surprise her.

Now, she is opening a new Ruby Jewel location across town, at Southwest 12th Avenue and Washington Street. The property, formerly home to the Bettie Ford Lounge, is being gutted and repurposed. Herlinger said she chose the location because of its relatively low cost and high volume of foot traffic.

“It’s to get a new population of customers,” she said. “We want to get more people familiar with our ice cream and get a more constant stream of traffic than on the eastside.”

Herlinger has plenty of company. In fact, the past year has yielded a steady stream of renovation projects to create downtown restaurant spaces, according to Megan Conway, vice president of communications for Travel Portland. Eastside restaurant owners are taking advantage of lower downtown property costs and the improving economy to expand their businesses, she said.

“Originally, they were moving to the eastside for lower rents and more availability for unique spaces,” she said. “They’ve now seen some new opportunities as … downtown buildings have come out of the recession. It’s been this interesting movement back into downtown.”

Although downtown has a history of successful restaurants, a number of prominent chefs have added new culinary life to the area, Conway said. Most, like Cathy Whims, owner of the relatively new Oven and Shaker in the Pearl District, already own restaurants on the eastside. According to Whims, the rent for Oven and Shaker is comparable to the rent for Nostrana, her restaurant in Northeast Portland. Because of the improving economy, she was able to invest in a new venture in downtown.

“I had never done business here, so I was a little anxious about it,” she said. “But I love downtown. We weren’t planning on moving here, but we were able to take over the space for a very reasonable cost.”

Ethan Powell and Tobias Hogan, of North Portland’s EaT: an Oyster Bar, have repurposed a Pearl District cooking class facility into a Cajun restaurant – the Parish. Also, Michelle Cairo, of eastside-based Olympic Provisions, converted a commercial kitchen facility in the Pearl into a second location. Northwest of downtown, a number of eastside restaurants – including Bamboo Sushi and Salt & Straw – have expanded.

Andrew Fortgang, co-owner of Le Pigeon on East Burnside Street, opened Little Bird on Southwest Sixth Avenue in late 2010. Even then, he said, downtown property prices were starting to drop. Other restaurant owners have followed his lead because of the improving economy and the growing prominence of Portland’s culinary scene.

“As the dining scene in Portland has gotten more exciting and more energized, I think a lot of restaurateurs are realizing that it doesn’t matter where their restaurants are; people will come to them,” he said. “Portland is realizing that it doesn’t have to make just neighborhood restaurants that serve people in the neighborhood anymore.”

Little Bird, like many of the other new downtown restaurants, occupies space previously used for food production. But Naomi Pomeroy, owner of Beast in Northeast Portland, is working with property owner Greg Goodman to convert a former dry cleaning space at 1135 S.W. Alder St. into a new space for her restaurant. Pomeroy plans to move her business there entirely.

Meanwhile, Herlinger, Cairo, Fortgang and Whims all took over ex-food spaces that required major renovations. But, according to them, the work was well worth it.

Herlinger is eager to introduce a whole new group – westside folks – to her ice cream sandwiches. She had predicted that during those farmers market days.

“All these people would say … ‘This is the best ice cream. Where can I get it? Do you guys have a shop?’ ” Herlinger said. “Now, I’m just looking forward to having a shop on the westside and having more people eat our ice cream.”