Arel

Steve Arel grew up in the restaurant and bar business under family tutelage back when O'Connor's was downtown's last men-only establishment.

Friends 2009

In other and completely unrelated news, Arel has been haunting my dreams, just like Xavier used to do.

Horse names nathreee 2009

Arel upped his community ante four years ago when he bought an adjoining storefront that housed the Multnomah Bank when he was a kid.

Friends 2009

Instead of sending in a food critic they sent in a writer to get a flavor for who Steve Arel is.

Friends 2009

But 18 years after he took over from his dad in 1972, Arel wearied of being a tenant in the battered old Jack London Hotel, the last of three downtown O'Connor's locations.

Friends 2009

The annex, which Arel also calls the Vault, is a music venue at night and can be rented for evening parties.

Friends 2009

In 1991, Arel transformed it into the new home of O'Connor's.

Friends 2009

Besides a full bar and a moderately priced menu of eclectic Tex-Mex-Southern-style food, the restaurant has become home away from home for many regulars, and Arel has planted himself firmly as a Multnomah Village asset.

Friends 2009

Arel, who grew up in Southwest Portland and graduated from Wilson High School, found a place on a street he'd bicycled countless times as a kid.

Friends 2009

During the day, Arel makes it available at no cost for community groups, including the business association.

Friends 2009