Prior to Isabel accepting Bitcoin, Portland, Oregon has been very slow to integrate Bitcoin into businesses within the city, much slower than many cities that are smaller in size. Isabel is well known for their unique menu, superb breakfast items, and the micro brews available on tap. Isabel is among the first of quality sit down restaurants to integrate Bitcoin payments as an option to patrons. Isabel partnered with Bit Consultants, a company that educates and trains individuals and stores to accept Bitcoin payments. Bit Consultants uses BitPay to allow clients to accept Bitcoin payments.

Also read: Overstock.com Offers Staff Option to be Paid in Bitcoin

Warming up to Bitcoin?

Though they are not the first to accept Bitcoin in Portland, they are the only current restaurant to accept Bitcoin payments. Madison’s Grill, another Portland restaurant accepted Bitcoin in late 2013 though recently went through a management change which resulted in the business no longer accepting Bitcoin. According to BitPages, only ten businesses accept/have accepted Bitcoin. As stated before, Portland has been slower than most to embrace Bitcoin.

Isabel offers unique menu options with several different influences:

Isabel Cruz comes from a Latino family where the large and frequent gatherings were always centered around food. Self-taught, friends and family from Puerto Rico, Cuba and Mexico became the early influences of her food, with later inspiration stemming from the Japanese, Korean and Thai cooking styles she was exposed to while growing up in Los Angeles. Eventually, those Latin and Asian influences became infused in Isabel’s cooking, resulting in fresh, exotic food with bold and unique flavors. Taking these fusions to the next level, Isabel started incorporating modifications in her menus, transforming these rich, traditional cuisines into more healthy dishes for the modern day. Now, Isabel’s beliefs and examples of clean, simple eating give people a new vision for what “health food” can be: Delicious.

According to the reddit post by Bit Consultants, the owner of the restaurant is extremely excited about Bitcoin and has plans to possibly acquire a Skyhook Bitcoin ATM for the restaurant which would allow existing customers to try out Bitcoin and understand the basics of the technology. It is extremely possible that Bit Consultants would provide assistance and/or materials for Bitcoin education for customers of the restaurant, thus increasing Bitcoin adoption in Portland.

With Isabel accepting Bitcoin, the restaurant may gain new customers as well as spark Bitcoin interest in existing ones.

Edit: In the previous edit of this article, it was stated that the Isabel Cruz restaurant was accepting Bitcoin, when in fact it was the Isabel restaurant that has decided to accept Bitcoin. The owner of the Isabel restaurant reached out to me via email with the corrections.

Images via Isabel Cruz and Shutterstock.