The days when a Portland restaurant closing could shock us appear to be in the past. Perhaps that’s because dozens of local institutions — from Paley’s Place to Pok Pok, Toro Bravo to Beast — have already called it quits.
Or it could be due to the fact that recent closures often end up being less permanent than originally feared. Over the past year, restaurants from 3 Doors Down Cafe to Epif to Sandy’s Myanmar Cuisine to Slow Bar have reopened after a menu change, with new ownership or in a new location.
American Dream pizza became Original Dream (then closed temporarily after an October fire). Quaintrelle became 82 Acres. Several old Shari’s diner locations became Elmer’s. After public appeals for help, downtown legends Higgins and Dan & Louis Oyster Bar had some of their busiest weeks in history.
But there were still plenty of painful closures, from a landmark Oregon steak and seafood chain to a beloved neighborhood watering hole to a cafe that held down its Old Town Chinatown block for a decade. Here are the 10 most painful restaurant, bar and cafe closures in the Portland area in 2025.
Bob’s Red Mill
During its final week, the line to get into Bob’s Red Mill’s cafe and retail store in Milwaukie stretched for hours, with employees waving away cars at the parking lot gates by midday. The closure came almost exactly a year after the death of founder Bob Moore at age 94 and was followed a month later by the Oregon company putting its signature red building up for sale.
Cliff’s
This beloved Northeast Portland watering hole announced in October that the building’s owners had chosen not to renew its lease after six years under the Wonder Ballroom. “So many bars and restaurants have struggled throughout the years to stay afloat, and we’ve lost so many great spots, yet we’ve managed to hang in there with your support, which makes this an especially bitter pill to swallow,” owners Josh and Sierra Luebke wrote. Cliff’s hopes to reopen in a new location.
Steak frites and Santa pants mugs at Plumb, a former bistro residency at Deadshot.Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Deadshot
After more than seven years, this inventive Southeast Portland cocktail bar announced it would close at year’s end. “The truth is simple — sales just aren’t there anymore, while costs keep climbing,” owner Adam Robinson wrote. Over the years, the bar played host to several notable restaurant pop-ups, including Sun Rice and Plumb. After its final service in November, the Deadshot space has played host to the holiday bar concept Miracle.
Ian Williams, owner of Deadstock Coffee, a sneaker-themed coffee shop in downtown Portland.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
Deadstock Coffee
One of Portland’s most innovative coffee shops is closing at the end of the year after a decade in Old Town Chinatown. Deadstock Coffee — the city’s first sneaker culture-inspired coffee shop — opened 10 years ago, starting with a small stand inside nearby streetwear boutique Compound Gallery before moving to its current home at 408 N.W. Couch St. “I know that we’ve been in Old Town holding the block down for a long time, but it’s time to move on,” Deadstock owner Ian Williams said in an Instagram video earlier this month. “Sometimes real good things come to an end.”
Yeasted waffles with hazelnut praline butter and Vermont maple syrup at Fair Weather, the brunch standout turned cafe from the seafood specialists at Southeast Portland’s Jacqueline.Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Fair Weather
Arguably Portland’s best brunch restaurant — in fact, we argued just that in April — Fair Weather closed unexpectedly in August, with owner Derek Hanson citing slow weekday sales as the cause. Hanson has dabbled in brunch at least three times since opening seafood restaurant Jacqueline on Southeast Clinton Street nearly a decade ago, from a short-lived (but notable) early menu that ran from 2016-17 to a pandemic-time reboot in 2021 to a surprise revival in early 2025. With its Olympics-like every-four-years cycle, we’re holding out hope for a Fair Weather return in 2029.
Jinju Patisserie
This North Portland pastry shop, which won a James Beard award as America’s most outstanding bakery earlier this year, announced its unexpected closure earlier this month. “We have been so fortunate to accomplish our goals beyond our expectations over the past six years,” Jinju owners Jin Caldwell and Kyurim Lee wrote on social media. “Now it’s time for a new chapter.” Caldwell and Lee hope to find a new space for their beloved bakery.
An inexpensive chirashi sushi bowl from Kashiwagi in Southeast Portland.Michael Russell | The Oregonian
Kashiwagi
One of Portland’s best inexpensive sushi restaurants will close its doors at the end of the year. “After thoughtful consideration,” chef-owner Takeo Kashiwagi wrote, “(my wife and I) concluded that this is the right moment to take a step back from the restaurant and begin our semi-retirement.” Kashiwagi opened his namesake restaurant in 2021 after years running Sushi Takahashi 2 in Southwest Portland. In our annual guide to Portland’s best sushi, we named Kashiwagi the best inexpensive sushi option in Portland.
McCormick & Schmick’s
The last Oregon location of this landmark Portland steak and seafood chain closed its doors in March, marking an end to the restaurant’s once sprawling local footprint. The McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant at Bridgeport Village followed two other Portland-area locations in closing over the past six years. The company founded by Jake’s Famous Crawfish owner Bill McCormick and manager Douglas Schmick once boasted more than 100 locations nationwide.
Reeva Cafe y Cocina a la Leña, a food cart on Sandy Boulevard in Northeast Portland.Mark Graves/The Oregonian
Reeva
The beloved wood-fired pizza cart — one of Portland’s very best pizzerias — has been closed since chef-owner Roberto Hernandez Guerrero traveled to Mexico for an immigration interview in November and was denied reentry to the United States. Built inside a former FedEx truck repainted matte-black with orange accents, Reeva was the first food business owned by Hernandez Guerrero, a longtime Portland chef who spent time at the likes of Andina and Beast. A December fundraiser at Pizzeria Otto raised more than $5,000 for Hernandez Guerrero’s family.
The eponymous xiao long bao from XLB in North Portland.Oregonian file photo
XLB
XLB, the homegrown Chinese restaurant behind some of the city’s best soup dumplings, closed for good in April after nearly a decade in North Portland. Former fine-dining chef Jasper Shen opened XLB in 2016 as a “straight-up Chinese” restaurant with stir-fried greens, shrimp noodles and the soup dumplings he fell in love with as a young cook in New York City. “This decision was not made lightly, and we are incredibly grateful for the support, laughter, and memories we’ve shared with all of you over the years,” wrote Linh Tran, an XLB owner.
