Congress Bar & Grill In Portland To Undergo Renovations And Change Name

The ever changing restaurant landscape in Portland will shift a little more in the coming months as a mainstay has been purchased. According to Portland Food Map, Congress Bar & Grill (formerly Norm's Bar & Grill) has been sold to Mike Fraser and Jason Loring who have closed the restaurant for a couple months for renovations. When it reopens, it'll be named CBG.

For many who live and work in Portland, Congress Bar & Grill served as one of the final remaining places where good meals were still priced affordably and familiar faces were always seated at the bar. From the all-beef burger to the black bean soup and cornbread, locals have loved the menu at Congress Bar & Grill for years.

So what will change with the new owners? Not as much as you may expect. Loring and Fraser plan to keep the tavern-style menu that many patrons have come to know and love and want to keep that menu affordable for everyone.

What will change is the configuration of the restaurant. The months-long renovation will open the space inside CBG to put the focus on the bar. The hope is that after renovations, CBG will "feel" more like your weird uncle's basement bar.

Before the restaurant closed for renovations, the former owner (for more than two decades) took to Facebook for a farewell.