Zero proof, full flavor: Where to drink N/A in Bend, Oregon
January 6, 2026
6 minute readAt some point on almost any trip to Bend chances are high you’ll end up wandering around downtown and the Old Mill District. But did you know there’s a new commercial and culture neighborhood taking shape? Soon, it’ll be hard to miss it, too, as an exciting new core with live theater, creative craft beverages, and eclectic cuisine to draw you in.
It’s called the Bend Central District, a.k.a, the Arts District, and it is already emerging as the most exciting reimagining of what the beating heart of Bend could be since the town’s founding more than a century ago. Consider it the artsy, rebellious sibling to downtown and its buttoned-up seniority. The B.C.D. is funky. It’s fun. It’s Bend’s up-and-coming district where creative minds already rule.
In the district, some of the gems you’ll find include:
- Live entertainment at the Greenhouse Cabaret and Open Space
- Creative cocktails, a funky brewery, and great food trucks
- Hotels with character
- A bookstore and an authentic Mexican grocery store
What is the B.C.D.?
Haven’t heard of it? For years, this 196-acre swatch of light-industrial land sandwiched between downtown a few blocks to the west and NE 4th Street to the east has been what city planners call “under utilized,” a zone of crumbling streets, weedy parking lots, and few reasons to check it out. That’s changing. “You’re going to want to be here,” says Kurt Alexander, co-founder of the Bend Central District Business Association. “It has a totally different energy.”
Within the next few years, you’ll be able to stroll across an architecturally pleasing pedestrian bridge that’ll arch over the railroad tracks and the parkway to make getting between the B.C.D. and downtown easy and fun. There will be apartments and bike-friendly boulevards. The main thoroughfare, NE Second Street, already sports new pavement and wide, pedestrian-friendly sidewalks. The future of this walkable community and its commercial and cultural core is already becoming a reality. Here’s a taste of what’s happening now.
Bend’s hottest giveaway is here!
There’s no better way to explore the Bend Central District than by actually experiencing it—and right now, there’s a chance to do just that. Visit Bend has teamed up with local partners to create a summer getaway giveaway that brings together some of the best this neighborhood has to offer: a two-night stay at Campfire Hotel, a $300 gift card to Dogwood, concert tickets, a private distillery tasting, and round-trip rides to the show.
Sound like your kind of weekend?
Enter the giveaway on Instagram by July 16 at noon.
Catch a show at the Greenhouse Cabaret
Tucked in the back of one of the most wonderful plant shops you’ll ever happen across, Somewhere That’s Green, you’ll find the Greenhouse Cabaret, a 65-seat playhouse that counts as Bend’s first professional theater. Founder John Kish, an Oregonian trained on Broadway, organizes shows like Liza’s Lounge, a series of drag-hosted evenings that include music, theatrical performances, and free petit fours from Foxtail Bakery. You can catch upcoming plays like The Wolves, in August, about a teen girl’s indoor soccer league team and Once, in the fall, about a busker who falls in love. Your ticket, which generally runs about $55, supports the cast and crew. Check the website for more.
Open Space, a community hall just a few blocks away, also hosts live music, plays, and pop-up events from time to time. Meanwhile, be on the lookout for Open Arts Center, a new teen-friendly arts hub with studios, classes, and hang-out spaces that’ll be coming to the district soon.
Craft beverages and international food in the B.C.D.
The Dogwood at the Pine Shed has rapidly become one of the most popular destinations in town for fantastic craft cocktails and delicious food—a quirky, hip watering hole with monkey chandeliers, strange taxidermy, and whimsical art for eye candy. Don’t miss the brilliant “Dogwood margarita” with tequila and lime swirling in a red wine float or the zero-proof “funky cold modena” with gaia berries and a tangy balsamic reduction.
Outside in a turf courtyard, you’ll find a smattering of fantastic food trucks. The Dominican serves succulent beef platters that are impossible to pass up. The salads at Zorba the Greek come with a generous portion of gyro meat and the tuna tacos (that you can also get in a bowl or salad) at Sopa are a crowd pleaser. ‘Wich Doctor Sandwich Co.’s Three Fingered Jack sandwich with curry jackfruit, pickled carrot and a housemade vegan aioli is so scrumptious it’ll make you cross-eyed. Two blocks away, next to Big Story Bookstore, you’ll find Colima Market, a much loved authentic Mexican grocery store with an outstanding taco truck out front.
The district also has a craft distillery, Oregon Spirit Distillers, where distiller Brad Irwin and blender Steve Denfeld combine “water, grain, and passion” into award-winning spirits. Swing by on Thursdays for live music or time your visit to catch the annual Oregon Gin Festival in June and the Oregon Whiskey Festival in September. The area has its first craft beer brewery, too, and it’s a unique one. Funky Fauna Artisan Ales recently moved from Sisters into the area and brews unique saison-style beers fermented with wild yeast collected from the air right here in Central Oregon. The Obscure Creature beer also uses grapes grown just north of Bend. Take a moment to appreciate the beer labels on display down the hall. Every last one of them is designed by co-owner and artist Danielle Burns.
Why “at the Pine Shed”?
If the building that now houses the Dogwood looks vaguely familiar that’s because it is. The tin structure was once a shed that dates back to Bend’s bygone days as a timber town. For decades it sat at its original location in the Old Mill and later became home to Spoken Moto. When that popular cafe and bar closed shop, Visit Bend used tourism-tax dollars reinvested through the Bend Sustainability Fund to help truck it to its new forever home in the B.C.D. To see other projects made possible by tourism, visit the grant program’s website.
Where to stay in the heart of Bend
It’ll take years (decades?) for the B.C.D. to reach full build-out but there are places you can stay right now—and they burst with character.
The Campfire Hotel will have you feeling like you’re at summer camp for grown-ups. The family friendly 100-room boutique hotel was once a run-of-the-mill motor inn that’s been transformed into a hip haven with a ten-foot firepit, a heated salt water pool you can even use in winter, as well as a cantina. Rooms come with loaner Breedlove guitars (based here in Bend!) that you can use to add to those campfire vibes. A few blocks away, the Waypoint is another solid option with 75 rooms featuring murals painted by local artists. The Hosmer, the Waypoint’s in-house bar, has a great collection of non-alcoholic drinks as well as classic Bend beers from Boneyard and Silver Moon. When hunger strikes, head out front to MidCity SmashedBurger, the food cart whose founder—rumor has it—rekindled the smashburger craze.
