ABOUT US
A place worth building
ABOUT US
It started with a feeling
A native of western France, Yves wanted to recreate what he'd grown up with — a village square where people could eat, shop, meet, linger, and simply be. Multnomah Village had everything a neighborhood could want. Everything, that is, except a place to gather.
So he built one.
Over several months Yves brought the French Quarter to life from the ground up — storefronts, street lamps, and the details that make a place feel like somewhere rather than anywhere. His son-in-law Jean-Philippe worked alongside him, building the indoor French street by hand. When it was finished they named it Rue Colette Gourdine, in loving memory of Jean-Philippe's mother.
Then came the harder and more joyful work — filling it with life. Yves and his daughter Sara set out to find vendors who would bring something real to the village. Diversity and ingenuity weren't checkboxes. They were the whole point — and that hasn't changed.
Today Yves and Sara run the space together — he built it, she manages it. But the French Quarter has always been bigger than the two of them. Debbie (Yves' wife and co-owner), Morgan (their daughter), Jean-Philippe (Sara's husband), and Ryan (Morgan's husband) have all helped make the French Quarter what it is today.
It was created by a family. The community made it theirs.
THE INDOOR STREET
A street with a story
Rue Colette Gourdine
Jean-Philippe, alongside Yves, built the French street you'll find inside. Upon completion they knew the street needed a name — and they chose Rue Colette Gourdine, in honor of Jean-Philippe's late mother. Colette, a native of Guadeloupe, instilled in all her children a love of learning and curiosity. It was those values that brought Jean-Philippe to America, where he furthered his career as a biochemist and eventually married Sara, the French Quarter's manager.
While she is no longer with us, Colette is as much a part of the French Quarter's story as anyone.
It's a reminder that the French Quarter was built with love from the very beginning.