HUBERS HISTORY, PORTLAND HISTORY, AND THE GREAT JAMES LOUIE

Walk into any gym with a weight room to go along with a dance studio, yoga retreat, therapy rooms, pool, hot tub, and you’ll fine exceptional people under the bar.

Strong people, men and women who decided to build and rebuild, and continue building their bodies to meet every challenge they face.

It works like this: When two people compete on an equal basis, when they match up in every detail, the stronger person is one to bet on.

After I decided to be a fat man in the gym instead of a fat man on a garage bench press, I noticed a few people right away. None stood out more than James Louie.

I saw an older man in shape like a thirty year old pushing man-weight like it was easy. (Lifting weights is hard unless you have someone else do it for you.)

Like most people, I like role models. And like all life-long learners, I’m always looking for a better way.

I wanted to know more about James Louie when I saw him in the local grocery store. There I was in Tigard wearing sweaty gym gear after a workout and I saw someone who reminded me of the guy in the gym, but I wasn’t sure.

Who I saw in the store wasn’t the ripped gym rat with the sort of shoulders that looked like they could break down doors. The James Louie I saw in the Albertson’s checkout line was the best dressed man I’ve ever seen. He said he was headed to work, which led to the usual questions, like where does anyone so perfectly put together work in such a splendid suit?

Mr. Louis owns Hubers in Portland. 

The same way I spied the sort of workout that gives results I wanted, I couldn’t stop looking at the fashion figure in front of me.

My style sense doesn’t reflect where I’ve lived and what I’ve seen, but for quick reference I’ve lived in New York City and Philadelphia and walked past high end men’s stores. Brooks Brothers in Center City has nothing on James.

The high end of my wardrobe tops out looking like something thrown together to enter a dress code protected club I don’t belong to; James Louis looked like a leading man from The Great Gatsby.

I’ve been around enough to know major league style when I’ve seen it, from gossip tv with red carpet cameras, an EF Hutton Christmas party at the Wall Street Club in NYC, to royal weddings. James could have walked out of the Albertson’s door, hopped into a waiting limo, boarded a private plane at PDX for a non-stop to a Paris opening, and not missed a beat.

Instead of Paris, James was headed for Hubers, the place travelportland.com lists as a ‘top sight.’

A trip to Portland isn’t complete without a visit to the city’s oldest restaurant and bar, Hubers Cafe. Locals have been coming in for their famous turkey dinners and signature Spanish Coffees since Huber’s opened in 1879. To make the cocktail, the rim of the glass is swiped with lime and dipped in sugar. The server then adds Bacardi 151 and Bols triple sec to the glass before setting it aflame right at your table. Kahlua is then added from great heights, followed by coffee, a dollop of whipped cream and a dusting of grated nutmeg. (According to one server, “it’s like the Cirque de Soleil” of bartending.)

It’s time to meet at Hubers? I’m ready.