Willamette Week The need for strong, independent local journalism is more urgent than ever. Please support the city we love by joining Friends of Willamette Week. The City of Portland Wants Visitors to Come Back Downtown—but It Hasn’t Given a Food Cart Pod Permission to Operate The two dozen food carts—which once anchored the city’s oldest and largest pod on what’s now the construction site of a Ritz-Carlton hotel—have been refugees. CLOSED FOR BUSINESS: Two dozen food cart owners are waiting anxiously for city permits that will allow them to cook again. Updated December 16, 2020