New Restaurants in Lake Oswego: Fall 2026 Openings and Updates

At the start of 2026, 363 S. State Street was home to Open Rice Sushi & Chinese Restaurant and a Subway. By late June the first space was serving yakitori and sake as KIN Izakaya and Sake Bar. The second, according to the doughnut chain's own website, is Mr. Maple Donuts, still marked "Coming Soon."

The same thing happened across town. Look at what opened or was announced in 2026 and almost every new name moved into a space a previous business left behind. Sometimes that business had closed only recently. Sometimes the space had been empty for years. Nothing new went up from the ground. The one new restaurant on the city's books is part of a planned downtown hotel, and that hotel has no construction date yet. To follow what's new to eat here, start by remembering what used to be there.

The 2026 openings and the tenants they replaced

Seen together, the openings fall into three clusters: South State Street, the Boones Ferry Road corridor, and Mercato Grove. A fourth story belongs to downtown's A and B Avenues, where one beloved storefront went dark this fall.

South State Street: izakaya, doughnuts and frozen yogurt

The shopping center at State and Wilbur had the busiest year of any block in town. In June the Lake Oswego Review reported that KIN would replace Open Rice. KIN is a family-run izakaya serving small shareable plates such as yakitori, tonkatsu and takoyaki. Co-owner Thanaphorn "Fair" Khusawangsri ran a Japanese food cart near South Waterfront before deciding to open a permanent restaurant in downtown Lake Oswego. She told the paper the look draws on Japan's Showa era, with vintage posters, warm lanterns and primary colors.

The soft launch was scheduled to begin June 15. Lunch would run 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner 5 to 9 p.m., and dinner would stretch to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. A late-June post from the Old Town Lake Oswego neighborhood association said the restaurant had "just opened this week" and that most tables were full on a Saturday evening. It also offered a useful heads-up: KIN does not serve sushi. The menu leans toward sashimi, skewers, rice and noodle bowls, and a long sake list.

Mr. Maple Donuts is moving into the old Subway space in the same center. The Vancouver, Washington, company opened in 2018 and also has a shop in Wilsonville. Its menu runs from fritters and doughnut holes to bacon bars, along with coffee and blended drinks. When the Review checked in early June, no opening date had been set and the space looked to be under renovation. In mid-October, the company's locations page still lists Lake Oswego as "Coming Soon!"

A block away at 333 S. State St., Nectar Frozen Yogurt Lounge opened July 7 in the former Revive Athletics storefront across from Petco. According to the Oswego Chronicle, it is the Portland-based shop's third location, after Sellwood and Northeast Portland. Owner Adrian Huether chose Lake Oswego after his Sellwood shop became a neighborhood gathering place.

Boones Ferry Road: long waits and a family coming back

On Boones Ferry Road, the reused spaces came with longer stories. OG Birrieria Lake Oswego took over the old Giant Drive-In at 15840 Boones Ferry Rd., which closed in 2023. The Lake Oswego Review reported that the business applied for a license in 2024 and spent about two years remodeling before its April 22 soft opening. The Review noted that residents had spent months wondering when it would finally open. The taqueria began as a food truck in Hillsboro. It serves Mexican fare, margaritas, beer and a full bar, and the Review listed hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

A short distance up the road, the next turnover began somewhere else. According to the Oswego Chronicle, Valentino and Rocio Soltero ran Corona Mexican Restaurant on Mercantile Drive for ten years. They lost the location when Summit Orthopedics bought the site to expand its clinic. The couple's new restaurant, Mexican Mezcal Restaurant, is going into Suite 2 at 15630 SW Boones Ferry Rd., the former Ivy's Pho & Grill, about two blocks from Corona's old spot. This time the family will run it on their own, with a from-scratch menu, seafood specials and a full bar focused on tequila. The opening was targeted for the end of August. We have not found a report confirming the doors are open, so a quick call before going is a good idea.

These newcomers share a corridor with Gubanc's, which reached 50 years on Boones Ferry Road this summer. The Lake Oswego Review's anniversary story says Tony Gubanc opened the restaurant in 1976, when a roast beef sandwich cost $2.45. It is still in the family: his grandson Joe Buck, who is also Lake Oswego's mayor, runs it. The paper also reported that the kitchen will still make discontinued dishes for regulars who ask. On a road where this year's openings all moved into someone else's former space, Gubanc's has been in the same place for half a century.

Mercato Grove's second lineup

Mercato Grove shows the same pattern over a longer stretch. The Oswego Chronicle reported that FILL's was one of five of the center's six original ChefStable restaurants to close. Grassa is the only one left from that first group. The Whole Bowl and Sool K-Food & Bar have since moved in. Pizzeria Otto opened its Lake Oswego location in the former Oven & Shaker space on December 12, 2025.

The old FILL's Donuts space had been empty since 2022 when Otto Gelato & Espresso was scheduled to open there at noon on Saturday, August 1. The shop is a partnership between Pizzeria Otto owner Clark Hale and Pronto Gelato co-founders Andrea Spella and George Kaden. The menu was announced as small-batch gelato and sorbetto, including gianduja, pistachio and stracciatella, plus Spella Caffè espresso drinks and shakeratos. The milk comes from a family-owned dairy in Corvallis. Mercato Grove's retail directory now lists Otto. Regular hours were not announced at launch.

Down the street at 4200 Mercantile Drive, Thirsty Caterpillar mixes a bookstore with a café, a children's play area, a crafting studio, book clubs and wine tastings. In South Metro Weekly, founder Elizabeth Rogers describes it as a "third place" for families and book lovers. Its website lists regular weekly hours.

Downtown: a new corner on B Avenue, a dark window on A Avenue

Downtown's newest place to sit down opened early in the year. Lake Oswego Coffee House & Wine Bar moved into the former Beso Bar & Bottle space on B Avenue in February. It is owned by Lake Oswego native Courtney Spears and her husband, Ward Spears. The Lake Oswego Review reported a daytime menu of coffee, baked goods with gluten-free options, sandwiches, soups, salads and charcuterie, with wine and small bites in the afternoon and plans for weekend live music with desserts. Courtney Spears described the shop's style as "old meets new."

One block over, the Lake Oswego Creamery at 37 A Ave. is where the pattern reverses. The shop first opened as Tillamook Creamery in the mid-1980s. The Lake Oswego Review gives the year as 1986, and OregonLive gives it as 1985. In early September the Lake Oswego Review reported that two employees had ended their GoFundMe campaign to buy the business and were refunding every donation. They said they could not speak to its future. On the day of that report the shop was closed, and its sign said "closed for renovations." OregonLive covered the same development. We have not seen any later reporting on whether it will reopen, change hands or close for good.

The one dining room still being planned from scratch

The only ground-up restaurant on the city's books is part of the North Anchor project, on the north side of B Avenue starting at N. State Street. According to the City of Lake Oswego's project page, the plan includes two four-story mixed-use buildings with 66 apartments and about 5,700 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. It also includes a four-story, 88-room boutique hotel with a thermal spa and a restaurant.

The two pieces now run on different schedules. The city's May 19, 2026, update projected that the two housing parcels would be sold to UDP in October 2026, that demolition for the housing would begin this fall, and that construction would be finished by summer 2029. The same amendment split off the hotel. By the end of 2026, UDP is to tell the redevelopment agency board either that funding for the hotel is fully identified or what else could be built on that site in today's market. All of those dates are forecasts, and the October milestones were still ahead when the update was published.

Closer at hand, the fall calendar's sure things are seasonal. The Lake Oswego Farmers' Market runs on Saturdays through October 31, which leaves October 17, 24 and 31. Monster Mash is Saturday, October 31, at Christ Church Parish.

We keep track of these changes at Spurlock & Co. because a newly filled storefront, a long vacancy or a dark window shapes what daily life feels like on a block. If you'd like to talk about how State Street, Boones Ferry or downtown fits the way you live, start a conversation with us.