Little Big Burger Portland: History and Locations

Little Big Burger is a Portland fast-casual chain founded in the Pearl District in 2010 by Micah Camden and Katie Poppe, known for quarter-pound burgers on brioche, truffle fries and a house ketchup named after Camden. Camden sold it to Chanticleer Holdings for $6.1 million in July 2015 and has had nothing to do with it since. On October 16, 2026, the official site listed eight locations, all in Oregon. The original Pearl District shop is closed.

Still worth knowing about? Yes, with caveats. The truffle fries and the short menu survive. The founder’s restaurant does not: this is now a corporate brand that has been through a bankruptcy, and at around $8.75 for a burger plus $4 for fries it is no longer the cheap counter it was built to be. Below, the man who made it, then the chain as it stands today.

Little Big Burger Portland at a glance

Little Big Burger is a Portland-born, fast-casual chain serving cooked-to-order burgers, truffle fries and root beer floats, according to its own About page.

Who is Micah Camden?

Micah Camden is a Portland restaurateur who started in fine dining, then founded Little Big Burger, Blue Star Donuts, Boxer Ramen and the SuperDeluxe drive-thru.

His path there was not a culinary one. According to a 2018 Willamette Week profile, Camden grew up in Gary, Indiana, moved to Salt Lake City at 7 and dropped out of school in ninth grade. Makeup artist, bartender. Then Portland, in 2005.

From fine dining to fast casual

Camden made his name in Portland with ambitious restaurants before he turned to cheap, fast food. Yakuza came first, in 2006, at NE 30th Ave and Killingsworth St. Beast followed in 2007 with chef Naomi Pomeroy, then DOC in 2008.

Then he switched. “Fame versus fortune,” he told Willamette Week. “That’s when I came up with Little Big Burger.” Most restaurateurs dress that choice up. Camden didn’t, and I respect him for it: everything he opened afterward was built for volume, not for critics.

How Little Big Burger started in 2010

Little Big Burger opened in 2010 at 122 NW 10th Ave in the Pearl District as a small, cheap burger counter built on Camden’s Yakuza sliders.

In August 2010, PDX Monthly reported the shop would open in about three weeks, with $3 burgers billed as downsized Yakuza sliders, plus fries, salads, sodas, beer and floats. Camden’s pitch was blunt: “There’s no place around here to get something cheap and fast. It’s just gonna be burgers, fries, salads, and sodas. And beer.”

The idea was burgers “just a bit bigger than a slider” and fries splashed with truffle oil, priced low. Karen Brooks wasn’t sold, writing that Camden was “playing it a little too safe”. Diners were. Branches soon opened on NE Alberta St and SE Division St, and both neighborhoods still have one.

Inside Little Big Burger on SE Division Street in November 2013: an open kitchen under a steel hood, red counter seating with aluminum chairs and a shelf of canned sodas. It shows the small, cheap-and-fast counter format Camden launched in 2010. (3264x2448) (Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little\_Big\_Burger,\_SE\_Divison,\_Portland,\_OR\_(2013)\_-\_2.jpg)

Camden’s catsup

Camden’s catsup is Little Big Burger’s house ketchup, made with tomatoes, honey, onions and chile peppers, and it still carries the founder’s name on the menu.

It is the most personal trace Camden left on the brand. Literally: PDX Monthly reported in 2015 that he has it tattooed on his arm.

The ‘place order here’ counter at Little Big Burger on SE Division in 2013, with two bottles of Camden’s catsup by the register and a sign selling the founder’s house ketchup by the bottle. (2448x3264) (Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little\_Big\_Burger,\_SE\_Divison,\_Portland,\_OR\_(2013)\_-\_1.jpg)

Who owns Little Big Burger?

Micah Camden no longer owns Little Big Burger: he and Katie Poppe sold it to Chanticleer Holdings in 2015, and the brand later sat under Amergent Hospitality Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2024.

Chanticleer, which also owned Hooters franchises, announced the $6.1 million purchase on July 31, 2015. At the time Little Big Burger had eight Oregon locations and about $6 million in annual revenue. Camden to PDX Monthly: “It’s surreal. I’m a bit dazed. I may need therapy.” He and Poppe sold to focus on Blue Star Donuts and their other concepts.

Chanticleer formed Amergent Hospitality Group in 2020, and Amergent is listed as Little Big Burger’s parent. It filed for Chapter 11 in July 2024. I could not find a confirmed buyer or new operator after that filing, so I won’t name one.

Little Big Burger timeline: 2010, opens at 122 NW 10th Ave in the Pearl District | July 31, 2015, sold to Chanticleer Holdings for $6.1 million | 2016, expands to Seattle | 2019, workers start a union drive | 2020, Chanticleer forms Amergent Hospitality Group | November 2022, Seattle Capitol Hill location closes | May 2024, Labor Department orders $316,500 in withheld tips paid | July 2024, Amergent files for Chapter 11. (Table: Burger Breton, from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), PDX Monthly, Willamette Week and Capitol Hill Seattle Blog)

Expansion, the Seattle exit and the tip settlement

Under corporate ownership, Little Big Burger grew beyond Oregon, then pulled back, and in 2024 it was ordered to repay withheld tips.

• Seattle: the chain arrived in 2016. Its Capitol Hill location at 1200 E Pike St closed in November 2022, according to Capitol Hill Seattle Blog.
• Labor: workers began a union drive in 2019.
• Tips: in May 2024, the US Department of Labor ordered the company to pay $316,500 after finding that 14 Oregon and Washington locations had withheld tips from workers.

Little Big Burger’s Capitol Hill storefront at 12th Ave and E Pike St in Seattle, October 2022, with ‘Truffle Fries’ and ‘Oregon Beef’ lettered on the glass. The location closed the following month, ending the brand’s Seattle push. (4032x3024) (Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seattle\_in\_October\_2022\_-\_036.jpg)

Is the original Pearl District Little Big Burger still open?

No. The original Little Big Burger at 122 NW 10th Ave in the Pearl District is marked closed on Yelp, and it is not on the official list of locations.

The NW 23rd Ave branch (930 NW 23rd Ave) is marked closed too. No news report I found gives the exact closing date of either.

Little Big Burger locations in Portland and Oregon

The official Little Big Burger site lists eight locations, all in Oregon, as of October 16, 2026: three in Portland and five in the suburbs and Eugene.

The Alberta ordering page lists hours of 11 am to 9 pm daily. I could not confirm hours for the other branches, and Yelp shows a string of past closures across the chain, so check the official site or call before you drive out to Canby or Eugene.

Map of the eight Little Big Burger locations listed on the official site (October 16, 2026): Alberta, Division and South Waterfront in Portland, plus Lake Oswego, Hillsboro (Orenco Station), Beaverton (Progress Ridge), Canby and Eugene. Grey markers: the closed Pearl District original (122 NW 10th Ave) and NW 23rd Ave (930 NW 23rd Ave). Eugene is about 110 miles south of Portland. (Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; markers by Burger Breton from littlebigburger.com and Yelp)

Little Big Burger menu and prices

The Little Big Burger menu is short: quarter-pound beef burgers, a chicken burger, a Beyond Burger, plain or truffle fries, with burgers at about $8.00–$8.75 and fries at about $4.00.

The classic is the Cheeseburger: a 1/4 lb Cascade Natural beef patty with shredded lettuce, red onion, pickles and Camden’s catsup on a fresh-baked brioche bun. In 2010 the promise was a $3 burger. In 2013 the Division menu board still read $3.75 for a cheeseburger. Today you pay more than double that.

The Little Big Burger menu board on SE Division in November 2013: cheeseburger $3.75, hamburger $3.50, veggie burger $3.75, french fries $2.75, fountain soda $2.00, root beer float $3.75, with ‘all burgers cooked to medium unless otherwise requested’. (2448x3264) (Photo: Another Believer, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Little\_Big\_Burger,\_SE\_Divison,\_Portland,\_OR\_(2013)\_-\_3.jpg)

These prices come from the brand’s Toast online ordering pages as indexed by search on October 16, 2026. The pages blocked direct access, so treat them as approximate and expect some variation between branches. Prices are in US dollars, before tax and tip.

Chart (bar, US dollars): Little Big Burger burger prices went from $3.00 announced in 2010 (PDX Monthly) to $3.75 for a cheeseburger in 2013 (menu board) and about $8.00–$8.75 in October 2026 (online menus). Fries went from $2.75 in 2013 to $4.00 in 2026. (Chart: Burger Breton, data from PDX Monthly (2010), menu photo by Another Believer (CC BY-SA 3.0, 2013) and Toast online menus (2026))

Little Big Burger truffle fries

Little Big Burger’s truffle fries are fries tossed in white truffle oil, according to the online menu, and they have been the brand’s signature side since 2010.

Truffle oil, not shaved truffle: the menu is clear about it. In 2010 that was the hook, a fine-dining flourish at a cheap counter. It still leads the About page, next to cooked-to-order burgers and root beer floats.

What Micah Camden did after Little Big Burger

After selling Little Big Burger, Camden kept opening fast-casual concepts in Portland, with mixed results: Blue Star Donuts, Boxer Ramen and SuperDeluxe are the best known.

• Blue Star Donuts (2012): co-founded with Katie Poppe. Poppe kept it when the two split their portfolio.
• Boxer Ramen (November 2013, Union Way): filed for Chapter 11 in February 2024. Camden closed all locations after service on April 28, 2024.
• SuperDeluxe (July 2018): a burger drive-thru in SE Portland opened with Matt Lynch. Wikipedia reports a Chapter 11 filing in February 2024 and that, by 2026, only the original Portland location and Sherwood remained, after Bend closed in March 2026.
• Closed concepts: Son of a Biscuit, Hop Dog, Fats and Boxer Sushi.

SuperDeluxe is the closest thing Camden has had to a second act in burgers. Whether he still holds a stake in it after the bankruptcy filing, I could not confirm.

Is Little Big Burger worth visiting today?

Little Big Burger is worth a stop if you want a fast, simple quarter-pound burger with truffle fries in Portland, but it is no longer the cheap, founder-run counter that made its name in the Pearl District.

My take: the formula Camden designed is intact. Short menu, brioche bun, a ketchup with his name on it, truffle fries. That is still the reason to go. The value argument is not. A burger and fries come to roughly $12.75 before tax and tip, which puts it in the same bracket as places that grind their own beef. And the context has changed too: the original shop is gone, the parent company went through Chapter 11, and the 2024 tip ruling is now part of the record.

I have not rated Little Big Burger. A Burger Breton rating requires a dated visit, and this profile is built from the official site, the online menus and local press. For the wider picture, see our Portland burger city page, where food carts get most of the attention.

How I built this guide

This profile relies on the official Little Big Burger site, its Toast ordering pages, Yelp closure listings, Wikipedia and coverage by PDX Monthly, Willamette Week and Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, all checked on October 16, 2026. Historical facts are dated to their source. Current facts (locations, prices, hours) are what those sources showed on that date.

FAQ about Little Big Burger Portland

Who founded Little Big Burger? Micah Camden and Katie Poppe founded Little Big Burger in Portland’s Pearl District in 2010.

Does Micah Camden still own Little Big Burger? No. Camden and Poppe sold Little Big Burger to Chanticleer Holdings for $6.1 million in July 2015, and Camden has not owned or run it since.

Who owns Little Big Burger now? The brand was owned by Chanticleer Holdings from 2015, then by Amergent Hospitality Group, which Chanticleer formed in 2020. Amergent filed for Chapter 11 in July 2024. No new owner or operator has been confirmed.

Is Little Big Burger closing after the Amergent bankruptcy? Not as of October 16, 2026: the official site still lists eight locations in Oregon. Several older locations have closed, including the Pearl District original, NW 23rd Ave and Seattle’s Capitol Hill, so check before you go.

Is the original Pearl District Little Big Burger still open? No. The first location at 122 NW 10th Ave is marked closed on Yelp. Its exact closing date has not been reported.

How much does a burger cost at Little Big Burger? About $8.00 to $8.75 for a burger and $4.00 for fries, based on the online ordering pages in October 2026.

Are Little Big Burger’s truffle fries made with real truffle? The menu says the fries are tossed in white truffle oil. It does not mention fresh or shaved truffle.

What is Camden’s catsup? It is Little Big Burger’s house ketchup, made with tomatoes, honey, onions and chile peppers and named after founder Micah Camden. It comes on the Cheeseburger.

What other restaurants did Micah Camden open? Yakuza, Beast (with Naomi Pomeroy) and DOC in fine dining, then Blue Star Donuts, Boxer Ramen and SuperDeluxe, among others. Boxer Ramen closed in April 2024.

Where are the best burgers in Portland, Oregon? Little Big Burger is one option among many. See our Portland burger city page and browse more cities in the Burger Breton restaurants section.

Sources

• PDX Monthly, 2010 opening announcement: https://www.pdxmonthly.com/eat-and-drink/2010/08/biglittleburger-pp-080410
• PDX Monthly, 2015 sale to Chanticleer: https://www.pdxmonthly.com/articles/portland-s-little-big-burger-sold-to-chanticleer-holdings-inc
• Willamette Week, sale to the owners of Hooters: https://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-33545-little-big-burger-being-sold-to-owners-of-hooters.html
• Willamette Week, 2018 Micah Camden profile: https://www.wweek.com/culture/2018/10/24/other-portland-chefs-want-to-make-food-into-art-micah-camden-makes-money/
• Little Big Burger official site and About page: https://www.littlebigburger.com/ and https://littlebigburger.com/about-us/
• Wikipedia, Little Big Burger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Big_Burger
• Wikipedia, Boxer Ramen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Ramen
• Wikipedia, SuperDeluxe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperDeluxe_(restaurant)
• Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, Seattle closure (2022): https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2022/11/pick-your-storyline-another-pdx-exit-a-new-franchise-plan-from-the-guys-who-brought-you-hooters-a-fizzled-union-little-big-burger-has-closed-on-capitol-hill/