The story of Pasture PDX didn’t start with sandwiches. In 2019, the original plan was a whole-animal butcher shop focused on retired dairy cows. Kei Ohdera, founder and head chef, had worked with this type of beef from Blue Hill Farms in New York, where he learned to appreciate its unique, lactic flavor. With its strong dairy industry, Portland seemed like the perfect place to build a supply chain for it. But between the pandemic and sourcing challenges, the vision had to shift.

“When we opened Pasture, it was a whole-animal butcher shop,” Ohdera explains. “But we had a lot of protesters—picketing out front, smashing windows, even cutting power to our walk-in. On top of that, there just wasn’t as much interest in butchery in this neighborhood.”

After two years the butcher shop closed and the business pivoted to focus on sandwiches. Not because of some grand plan – out of necessity. What started as an idea to keep product moving quickly generated momentum and garnished demand.

“We were trying to keep the butcher case fresh, so it made sense to have a lunch program to utilize the product,” Kei says. “But it ended up taking over everything else.”

Though Pasture no longer operates as a butcher shop, the approach to meat remains the same. They still source grass-fed beef from Holly Ranch, chickens from Mary’s, and pork from Pure Country. They still brine, cure, and smoke their own meats. The butcher shop may be gone, but the commitment to high-quality sourcing hasn’t changed.

Fine Dining to Sandwiches—The Same Philosophy

If you think a chef going from fine dining to lunchtime sandwiches is an unusual jump, Ohdera doesn’t see it that way.

“I was the chef at a fine-dining vegan restaurant for years. And now I run a meat-centric sandwich shop. But for me, it’s no different. It’s always been about highlighting the work of farmers and ranchers. Whether there’s meat on the plate or not, the focus is on the ingredients.”

Every sandwich is built around high-quality proteins, and every step of preparation is intentional. The “OG” sandwich, inspired by bánh mì, features pastrami or chicken, pickles, house-made chili oil with Oregon hazelnuts, and crisp cabbage instead of lettuce—a nod to how sandwiches are made in Japan.

“I try to keep things simple and let the meat shine,” Ohdera says. “A customer might think, ‘Oh wow, this is a really good sandwich,’ but what they don’t realize is that the meat was dry-aged, sous vide, or cured in-house. Those details make the difference.”

This approach—refining flavors, using careful techniques, prioritizing ingredient quality—comes straight from fine dining.

Local Sourcing, But Not Just for the Sake of It

Supporting local producers is a priority at Pasture PDX, but it’s not just about geography. It’s about working with people who do things the right way.

“We source as much as we can locally, but just because a farm is nearby doesn’t mean they’re doing good work,” Ohdera explains. “We try to support the producers who are really prioritizing quality.”

That means working closely with ranchers like Bill and his wife at Holly Ranch, who run a small operation with just one farmhand. It means getting fresh produce year-round from Blue Truck Produce, where farmer Charlie provides much of the restaurant’s seasonal ingredients. It means using bread from Dos Hermanos, which has been part of the menu since day one.

“We couldn’t do what we do without our producers,” he says. “They’re the foundation of everything.”

Adapting to What Works

The menu has staples that won’t go anywhere—the OG, the Reuben, the Toro—but there’s always room to adapt. New specials are built around whatever’s fresh from the farms. The process is straightforward: check the farmers’ lists, see what’s available, and figure out what works together.

“There’s no big formula,” Ohdera says. “We just build around the ingredients.”

That’s been the guiding principle all along. Whether it was fine dining, whole-animal butchery, or now, a sandwich shop, the mission has never changed. It’s about working with the best producers and making their ingredients shine.