How an Oregon-Based Entrepreneur Duo Taps Into Local Markets

From Struggling Cafe to Immersive Anchor

Albertson describes the start of their first project as a practical one. There wasn’t a vision for an FEC, but rather a struggling cafe in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood that needed new life.

“My background is in hospitality, and we had a somewhat underperforming cafe in the neighborhood where Mike had an immersive experience adjacent to it,” Albertson says. “I reached out to Mike and said, ‘Hey, will you come in?’”

In roughly 45 days, Bennett transformed the interior using antiques and painted plywood. The result is Wonderwood Springs, a medieval fantasy cafe populated by Bennett’s original characters—his own interpretations of unicorns, monsters, fairies, and other fantastical creatures.

“We instantly saw the business perform about five times better than it was before,” Albertson says. “We created a true storyline-driven and immersive cafe environment.”

Food, Beverage, and the Reality of All-Day Operations

Wonderwood Springs operates as an all-day café, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Albertson acknowledges that stretching food and beverage (F&B) operational hours across an entire day—and offering different menu items as the day progresses—is often where hospitality concepts struggle.

“From an F&B standpoint … [other attractions] may only really work at one of those meal periods and stretch into another to try and capitalize on the revenue,” he shares. “But when you’re working with this fully immersive storytelling, art-driven type of experience, I’ve found that it needs those all-day food offerings … you can come in at 10 a.m. for coffee and a bagel, or at 7 p.m. for a burger and a beer, and it feels natural.” In addition, their menu selections were designed to be approachable and price-sensitive for families.

Rewriting Aquarium Economics

Located on a prime downtown corner, The Portland Aquarium occupies just 3,000 square feet—a footprint too small for a traditional, live animal facility. Instead, the attraction uses illustrated environments and immersive storytelling to showcase more than 100 species, including animals such as blue whales and hammerhead sharks.

“The biggest difference between Wonderwood and the aquarium is the economics,” Albertson says. “The aquarium is purely ticket and retail driven—no food and beverage.”

He shares that downtown Portland is filled with popular food and beverage options already, and they did not intend to compete for those dollars. “We wanted to be a third space that complements what’s already there,” Albertson adds.

The illustrated format also dramatically alters cost structures. “Once you have the right number of attendees to cover your fixed costs, the flowthrough is pretty significant once you hit that break-even point,” Albertson says.

While a small number of guests initially expect live animals, Albertson says the response is overwhelmingly positive.

A Scalable Model for Suburban Markets

Looking ahead, Albertson sees the greatest opportunity in tier two and tier three markets—smaller communities that likely cannot support a traditional zoo or aquarium.

“There are so many cities that will never have a zoo or aquarium,” he says. “But families still want those educational, experiential moments.”

Because the model doesn’t rely on live animals, the facility can scale into spaces ranging from 3,000 to 20,000 square feet, adapting to shopping centers, outdoor malls, and downtown retail.

The team has also recently released a “zooquarium” podcast concept focused on teaching kids facts about land and sea animals. “By combining the science and the animal elements, we found that there’s a lot more long-term sustainability and opportunity within that space. People are resonating with it,” says Albertson.

The Value of Incubator Cities

Both founders point to Portland as an ideal testing ground. “This city really does a great job of adopting ideas and embracing them,” Bennett says. “Sometimes people refer to Portland as an incubator city. It’s where a lot of ideas come from and then expand globally.”

For Bennett, transforming existing buildings in the city he’s called home for a decade carries weight. “Turning a 100-year-old department store into a space full of joy is an honor and a responsibility,” he says. “You’re adding new memories to a place that has decades and decades of memories built into it. I think it’s really awesome to get the keys to some of these spaces and transform them.”

Bennett’s earliest work began at his own home. He created an art exhibit named A to Zoo, which featured the addition of one new animal installation in his front yard each day during the pandemic. Word of the installation quickly spread, and the number of visitors began to get out of hand. “At one point, we had 1,000 people show up in a single day,” Bennett says. “That’s when I knew it needed to live somewhere else.”

What’s Next

Looking ahead, Albertson says that growth will depend on finding the right real estate partners—ones who understand experiential tenants. “We’ve done everything on a shoestring budget. We’re completely self-financed, so we’ve done things in a very DIY fashion … but at the same time, we’re looking to find someone that can see the value that we bring. It’s about scaling it with the right people.”