Schoolhouse Visits Xiao Ye, Portland’s Cozy First-Generation American Restaurant

Jolyn Chen is already the general manager and co-owner of Portland’s Xiao Ye, but she added one more line to her resume when she opened her first-generation American restaurant: interior designer. Even though she had swerved from hospitality earlier in her career to study design, “this was the first time I had full creative control and got to really ask myself what I liked and what I thought looked best,” she says. “It's not lost on me how lucky I am to be the designer and the client on this project.”

As a result, she went for a cozy, colorful space with British influences, checkerboard floors, and more than 10 swatches of paint to fill the space. And even though it’s technically a restaurant that serves beet pickled eggs and comforting pasta, there’s plenty of inspiration to crib for your own space. Here’s how she took an empty space and made it feel like home.

Tell us the story about how you found the space—what drew you to it?

We worked with a broker who sent us listings and when we originally got this listing we dismissed it early on because it was 500 sqft bigger than what we were originally wanting (in hindsight, we could actually use more space now that we're operating!). After digging a little deeper, I saw that it was a standalone space and corner lot, so I looked on google maps and saw that it was this beautiful brick building! I knew I had to see the interiors. It had big windows and skylights which flooded the space with this diffused natural light, 12' open ceilings with wood beams, and it was a fully raw space that I could reimagine. Despite all the graffiti on the exterior, the building set on one of the busiest thruways in Portland, and nothing but "For Lease" signs on all the neighboring buildings, the moment we walked in, we knew that this was going to be our restaurant space.

Describe your personal style, and how it’s reflected in Xiao Ye.

My personal style leans more towards English design that feels lived in and with quite a bit of whimsy and color. There's probably over 10 different paint colors used in the restaurant and my painters really had a hard time keeping track of it all. There's a wavy scallop detail on some of my pendants by my bar and on some of my open shelving as well. Wall treatments, picture rails, and peg rails are common in English design, so you see a whole wall of beadboard in my main dining room and a wainscot and peg rails around my private dining room. I like the idea of using traditional silhouettes and adding a bold color to make it playful. Portland and England have very similar gloomy, rainy days, and so the design is geared towards feeling cozy.

What designers or tastemakers inspired the design?

I drew a lot of inspiration from Matilda Goad, Beata Heuman, and Wes Anderson films.

What is your favorite detail?

I love our "hidden" cabinets towards the back of our restaurant. Originally that wall of cabinetry was set back behind the wall of our bar and in order to avoid having too many jigs and jogs, I pulled that wall up to match the bar wall. In order to not lose the 12" of precious square footage to dead space behind the wall, I created some wall niches for little bookshelves and more storage behind cabinet doors that are slightly concealed by the beadboard detailing. Now, guests get super curious to know what's behind those hidden doors, and it adds a lot of whimsy into the space!

Did you renovate? If so, what did you learn from the process?

Yes, it was a full build-out. I actually found my personal design style throughout this process. Up until this restaurant, I have been working for other people, so a lot of my career was spent executing someone else's vision. As a young female designer and restaurant owner working with a construction crew full of older men, I learned to push for things to be corrected whenever they were done incorrectly.

How does the space reflect the kind of food you serve?

Our food is very personal because it's food from [me and chef Louis Lin’s] lived experiences as first-generation Taiwanese-American. It's food from our childhood memories, the places we've lived, restaurants we've worked in—and so a lot of the food ends up being nostalgic comfort food. We've always wanted people to feel cozy in our space like you're dining in our home. It's unfussy and lived-in. We have thrifted plates stacked up on our big kitchen island, which reminds a lot of our guests of their grandmas’ kitchen. The chairs and lights are all mismatched, so that nothing feels too designed or manufactured. Our open kitchen sits in the middle of our dining room with an 8-seat chef's counter. It feels like you're over at a friend's house, hanging by their kitchen island, while they cook for you. Xiao Ye is meant to be a homey place where you bring your favorite people and connect with each other over food.

What is your best memory in the space?

The best memory I have in the space has to be our wedding reception. We were surrounded by 50 of our closest friends and family and our amazing team executed the whole night seamlessly. There was a moment when I stood at the end of my bar looking out into the candlelit dining room and became overwhelmed with gratitude from seeing every single person I loved in the restaurant and feeling so proud and grateful for the team that we built. It was like for one night, I was the guest in my own restaurant.

What Schoolhouse pieces feel the most at home there?

The Persimmon Ton chairs are the perfect pop of red in our dining room, and they fit right in with all my other mismatched chairs.