Heroes American Cafe by a vet for vets

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When John Jackson decided to leave corporate America in 2014, he also decided to do something to honor the military and first responders.

That’s how Heroes American Cafe was born, now with two locations: downtown Portland and Medford.

“I took a lot of the things from traveling around and growing up in different parts of the country and kind of put them on the menu and kind of created our own thing,” Jackson said.

The Caveman burger is “dedicated to Grants Pass because that’s caveman country,” he told KOIN 6 News.

House Manager Chris Berg said it’s a quarter-pounder with cheddar, crispy bacon and a fried egg. Berg also said they feature a Caesar salad with Buffalo fried chicken on top with bleu cheese crumbles. But their most popular sandwich is the turkey bacon avocado on herb ciabatta bread, served with beer battered fries.

And there’s also loaded nachos: ground beef, guacamole, pico de gallo, refried black beans, sour cream and nacho cheese.

Jackson said there’s one thing people can do for vets on a daily basis is to say, “Thank you for your service. And a lot of times vets, they don’t expect it. But I think that it’s always a nice thing to say because they’re the one percenters.”

He said being in the military was “a great opportunity personally to give back, but also to see the world and do different things.”

And he’s giving back to teachers, first responders, veterans and current military members by offering 10% off when dining at the Heroes American Cafe.