A spotlight from Buckman
Kann
Gregory Gourdet's Haitian live-fire room in Buckman — sugarcane, hearth smoke, and Oregon-grown griyo
I cook so many different things, and I feel the most comfortable cooking Haitian food. It brings me the most joy.
— Gregory Gourdet, Chef & Owner
A longing that became a restaurant
Gregory Gourdet grew up in Queens listening to his parents speak Kreyol and eating the food of Haiti at home, then trained through fine kitchens where his heritage rarely appeared on the plate.
Planning for Kann began in 2018, but it took a pandemic-era outdoor pop-up — the Kann Winter Village — to prove the concept on Portland's terms. When the permanent dining room opened on SE Ash Street in August 2022, it arrived fully formed.
Haitian cuisine through a Pacific Northwest lens
Kann is Haitian cuisine translated through the Pacific Northwest — Oregon wagyu smoked over Douglas fir, Willamette squash braised with epis, huckleberries meeting Scotch bonnet.
The menu is naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, with a full vegan tasting available beside the omnivore one, because Gourdet believes the food's dignity does not depend on butter and flour.
A warm room in inner southeast Portland
Kann sits on a quiet block of Buckman, in inner southeast Portland, where warehouses have slowly given way to bike shops and neighborhood wine bars.
The dining room feels intentionally low-lit and warm — clay-toned walls, woven textures, a curtain of ambient wood smoke drifting from the open kitchen. Downstairs is Sousòl, a pan-Caribbean cocktail bar.
Order this
The dishes that made Kann
Griyo
Haiti's twice-cooked pork — braised, then fried crisp — served with fried green plantains and a bracing pikliz of pickled cabbage and Scotch bonnet.
Warm plantain muffins
Baked to order and brought to the table hot in a small cast-iron, brushed with cane syrup. A house welcome and the first thing regulars ask about.
Smoked beef rib with ti malice
Ranch beef smoked low over hardwood, glazed with ti malice — a Haitian condiment of onion, chile, and citrus — and pulled apart at the table.
Good to know
Kann, answered
How do I get a table?
Reservations open on Resy 30 days out and go fast. A walk-in seat at Sousòl downstairs is the reliable backup.
Is it accessible for dietary restrictions?
The entire kitchen is dedicated gluten-free and dairy-free, and a full vegan tasting runs alongside the omnivore menu — no substitution requests needed.
What should I order first?
The plantain muffins — they arrive hot and set the tone for the meal.