The Looper. | Ron Scott/Eater Portland A new bar serving sought-after smash burgers and bologna sandwiches is settling into Hawthorne this week. Steely’s, a collaborative project between bar owner Tyler Smith and Quinn Gilsdorf and Justin Looper, the duo behind the Little Brother pop-up, w ill open on Friday, April 17, in the former Gigantic Brewing space at 4343 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.  Smith, who previously owned Smitty’s Taphouse, decided to close the Sellwood taproom after three years in business so he could focus on the new project. Smith purchased the Gigantic Brewing property, which he says made more sense financially than to continue to rent and operate out of his Sellwood bar where there was no dedicated kitchen. “The cost of the building down there is absurd,” Smith says of the Sellwood location. “It’s cheaper to own this property than it is to rent that property.” Owning the building, he says, allows him to operate the tavern on his own terms and without landlord restrictions.  Smith says that in the current market, bars need a kitchen that can offer quality food, which was something he wasn’t able to do with Smitty’s. “What people want for food and beverage locations has changed since COVID,” he says. “People want a good meal when they sit down with a beer.” That’s where Looper and Gilsdorf came in. The pair joined Smith as equal partners (Smith says ownership is split three ways) in Steely’s business, with Gilsdorf and Looper building a permanent menu that expands on their Little Brother pop-up staples. Fans can expect familiar items like the Looper Burger, a smash burger made with a day-of grind of chuck and brisket. The burger, Looper’s signature, uses thinly sliced toppings and a loosely packed grind to create what he describes as a “perfect bite,” without ingredients slipping out or overwhelming the structure. There’s also a bologna sandwich built on bologna Gilsdorf makes in-house, and beet dishes. New additions include a fried chicken sandwich with remoulade and wings, now possible with the kitchen’s fryer. Overall, the menu leans affordable; most of the mains are priced around $11 to $17, alongside $5 sides like fries and cookies. For Gilsdorf and Looper, the move to a permanent kitchen is less about reinventing tavern food than executing it consistently. “I think you don’t need to elevate it,” Gilsdorf says. “You just need to be consistent.” Inside, Steely’s retains much of the structure left behind by Gigantic, with some aesthetic updates. The former blue cube on Southeast Hawthorne has been repainted vermillion, echoing the maple tree out front, while the interior has been darkened with wood paneling. Booths along the walls mirror the exterior hue, and red patent leather seating from the back room has been brought into the main space. “I go to places like Kay’s where you sit down on a comfy couch and have a cold beer and want to hang out for a while,” Smith says. “That’s the vibe we wanted here.” The beer list has been trimmed from Smitty’s 30 taps to 20, with dedicated lines for Guinness and Rainier, alongside bottles, cans, and draft pours of Russian River’s Pliny the Elder and Blind Pig. Cocktails, overseen by Levi Rudolph, stick to straightforward builds like margaritas, Old Fashioneds, and Negronis, plus a few variations. Beers will fall in the $4 to $8 range, with cocktails priced between $9 and $12. Smith expects a broader mix of customers on Hawthorne than in Sellwood, from neighborhood regulars to skaters and other drop-in drinkers showing up for cheap pints of Rainier. Whether it becomes a destination or a neighborhood bar, he says, the goal is the same: a place people want to settle into for a few hours. Steely’s is located at 4343 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard; open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday ...read more read less