May 8, 2026

Mike Bennett was an unemployed artist in Portland, Oregon when he created a public art project that captured the imagination of the city during the pandemic. He then created art popups in increasingly large retail spaces, then Wonderwood Indoor Mini Golf & Cafe, and then The Portland Aquarium, an indoor cartoon aquarium. Bennett and his business partner Teddy Albertson discuss these spaces, their plans for their new Zooquarium brand, and how they're turning vacant retail spaces into community-driven immersive destinations that are getting national attention.

James Cook is the Director of Retail Research in the Americas for JLL. 

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Email: jamesd.cook@jll.com 

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Theme music is Run in the Night by The Good Lawdz, under Creative Commons license.