5941 SE DIVISION ST.
PORTLAND, OR 97206
about
Our Coffee House
Claire and Molly opened the Rain or Shine Coffee House in the Spring of 2011, and served the South Tabor neighborhood until August of 2020 in the midst of the global pandemic. Rain or Shine provided a positive, warm, and inclusive environment for the community, with friendly staff and high quality coffee and bagels. It was a place to gather, study, relax, and enjoy.
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When Evan and his family heard their favorite local coffee shop was closing for good, he began discussing the possibility of taking over first with his wife, then with Claire and Molly, so that Rain or Shine might live on and continue serving the community. Molly, Claire, and the entire Rain or Shine community have been very supportive since, giving us hope that we can make it work during this difficult time. Evan brought on Vivian, who took a chance and moved with her son down from Seattle to help run the shop. We're bringing back some familiar faces and a few new ones. Moving forward, Rain or Shine will rely on the caliber of its employees, the quality you've come to expect, and the support of this great community to make it through the COVID pandemic together.
When the opportunity to open a coffee shop in the South Tabor Neighborhood arose in the Spring of 2011, Claire and Molly felt their friendship was sturdy enough to hold up to the challenge of their becoming business partners. Though neither had studied business in school, they knew they needed to develop a business plan or at the very least establish some ground rules for operating a business together. In the interest of saving time and getting on with the important things (like research... i.e. coffee shop hopping!) they kept it simple and promised each other they would split the workload 50:50 and always put their friendship first.
With that settled, the two got to work brainstorming, researching, and gathering the building blocks for what would become Rain OR Shine Coffee House. They had fun delving into coffee culture and searching for local food vendors, but they were committed to making their coffee shop about more than what was on the menu. They wanted to create a place where everyone would feel welcome and at home - the kind of place where people would bump into friends and neighbors, make new acquaintances, and forge the relationships that make a community strong and vibrant.
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Thanks in large part to the invaluable advice and generous efforts of family and friends, Rain OR Shine Coffee House opened its doors on schedule on June 3, 2011. Claire and Molly had hoped that they would be responsible for creating a space that cultivated relationships on the local level. Instead, Rain OR Shine has become the welcoming, cheerful, cozy place that it is due to the constant support and influence of an exceptionally kind and devoted community.
Moment by moment, interaction by tiny interaction, one cup of coffee at a time, Rain OR Shine has grown into the place its founders always hoped it would be: a place where neighbors bump into each other, where friends reconnect, where writers write and knitters knit and clubs meet up, where customers joke with their baristas and baristas know the their customers (and their dogs) by name.
We are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Taborhood and we can’t wait to keep on growing with the community for years to come. Thank you to all of our patrons and supporters for making this place great!