Earlier this summer I chatted with Valdan Vlaski, current co-owner of Two Brothers Rakia Bar & Grill (Fun fact: He is one of the “two brothers”). I love food from the Balkans and have enjoyed meals at Two Brothers. Also, I had read some assertions online about the restaurant, and I wanted to get his take on them. Here’s what we talked about.
About Two Brothers
The restaurant, which refers to Vladan and his brother, opened in August 2006; they celebrated their 20th anniversary on August 28, 2026. There, they offer food you’d find in parts of the former Yugoslavia (it existed from 1918 to 1992), where Vladan’s parents are from.
The restaurant has multiple points of origin. “It was my mom’s dream to have a restaurant,” Vladan explained. “She’s always done a lot of cooking and everything. And my dad—-he was working for a wood manufacturing company, and during an accident he ended up cutting off his left hand. He’s had over eight surgeries on it.” His father remains fully disabled in his left hand.
He did, however, receive a worker’s comp settlement. And since nobody would hire him due to his disability (this was in the early 2000s), they decided to start their own business—a restaurant. “They decided to take a risk and open it up,” said Vladan. “Thankfully, it paid off, because we’re here 20 years later.”
They’ve leased this location on SE Belmont since the start of Two Brothers. They chose this spot because it was convenient to their home in Northeast Portland and fit their budget at the time…