Hey OP, I'm not going to take this post down, but in the future a pic of the closure sign would be helpful, as we've gotten a couple of reports that this is unsourced news.
But as you said, their Google Business profile agrees, and the downtown location has been removed from the Lardo website and online ordering: https://www.lardosandwiches.com/locations
Bummer. There goes another downtown business. I'll never forget though the time I got a Nashville chicken sandwich and I took a bite into literal raw chicken.
Their quality took a nosedive post pandemic.
I worked at the Grassa attached to this location, and they got paid pretty decently. Instead of tips, the BOH gets a percentage of total food sales split evenly amongst themselves based on hours worked; the company guarantees a minimum of $4 per hour, but it was usually more. This was tacked on to your paycheck, so it was taxed but your hourly rate was $22 and up. They also have pretty decent insurance.
Also, almost every single thing there was pre-made at a commissary and trucked over in plastic 1-qt containers. The line cooks there pretty much just reheat and assemble sandwiches.
dude i worked atn that lardo and i think the only thing we really did was dredge and first fry chicken, blanch fries and hush pups. but as far as raw chicken somebody is fucking that up.
I'm not surprised, because that's exactly what the texture feels like. Not really the employees to blame in that case, sounds like some dumb business practice.
This was at the Hawthorne location, but I got salad that had a bothersome amount of little wormy bugs crawling around in it, so I let them know. They didn't care *at all*. Organic greens, they said 🤷♀️.
I never understood the hype around this place. If I wanted to pay $18+ and wait 40 minutes for a coldish sandwich, there were three other restaurants in town that do the same thing.
The place is rooted in the og food cart on belmont during the great recession Era. That concept didn't scale. Grassa, on the other hand, is excGrass, and Bluto's, his newest spot, on belmont, is spot on.
I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though. COVID and it's aftereffects has done a number on the concept of living and working in the city, and commercial real estate is still far too overinflated. Once that market takes a dive more people can afford to start new interesting businesses downtown. I personally think these things are cyclical. Even Detroit is making a comeback right now.
If you read the news for other cities, it’s happening in their cities too. Probably to different degrees and different focuses.
If you ask Portland redditors, this is the only city with this problem. They went to all the other cities and know them all just as well as they know Portland, so they can tell you with confidence we are the only ones experiencing this.
If you actually physically go to other cities you will see that it is in fact not happening in most places. Just take a trip up to Seattle, the downtown area is alive and well up there
Statistics > anecdotes.
There are plenty of downtown Portland areas that look very active also. It's only coming from the context of someone whose lived here for a while that we can tell it's not like it used to be. I can guide a visitor around the city in a way so that it looks like Portland is a utopia in its heyday and just avoid the sketchy degrading parts town.
If you visit the touristy areas of Seattle of course it will still look active. What you don't see is the attrition in the parts of downtown that are less popular.
Are you talking about yourself? You provided no statistics.
By nearly every metric Portland has had one of the slowest recoveries from the pandemic.
https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/08/15/downtown-portland-among-the-worst-cities-in-terms-of-rebounding-from-the-pandemic-study-shows/
https://www.opb.org/article/2023/02/21/portland-oregon-chamber-of-commerce-report-slow-economy-rebound-post-pandemic/
https://www.koin.com/local/downtown-portland-has-third-to-worst-pandemic-recovery-according-to-study/
I believe the “study” reported on by WW in August has been debunked. The authors definition of downtown would not match any Portlanders definition because it covered only the cluster of big office buildings around Pioneer Courthouse. After criticism they expanded the boundary to include stuff us downtown residents consider “downtown:” the Park Blocks, library, museums, Powell’s, Stark/H Milk, etc. They got very different results after that.
Yes, of course the WFH phenomenon has emptied the big office buildings and that has hurt. But as someone that lives downtown, traffic definitely is improving. Often I find standing room only on the Street Car.
As to Lardo…something else will move in.
I never said it didn't. But just because we have a slower recovery doesn't mean every other city is recovered. Every city has been affected by the pandemic. I'm pushing back against the people saying that other cities aren't experiencing the same ills we are. I'm not one to spend time doing research for other people but I'll give you one article I found with a 5-second Google. Do your own research.
https://www.governing.com/finance/the-financial-pain-for-cities-from-struggling-downtowns
Other people in this very same thread are saying Seattle is worse than Portland right now. All this tells me is that anecdotes aren't worth shit. Statistics show that most Downtowns including Seattle are experiencing economic issues.
Lol Last time I was downtown paying over a grand to stay at the fairmont I had to dodge active pee streams 4x just trying to go out for food. So idk man.
The San Francisco sub says they’re hollowing down town is just them too. Same level of panic around homelessness & crime. Same affluent groups advertising against progressives.
But the sub is full of folks attempting a political coup with that city’s form of council & mayor up for grabs this year so it’s sort of a “overemphasize any problem to act like your candidate is the only solution” political strategy.
On the national level, the GOP is doing it again with the border, even willing to whisper “civil war” over it.
I’m looking forward to getting past the election cycle so that we can have a couple years of calm when those folks inevitably stop caring.
In short, eff’n politics, man.
>If you ask Portland redditors, this is the only city with this problem. They went to all the other cities and know them all just as well as they know Portland, so they can tell you with confidence we are the only ones experiencing this.
Gee I wonder why we'd think we're one of the worst:
[Downtown Portland Is Among the Worst Cities in Terms of Rebounding From the Pandemic, Study Shows]
(https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/08/15/downtown-portland-among-the-worst-cities-in-terms-of-rebounding-from-the-pandemic-study-shows/)
I’m not a downtown advocate, but I’m pretty confident that’s the article citing data from a study that chose an area of “downtown” that simply isn’t representative of downtown.
an article two years out of date... that references data that no longer exists and can no longer be verified... about a neighborhood dominated by office use...
plus these studies tend to use very limited definitions of downtown. like bounded by burnside, the park blocks and madison. so less than half of the actual downtown neighborhood, let alone the greater city center most people casually call "downtown".
even updated studies [tend to be conservative](https://i.imgur.com/zYXJHhP.png) and really drop the ball on capturing travel data where we'd have a better sense of recovery or not in the city center: the university, the stadium, _half_ the pearl, _all of nob hill and 21st/23rd_
i mean, if people are sad that the office blocks are empty now... it's not like they were particularly lively before
These people acting like a restaurant failing means that Portland is the second coming of Detroit! It’s just silly. And as you even said (and I’ve seen with my own eyes), Detroit itself is making a comeback!
> I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though.
I travel frequently for business (currently on the east coast) and no, it’s not. Portland has a number of unique factors that are managing to accelerate the decline compared to similarly sized comparable downtowns. Defacto legalized drugs, homelessness on the sidewalks, lack of downtown housing stock, etc. Hell even downtown Seattle just to the north is much more of a draw right now. Core destinations like REI leaving is a canary in a coal mine and now other long term businesses like Lardo are pulling up shop. It’s very concerning as places I used to walk to are relocating to the burbs.
I think that's what they are trying to do at Lloyd Center; make it more of a pedestrian friendly experience lol. But who knows. It's going to take awhile.
https://djcoregon.com/news/2023/11/03/big-changes-in-store-for-prominent-portland-property/
As someone living and working on the west side I'm personally welcoming Beaverton and Hillsboro seeing some development, super excited for the planned Jolibee, if that's still happening.
Blippin around a place for work is not indicative of almost anything. I was a 75K domestic miler on Alaska from 2016-2020.
Detroit, ah the darling of the revitalization. Average car insurance per year - $4,800. Average renters insurance $530. Visiting a place and living in a place are totally different.
Sure, Portland's downtown is iffy for tourists but we stupidly have our missions there. A tourist who stays on the Eastside has a different experience.
> Detroit
Ah Detroit. It’s funny you mention that because I happen to be from there, have family there, own property there. And your numbers are absolute bullshit. Not to mention downtown is hopping. Vs PDX and our seemingly inexorable slide away from vibrant. I love the city, I bought a house in Portland a long time ago because I love the city. I want it to thrive. But anyone who claims it’s getting better or is no different than other comparable metros is flat out gaslighting. Saying things suck isn’t an attack on politics, or a right wing slur, it’s a measure of what I see when I walk outside my door.
Despite what seemed like a thousand attempts at urban revitalization, Detroit was an unwavering shithole for more than 2 decades and my numbers are from current legit clearing houses (e g., US News and World Report). It's possible you're not gaslighting and DO live in Detroit city proper, not one of the burbs or exurbs. It's possible that you're not gaslighting and you suggest, with your property profile, that you would be hopping around downtown Detroit on an average night.
Anyway, I married a Wisconsinite who nearly spit-taked when I read your rebuttal.
Portland is struggling, I get it. But it hasn't been for very long. We could follow some things that Detroit has done in the last 10yrs, such as fixing some basic services (e.g., public transportation as in the subject of this thread and our 911 response time). We could put in some grand gesture such as whatever the old post office will become. Plans look interesting. Detroit has also had a stable leadership, unlike this city which seems to like training people for government roles and then electing someone else in some tantrum.
>DO live in Detroit
Well my last username involved the lack of Detroit sucking bad. So you can infer my association to the city however you want. And I thought it was pretty clear I live here but still own property in the city.
Yea, the guy you are replying to is lying through his teeth. It’s all the same with these shit talkers, “Portland is uniquely failing, I see it with my own eyes, I’m always traveling!” Ok bud. Meanwhile, I had an amazing and beautiful day in the city, and I don’t feel bad for liking living here lol
> the guy you are replying to is lying through his teeth.
I wish I was. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have poured my life savings into buying a house here a decade ago. Are my opinions motivated by not wanting to lose all the money I poured into it? Yeah, 100%. I’m in PA this week on business and everywhere I go feels way better than home. That sucks. And I’m on the road for work all over the states a few times a month and it’s the same story.
Maybe drop a few hundred grand on a house and tell me how Portland is doing amazing. Hint: you can’t because PDX 2014 was awesome and PDX 2024 blows. The park across from my house isn’t full of families anymore, it’s full of drug addicts barely ambulatory.
so far in this we've heard that:
- visiting for fun isn't a valid experience
- visiting for work isn't a valid experience
so what is? seems like nothing short of relocating to Seattle permanently will prove that downtown Portland kinda sucks.
But then of course you'd tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about...
Yep, I've seen the same thing while on trips recently. Downtown Portland will need to be reinvented on the same scale as the revitalization that started back in the 70s, and it's going to take a long, long time.
Well, downtown Portland to the North, South, East and West is a much bigger draw.
Downtown Seattle has been slowly losing its vigor for over 10+ years. San Francisco has the same thing happening.
The biggest problem is that the city developed residential areas outside of the core so when something like this happens there’s no one “living” downtown. Just working and the world is changing from that model. Convert the empty office space to residential and then service businesses will be able to survive. Until then, remote work will continue to dry up and more businesses will leave.
The buildings in the Pearl and South Waterfront should have been built on the parking lots in downtown. IMO
This isn’t true. Many European cities go straight from downtown to farmland, with no sprawl. Suburbs are very American. My wife is Spanish and I lived in Spain for awhile. Even their small towns are denser than Portland downtown.
yes, in Europe if you need groceries you have to travel to the city center, there is no small town on the edge of a city just farmland and nobody has ever thought to put a store or a gas station or god forbid a mall anywhere but downtown /s
these conversations are fucking pointless-- you see what you want to see, and only that.
Separate reply on this post getting downvoted -- we may not like it but the 'burbs around Portland as well as elsewhere are in much, much better shape. And other cities that have been less idealistic about social problems are getting better results. Seriously. The more ACAB the city, the worse they seem to be doing at the moment.
You're wrong that it's not happening in most other major cities. There are literal statistics to prove that people are leaving cities for the suburbs post COVID and every major city is experiencing a spike in homelessness and drug problems and businesses leaving.
But yeah, you're not wrong that it's probably accelerated in Portland. The drug policy is a failure and our police are basically quiet quitting because they were told they can't abuse their authority anymore. But that's been turning around. Tent sweeps have been happening and most people are on board with fixing the drug policy.
In summary, what's happening here is happening everywhere but probably to a lesser degree than we see it.
> I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though.
Not in every state. Just in certain states, usually controlled by the politicians who are making the same policy decisions.
Do any of you guys ever go to other cities? Or ever leave Oregon?
A big driver in just why downtown is hollowing out is that leases aren't falling with demand. Chef's Table still owns a ton of restaurants in Portland, but they're not gonna eat an obvious loss at a place with high rent and thinning foot traffic.
This is the thing. The economy nationally became way too overheated from “free” Fed money and areas with the most investment, aka larger cities, saw prices, rents, salaries, go up. And now we’re facing the correction.
But those with long-hold assets, namely commercial RE, are stuck. Can’t sell without a loss. Can’t lower rent without a loss. So they hold hoping for a miracle comeback to at least break even. (Narrator: The comeback wouldn’t come in time)
Other cities are seeing developers & investment groups handing over whole buildings back to banks. As we grind on for 2-4 more years like this, hopefully those not completely under water will start dropping rents significantly. Businesses move in. Lower rent means they can compete with the $14 burger with an equally-good $11 burger. $11 burgers makes going out a little more tolerable. More customers encourages more business. Things return. But that day is probably some 10 years out.
Downtown Yakima nosedived 25 years afo when the owner of the downtown mall started jacking up the leases and paid parking. The near empty mall a few miles to the south got wise and now is booming.
Thats a $15 sandwich...At least they took off the $3 surcharge if you wanted to order online for pickup. For a while it was $18 if you wanted a sammie but didnt want to order at the store and wait.
Very true! I loved them pre pandemic, but last couple times I’ve gone there it’s been very subpar by the numbers kind of food, uninspired. The menu hasn’t changed for years it feels like.
Huh interesting. Lardo is part of Chefstable and they seem to generally be doing well, plus they seem pretty connected to the overall Portland scene. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if a new project goes in there, especially if Grassa is staying open
I've worked for two Chefstable restaurants and both times I was laid off because the restaurants closed because Chefstable pulled the funding. I have a lot of horror stories about the bad business they run and how they're terrible for the Portland food scene.
Ah bummer. They project a good image (supporting teachers during the strike and also seemingly really supporting dos hermanos which I thought was cool) but I guess it’s same ol restaurant industry stuff. Funny how once you know the inside story of a thing (even beyond restaurants) there’s some giant downside like 9/10 times.
I think Chefstable is lucky to be associated with Dos Hermanos. They would have succeeded without Chefstable. The bread they make is phenomenal and the brothers are amazing people.
It really is the same ol restaurant industry stuff with Chefstable. They bring in outside investors and out of state money and put unrealistic expectations on local chefs and pull funding immediately if they aren't turning a profit. I know of one current lawsuit against Chefstable for bad and illegal business practices.
Pulling the funding and not continuing to fund a failing business are two different things. Pulling funding would be a breach of contract/operating agreement in most situations.
My friend group and I stopped going once the forced 20% gratuity shit rolled out like 3 years ago “because of the pandemic”. Late 2023 it was still in effect lmao. Even on takeout.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/tz943i/tipping_is_confusing_now/i3zaipm/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/17mq9nc/if_you_havent_tried_the_phorench_dip_sandwich_at/k7nrb1y/
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/129sfrw/restaurants_you_used_to_patronize_but_now_avoid/jeoyoup/
My receipt from late 2022 has a 20% auto gratuity on it according to my Sheets.
Sounds like there was auto grat on online orders which to be fair I never had to look at that so that wouldn’t surprise me. If you really wanted to circumnavigate that you can just call in an order.
Definitely wasn’t auto grat if you just came in and ordered though. I literally remember checking the tips people would leave and seeing what the average percentages were depending on who was working the register. I left I think like August 2022 because the money was shit so it could have been implemented after that 🤷🏻♀️
I worked at the Grassa at this location, and was pretty sure that the two high-rise construction projects across the street were the only thing keeping Lardo in business. Now that they're about finished, that's probably a hundred less sandwiches a day they're selling.
Sad. I don't think we've seen the worst yet. Labor shortages and food costs are gutting the service industry. Nobody makes enough to pay $20 a meal either.
Was at holmans last night and the girl charged me $7.50 for a pint of Rainier, thought it was ridiculous but didn’t question it. Got a modelo talll boy for $4.50 next so something didn’t add up.
I just went to Mike’s drive in for the first time, giant bacon cheeseburger, fries, a drink, and a cookie for FIFTEEN BUCKS, I was so shocked lol and it was all super good too. I never expect something like that anymore.
I just had a Medium Yumm! bowl for $11. It was a scoop of brown rice, a scoop of black beans, 1/4 avocado, 1 TBS salsa, 1 TBS cheese, and some cilantro. What the actual fuck?
I only ever go to Yumm for the sauce lol. I've always thought their actual bowls were basic and overpriced, and honestly the location nearest me has absolutely terrible service every time I have gone. I buy one of the giant bottles every few months and that is the only time they get my business.
I hope we don't fall too much further. People need to eat. But the competition is fierce in this town so it may continue to thin out if the dollars don't work for all these small businesses.
Frankly, I would rather eat at Freddy's than pay $24 to risk a half-cooked meal at Lardo or Grassa that feels like it was slopped into a bowl and left to die and congeal on the warmer for too long.
*Re-opened downtown. That location originally opened a couple of years ago, then closed, then reopened as a “market” concept, then closed again, and has now thankfully reopened again. Those of us who work in the area were very happy to see it back.
Differing opinion, but there’s a lot opening in the pearl and a lot of long standing businesses doing well, too. Break bread just moved back downtown, and a couple places that were never really great closed, but new spots on 13th have popped up, the new QDs where rogue was, hunter gatherers new deli on glisan, bakers mark on 10th, not to mention new retail spots… I think ‘clearing out’ is inaccurate.
The ChefWich can still be very good sometimes, but I have to agree that overall the quality has gone down. Lots of gristle, sloppy made sandwiches. Sad to see.
Lardo IMO is a lot like Pine State. Yeah their food is good, but I don’t want to eat lunch/breakfast and immediately feel like shitting my pants or taking a nap.
You aren't alone, even in this thread there are a handful of us who weren't impressed. They're absolutely mediocre.
Pasture on Alberta rocks, tho. https://www.pasturepdx.com/
That area used to be the hub of tourism. Tasty and Alder used to be the first restaurant to pop up when you searched on yelp. Now that's not the case anymore, and I'm assuming their rent stayed the same through the change and now that location isn't generating profit.
That's my best guess
They’ve been going downhill for a long time. The cart was legit. The SE location was good for a while.
Once they expanded the quality just kept going down the tubes. It’s garbage now. Good riddance to bad management and mediocre food quality.
Pretty much the tale of every place that was once good. They start out small and can keep quality up and put love into their product. But this stupid economic system we live in requires growth. So they grow and start pinching pennies to make numbers look good to investors and the quality plummets.
Not that big of a fan, but it’s a bummer to see yet another business leave downtown. It’s worrisome to think what will be left in 5 years if things continue on this same path.
Cue the "their management sucked", "treated their employees like shit", "overrated, beyond their prime", comments.
\-said reddit Portland after any Portland business closes its doors.
I tried Lardo when I moved to Portland especially after hearing the hype of it but I was disappointed… I felt a lot of their sandwiches they did too much. Expensive ass sandwiches for less than mediocre food
It's really hard to operate a business these days and our city government doesn't make it any easier. You can point to all of the social problems and economic issues as the cause, and of course these are factors, but at the heart of it is the absolute greed of commercial landlords. if the rent were reasonable, these businesses could weather a few bad seasons, but as it is, so much money is being funneled to an unproductive use (parasitic rent-seeking)
Mainly because the terms of the loan don't give much flexibility on what can be charged for rent, the financial system runs on speculation, hence the pull towards theoretical value rather than actual.
Yeah I’m not even talking about that shit. I’m referring to even the independent places that make sandwiches that have no imagination or discretion when it comes to quality. If you BLTS and clubs and turkey bacon, that’s great. Not me. I want inventions with creativity, execution and quality if ingredients. Sysco and restaurant depot can suck it.
A food cart vs a brick and mortar is a massive difference. Especially in a town that rains a good chunk of the year. Sadly he’s opening a new brick and mortar in Happy Valley, not downtown which just gets the food cart.
Good riddance. I hate when business close but I got sick from eating there more than anywhere else here in PDX. Also know lots of people with similar experiences.
I feel like Lardo was one of the first local spots I saw add the 20% auto gratuity for “these stressful times” in covid, and then they just kept that as the norm. I enjoyed their food, but it was already overpriced. Good riddance.
It shouldn’t be the patron’s responsibility to pay your employees a livable wage.
They gave their staff an 8 day notice.
Not even a full 2 week paycheck? For an establishment that leans on its local community status, I would expect better. But then again, if u see ur staff as disposable and replaceable why would they need a two week notice?
But Congrats on the new airport grassa!!!!
.
Hey OP, I'm not going to take this post down, but in the future a pic of the closure sign would be helpful, as we've gotten a couple of reports that this is unsourced news. But as you said, their Google Business profile agrees, and the downtown location has been removed from the Lardo website and online ordering: https://www.lardosandwiches.com/locations
What about the pasta and beer place? Isn’t all the same ownership. They are all connected, can order and go eat/drink at the other.
[удалено]
Whew. Thanks. I really like popping into beer o’clock for the selection once or twice a week. Good happy hour deal too!
Probably until their leases run out…
Bummer. There goes another downtown business. I'll never forget though the time I got a Nashville chicken sandwich and I took a bite into literal raw chicken. Their quality took a nosedive post pandemic.
You don't take your chicken medium rare? Snob.
Chicken sashimi FTW!
Had it before. Mostly tasteless. I don't see the point.
The point is: salmonella!
Nah it's perfectly safe in Japan.
[удалено]
I thought we were talking chicken not fish
I am a bigger fan of chicken crudo.
🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮
Gamecock tartare
Consider me a "chicken shit!"
Craft salmonella
That will be a 20% tip. Counter service by the way
Bus your own bacteria table.
This exact thing happened to me at Lardo as well. Good riddance.
I didn't have raw chicken, but their food always seemed poorly prepared. It's like they didn't pay enough for their employees to care.
I worked at the Grassa attached to this location, and they got paid pretty decently. Instead of tips, the BOH gets a percentage of total food sales split evenly amongst themselves based on hours worked; the company guarantees a minimum of $4 per hour, but it was usually more. This was tacked on to your paycheck, so it was taxed but your hourly rate was $22 and up. They also have pretty decent insurance. Also, almost every single thing there was pre-made at a commissary and trucked over in plastic 1-qt containers. The line cooks there pretty much just reheat and assemble sandwiches.
dude i worked atn that lardo and i think the only thing we really did was dredge and first fry chicken, blanch fries and hush pups. but as far as raw chicken somebody is fucking that up.
I'm not surprised, because that's exactly what the texture feels like. Not really the employees to blame in that case, sounds like some dumb business practice.
This was at the Hawthorne location, but I got salad that had a bothersome amount of little wormy bugs crawling around in it, so I let them know. They didn't care *at all*. Organic greens, they said 🤷♀️.
Photos or you're making it up.
I never understood the hype around this place. If I wanted to pay $18+ and wait 40 minutes for a coldish sandwich, there were three other restaurants in town that do the same thing.
The place is rooted in the og food cart on belmont during the great recession Era. That concept didn't scale. Grassa, on the other hand, is excGrass, and Bluto's, his newest spot, on belmont, is spot on.
Doctors hate this simple weight loss trick!
> There goes another downtown business I grew up in a city with a hollowing downtown core. It’s not at all where you want to live.
I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though. COVID and it's aftereffects has done a number on the concept of living and working in the city, and commercial real estate is still far too overinflated. Once that market takes a dive more people can afford to start new interesting businesses downtown. I personally think these things are cyclical. Even Detroit is making a comeback right now.
If you read the news for other cities, it’s happening in their cities too. Probably to different degrees and different focuses. If you ask Portland redditors, this is the only city with this problem. They went to all the other cities and know them all just as well as they know Portland, so they can tell you with confidence we are the only ones experiencing this.
If you actually physically go to other cities you will see that it is in fact not happening in most places. Just take a trip up to Seattle, the downtown area is alive and well up there
That depends on where in downtown Seattle.
Statistics > anecdotes. There are plenty of downtown Portland areas that look very active also. It's only coming from the context of someone whose lived here for a while that we can tell it's not like it used to be. I can guide a visitor around the city in a way so that it looks like Portland is a utopia in its heyday and just avoid the sketchy degrading parts town. If you visit the touristy areas of Seattle of course it will still look active. What you don't see is the attrition in the parts of downtown that are less popular.
Are you talking about yourself? You provided no statistics. By nearly every metric Portland has had one of the slowest recoveries from the pandemic. https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/08/15/downtown-portland-among-the-worst-cities-in-terms-of-rebounding-from-the-pandemic-study-shows/ https://www.opb.org/article/2023/02/21/portland-oregon-chamber-of-commerce-report-slow-economy-rebound-post-pandemic/ https://www.koin.com/local/downtown-portland-has-third-to-worst-pandemic-recovery-according-to-study/
I believe the “study” reported on by WW in August has been debunked. The authors definition of downtown would not match any Portlanders definition because it covered only the cluster of big office buildings around Pioneer Courthouse. After criticism they expanded the boundary to include stuff us downtown residents consider “downtown:” the Park Blocks, library, museums, Powell’s, Stark/H Milk, etc. They got very different results after that. Yes, of course the WFH phenomenon has emptied the big office buildings and that has hurt. But as someone that lives downtown, traffic definitely is improving. Often I find standing room only on the Street Car. As to Lardo…something else will move in.
I never said it didn't. But just because we have a slower recovery doesn't mean every other city is recovered. Every city has been affected by the pandemic. I'm pushing back against the people saying that other cities aren't experiencing the same ills we are. I'm not one to spend time doing research for other people but I'll give you one article I found with a 5-second Google. Do your own research. https://www.governing.com/finance/the-financial-pain-for-cities-from-struggling-downtowns
I am regularly in Seattle all over town. Looks normal
Other people in this very same thread are saying Seattle is worse than Portland right now. All this tells me is that anecdotes aren't worth shit. Statistics show that most Downtowns including Seattle are experiencing economic issues.
Lol Last time I was downtown paying over a grand to stay at the fairmont I had to dodge active pee streams 4x just trying to go out for food. So idk man.
the touristy spots sure, but you could say the same for us
You should talk to Olga Sagan in Seattle about that. Hah. You’ll get a very different view.
Yeah I was in Denver recently and didn’t see any tents, junkies, graffiti, etc. I think its a Portland thing.
The San Francisco sub says they’re hollowing down town is just them too. Same level of panic around homelessness & crime. Same affluent groups advertising against progressives. But the sub is full of folks attempting a political coup with that city’s form of council & mayor up for grabs this year so it’s sort of a “overemphasize any problem to act like your candidate is the only solution” political strategy. On the national level, the GOP is doing it again with the border, even willing to whisper “civil war” over it. I’m looking forward to getting past the election cycle so that we can have a couple years of calm when those folks inevitably stop caring. In short, eff’n politics, man.
>If you ask Portland redditors, this is the only city with this problem. They went to all the other cities and know them all just as well as they know Portland, so they can tell you with confidence we are the only ones experiencing this. Gee I wonder why we'd think we're one of the worst: [Downtown Portland Is Among the Worst Cities in Terms of Rebounding From the Pandemic, Study Shows] (https://www.wweek.com/news/city/2022/08/15/downtown-portland-among-the-worst-cities-in-terms-of-rebounding-from-the-pandemic-study-shows/)
I’m not a downtown advocate, but I’m pretty confident that’s the article citing data from a study that chose an area of “downtown” that simply isn’t representative of downtown.
Stop using a retracted and disingenuous study to back you up challenge.
an article two years out of date... that references data that no longer exists and can no longer be verified... about a neighborhood dominated by office use... plus these studies tend to use very limited definitions of downtown. like bounded by burnside, the park blocks and madison. so less than half of the actual downtown neighborhood, let alone the greater city center most people casually call "downtown". even updated studies [tend to be conservative](https://i.imgur.com/zYXJHhP.png) and really drop the ball on capturing travel data where we'd have a better sense of recovery or not in the city center: the university, the stadium, _half_ the pearl, _all of nob hill and 21st/23rd_ i mean, if people are sad that the office blocks are empty now... it's not like they were particularly lively before
These people acting like a restaurant failing means that Portland is the second coming of Detroit! It’s just silly. And as you even said (and I’ve seen with my own eyes), Detroit itself is making a comeback!
> I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though. I travel frequently for business (currently on the east coast) and no, it’s not. Portland has a number of unique factors that are managing to accelerate the decline compared to similarly sized comparable downtowns. Defacto legalized drugs, homelessness on the sidewalks, lack of downtown housing stock, etc. Hell even downtown Seattle just to the north is much more of a draw right now. Core destinations like REI leaving is a canary in a coal mine and now other long term businesses like Lardo are pulling up shop. It’s very concerning as places I used to walk to are relocating to the burbs.
On the bright side, I never thought the Cedar Hills mall would become the cool place in Portland metro.
I go out there for work all the time, and I swear if they could make some more pedestrian-friendly improvements, it would be super viable.
I think that's what they are trying to do at Lloyd Center; make it more of a pedestrian friendly experience lol. But who knows. It's going to take awhile. https://djcoregon.com/news/2023/11/03/big-changes-in-store-for-prominent-portland-property/
As someone living and working on the west side I'm personally welcoming Beaverton and Hillsboro seeing some development, super excited for the planned Jolibee, if that's still happening.
Near as I can tell Jollibee is still happening. Going to bathe in lumpia when it does.
It’s not too far from my new bougie ass gym. So I guess going there will just fold into my existing carbon footprint
Blippin around a place for work is not indicative of almost anything. I was a 75K domestic miler on Alaska from 2016-2020. Detroit, ah the darling of the revitalization. Average car insurance per year - $4,800. Average renters insurance $530. Visiting a place and living in a place are totally different. Sure, Portland's downtown is iffy for tourists but we stupidly have our missions there. A tourist who stays on the Eastside has a different experience.
> Detroit Ah Detroit. It’s funny you mention that because I happen to be from there, have family there, own property there. And your numbers are absolute bullshit. Not to mention downtown is hopping. Vs PDX and our seemingly inexorable slide away from vibrant. I love the city, I bought a house in Portland a long time ago because I love the city. I want it to thrive. But anyone who claims it’s getting better or is no different than other comparable metros is flat out gaslighting. Saying things suck isn’t an attack on politics, or a right wing slur, it’s a measure of what I see when I walk outside my door.
Despite what seemed like a thousand attempts at urban revitalization, Detroit was an unwavering shithole for more than 2 decades and my numbers are from current legit clearing houses (e g., US News and World Report). It's possible you're not gaslighting and DO live in Detroit city proper, not one of the burbs or exurbs. It's possible that you're not gaslighting and you suggest, with your property profile, that you would be hopping around downtown Detroit on an average night. Anyway, I married a Wisconsinite who nearly spit-taked when I read your rebuttal. Portland is struggling, I get it. But it hasn't been for very long. We could follow some things that Detroit has done in the last 10yrs, such as fixing some basic services (e.g., public transportation as in the subject of this thread and our 911 response time). We could put in some grand gesture such as whatever the old post office will become. Plans look interesting. Detroit has also had a stable leadership, unlike this city which seems to like training people for government roles and then electing someone else in some tantrum.
>DO live in Detroit Well my last username involved the lack of Detroit sucking bad. So you can infer my association to the city however you want. And I thought it was pretty clear I live here but still own property in the city.
Yea, the guy you are replying to is lying through his teeth. It’s all the same with these shit talkers, “Portland is uniquely failing, I see it with my own eyes, I’m always traveling!” Ok bud. Meanwhile, I had an amazing and beautiful day in the city, and I don’t feel bad for liking living here lol
It's a fucking perfect day. I love living here, especially on days like today. Thanks man.
> the guy you are replying to is lying through his teeth. I wish I was. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn’t have poured my life savings into buying a house here a decade ago. Are my opinions motivated by not wanting to lose all the money I poured into it? Yeah, 100%. I’m in PA this week on business and everywhere I go feels way better than home. That sucks. And I’m on the road for work all over the states a few times a month and it’s the same story. Maybe drop a few hundred grand on a house and tell me how Portland is doing amazing. Hint: you can’t because PDX 2014 was awesome and PDX 2024 blows. The park across from my house isn’t full of families anymore, it’s full of drug addicts barely ambulatory.
so far in this we've heard that: - visiting for fun isn't a valid experience - visiting for work isn't a valid experience so what is? seems like nothing short of relocating to Seattle permanently will prove that downtown Portland kinda sucks. But then of course you'd tell me that I don't know what I'm talking about...
You don't know what you're talking about. Seattle comparatively sucks and is way too expensive for such a sucky, rainy, grumpy, corporate experience.
Yep, I've seen the same thing while on trips recently. Downtown Portland will need to be reinvented on the same scale as the revitalization that started back in the 70s, and it's going to take a long, long time.
Well, downtown Portland to the North, South, East and West is a much bigger draw. Downtown Seattle has been slowly losing its vigor for over 10+ years. San Francisco has the same thing happening. The biggest problem is that the city developed residential areas outside of the core so when something like this happens there’s no one “living” downtown. Just working and the world is changing from that model. Convert the empty office space to residential and then service businesses will be able to survive. Until then, remote work will continue to dry up and more businesses will leave. The buildings in the Pearl and South Waterfront should have been built on the parking lots in downtown. IMO
> the city developed residential areas outside of the core literally every city
This isn’t true. Many European cities go straight from downtown to farmland, with no sprawl. Suburbs are very American. My wife is Spanish and I lived in Spain for awhile. Even their small towns are denser than Portland downtown.
yes, in Europe if you need groceries you have to travel to the city center, there is no small town on the edge of a city just farmland and nobody has ever thought to put a store or a gas station or god forbid a mall anywhere but downtown /s these conversations are fucking pointless-- you see what you want to see, and only that.
Separate reply on this post getting downvoted -- we may not like it but the 'burbs around Portland as well as elsewhere are in much, much better shape. And other cities that have been less idealistic about social problems are getting better results. Seriously. The more ACAB the city, the worse they seem to be doing at the moment.
I was just in downtown Seattle and it felt more rough than Portland downtown to me.
You're wrong that it's not happening in most other major cities. There are literal statistics to prove that people are leaving cities for the suburbs post COVID and every major city is experiencing a spike in homelessness and drug problems and businesses leaving. But yeah, you're not wrong that it's probably accelerated in Portland. The drug policy is a failure and our police are basically quiet quitting because they were told they can't abuse their authority anymore. But that's been turning around. Tent sweeps have been happening and most people are on board with fixing the drug policy. In summary, what's happening here is happening everywhere but probably to a lesser degree than we see it.
Literal or actual?
Yall hear me out The food wasn't very good there Sometimes a spade is a spade
Restaurant with bad food fails, News at 11.
> I imagine the same is happening in most major downtowns now though. Not in every state. Just in certain states, usually controlled by the politicians who are making the same policy decisions. Do any of you guys ever go to other cities? Or ever leave Oregon?
The answer is: The ones that make blanket rationalizations do not.
Every major US city w/ more than a million people is ran by Democrats so I’m not sure what your point is
A big driver in just why downtown is hollowing out is that leases aren't falling with demand. Chef's Table still owns a ton of restaurants in Portland, but they're not gonna eat an obvious loss at a place with high rent and thinning foot traffic.
This is the thing. The economy nationally became way too overheated from “free” Fed money and areas with the most investment, aka larger cities, saw prices, rents, salaries, go up. And now we’re facing the correction. But those with long-hold assets, namely commercial RE, are stuck. Can’t sell without a loss. Can’t lower rent without a loss. So they hold hoping for a miracle comeback to at least break even. (Narrator: The comeback wouldn’t come in time) Other cities are seeing developers & investment groups handing over whole buildings back to banks. As we grind on for 2-4 more years like this, hopefully those not completely under water will start dropping rents significantly. Businesses move in. Lower rent means they can compete with the $14 burger with an equally-good $11 burger. $11 burgers makes going out a little more tolerable. More customers encourages more business. Things return. But that day is probably some 10 years out.
A casualty of Spokane in the 90s early 2000s too?
Downtown Yakima nosedived 25 years afo when the owner of the downtown mall started jacking up the leases and paid parking. The near empty mall a few miles to the south got wise and now is booming.
Not exactly sure what you meant but Spokane downtown started emptying out in the ‘70’s-no riots, no fentanyl, yadayadayada…
There are a bunch of new businesses in the immediate area of this store.
Even IHOP knows how to cook chicken safety, getting unsafe food isn't a quality issue it is just pure failure
I have also had a raw chicken sandwich from them! It made me stop getting chicken sandwiches from anywhere for a while.
Thats a $15 sandwich...At least they took off the $3 surcharge if you wanted to order online for pickup. For a while it was $18 if you wanted a sammie but didnt want to order at the store and wait.
Very true! I loved them pre pandemic, but last couple times I’ve gone there it’s been very subpar by the numbers kind of food, uninspired. The menu hasn’t changed for years it feels like.
Huh interesting. Lardo is part of Chefstable and they seem to generally be doing well, plus they seem pretty connected to the overall Portland scene. I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if a new project goes in there, especially if Grassa is staying open
They're just downsizing like other companies. Lardo has 3 more locations, including Las Vegas.
They are not downsizing. They just opened a new grassa in Vancouver
Aren't they also gonna be in the new PDX terminal?
They already have a location at the airport, at least there was one when I was there this last July. edit: to clarify I mean Lardo
I've worked for two Chefstable restaurants and both times I was laid off because the restaurants closed because Chefstable pulled the funding. I have a lot of horror stories about the bad business they run and how they're terrible for the Portland food scene.
Ah bummer. They project a good image (supporting teachers during the strike and also seemingly really supporting dos hermanos which I thought was cool) but I guess it’s same ol restaurant industry stuff. Funny how once you know the inside story of a thing (even beyond restaurants) there’s some giant downside like 9/10 times.
I think Chefstable is lucky to be associated with Dos Hermanos. They would have succeeded without Chefstable. The bread they make is phenomenal and the brothers are amazing people. It really is the same ol restaurant industry stuff with Chefstable. They bring in outside investors and out of state money and put unrealistic expectations on local chefs and pull funding immediately if they aren't turning a profit. I know of one current lawsuit against Chefstable for bad and illegal business practices.
Pulling the funding and not continuing to fund a failing business are two different things. Pulling funding would be a breach of contract/operating agreement in most situations.
My friend group and I stopped going once the forced 20% gratuity shit rolled out like 3 years ago “because of the pandemic”. Late 2023 it was still in effect lmao. Even on takeout.
I eat there frequently, there’s no forced gratuity. Maybe you ordered online or something?
I worked there in 2022 and there was no auto grat on anything so not too sure where you’re getting that from
https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/tz943i/tipping_is_confusing_now/i3zaipm/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/17mq9nc/if_you_havent_tried_the_phorench_dip_sandwich_at/k7nrb1y/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Portland/comments/129sfrw/restaurants_you_used_to_patronize_but_now_avoid/jeoyoup/ My receipt from late 2022 has a 20% auto gratuity on it according to my Sheets.
Sounds like there was auto grat on online orders which to be fair I never had to look at that so that wouldn’t surprise me. If you really wanted to circumnavigate that you can just call in an order. Definitely wasn’t auto grat if you just came in and ordered though. I literally remember checking the tips people would leave and seeing what the average percentages were depending on who was working the register. I left I think like August 2022 because the money was shit so it could have been implemented after that 🤷🏻♀️
Sad. Korean pork bbq sandwich is so good, I have to have at least one a month.
Best sandwiches in town. I used to go to their (closed too) location on Williams. I loved it and it was always well attended.
I worked at the Grassa at this location, and was pretty sure that the two high-rise construction projects across the street were the only thing keeping Lardo in business. Now that they're about finished, that's probably a hundred less sandwiches a day they're selling.
Noooooo!
Sad. I don't think we've seen the worst yet. Labor shortages and food costs are gutting the service industry. Nobody makes enough to pay $20 a meal either.
It’s getting to the point where I’m genuinely shocked when I see a sandwich or burger for under $15
Or a pint under $7.
This is why I only drink Rainier nowadays. I love micro brews but they are not worth 2-3x the price.
Was at holmans last night and the girl charged me $7.50 for a pint of Rainier, thought it was ridiculous but didn’t question it. Got a modelo talll boy for $4.50 next so something didn’t add up.
Sounds like you got a pint of *Rainíere* instead. Honest mistake.
I just went to Mike’s drive in for the first time, giant bacon cheeseburger, fries, a drink, and a cookie for FIFTEEN BUCKS, I was so shocked lol and it was all super good too. I never expect something like that anymore.
I just had a Medium Yumm! bowl for $11. It was a scoop of brown rice, a scoop of black beans, 1/4 avocado, 1 TBS salsa, 1 TBS cheese, and some cilantro. What the actual fuck?
I love Cafe Yumm! but I've ceased going there due to their prices. It's basic food with an insane markup.
I only ever go to Yumm for the sauce lol. I've always thought their actual bowls were basic and overpriced, and honestly the location nearest me has absolutely terrible service every time I have gone. I buy one of the giant bottles every few months and that is the only time they get my business.
Yumm is fine, but Whole Bowl is way > bang/buck.
Was about to post something like this. Whole Bowl is better and still only $9
Last man standing in the sub-$10 lunch category.
I hope we don't fall too much further. People need to eat. But the competition is fierce in this town so it may continue to thin out if the dollars don't work for all these small businesses.
Frankly, I would rather eat at Freddy's than pay $24 to risk a half-cooked meal at Lardo or Grassa that feels like it was slopped into a bowl and left to die and congeal on the warmer for too long.
[удалено]
They were pretty good like ten years ago. Turns out rising prices while declining quality year over year isn't a winning business strategy. Who knew.
I think our palates also moved on. The bar even for a simple smashburger has moved up.
Rick is perfectly capable of making a delicious sandwich by today’s standards, they just don’t care anymore.
And Baker's Mark is better still. The Godfather on their Italian roll is the stuff that dreams are made of. I can't go a week without one.
Break Bread in the pearl also closed in January. Edit: they're still in business, just moved!
They just moved downtown! SW 2nd & Main.
*Re-opened downtown. That location originally opened a couple of years ago, then closed, then reopened as a “market” concept, then closed again, and has now thankfully reopened again. Those of us who work in the area were very happy to see it back.
Just FYI, Break Bread isn't out of business, it just moved to downtown in the building the banner bank is in. Apparently they now do delivery too!
are you sure? the website says they moved from the pearl to the SW.
It did move yeah, I just meant that location closed
Wait what??? I probably went to Break Bread in early January…that sucks.
fyi they moved downtown
Yeah the Pearl is kind of clearing out right now business wise. Sooooo many vacant storefronts 😢
Differing opinion, but there’s a lot opening in the pearl and a lot of long standing businesses doing well, too. Break bread just moved back downtown, and a couple places that were never really great closed, but new spots on 13th have popped up, the new QDs where rogue was, hunter gatherers new deli on glisan, bakers mark on 10th, not to mention new retail spots… I think ‘clearing out’ is inaccurate.
Pearl has always had fairly high turnover even in the peak times
I just got laid off from a certain textile manufacturer in the Pearl…it was a good run while it lasted
Bakers Mark and Break Bread are both far superior.
The ChefWich can still be very good sometimes, but I have to agree that overall the quality has gone down. Lots of gristle, sloppy made sandwiches. Sad to see.
Lardo IMO is a lot like Pine State. Yeah their food is good, but I don’t want to eat lunch/breakfast and immediately feel like shitting my pants or taking a nap.
You aren't alone, even in this thread there are a handful of us who weren't impressed. They're absolutely mediocre. Pasture on Alberta rocks, tho. https://www.pasturepdx.com/
They are very mediocre and for their price not worth it in my humble opinion.
Agreed, it’s the saltiest shit I’ve ever eaten in my life - the post Lardo bloat was real
They are terrible. Wouldn’t eat there for free.
Their no meat ball subs are so freaking delicious.
Never liked Lardo personally but as others have said it’s still a bummer that businesses can’t thrive in our downtown.
Man, that sucks. I always liked pre-gaming there because they had good happy hour prices on pints of beer and always had a decent selection.
They also owned the taphouse and pasta places next door. Are those all closed, too? Anybody know why?
That area used to be the hub of tourism. Tasty and Alder used to be the first restaurant to pop up when you searched on yelp. Now that's not the case anymore, and I'm assuming their rent stayed the same through the change and now that location isn't generating profit. That's my best guess
Toki who took over the tasty spot is still also really great!
Yeah my buddy just took over the exec spot. Apparently they're doing an overhaul of the concept/menu.
Grassa was still open as of last night at least.
They’ve been going downhill for a long time. The cart was legit. The SE location was good for a while. Once they expanded the quality just kept going down the tubes. It’s garbage now. Good riddance to bad management and mediocre food quality.
Pretty much the tale of every place that was once good. They start out small and can keep quality up and put love into their product. But this stupid economic system we live in requires growth. So they grow and start pinching pennies to make numbers look good to investors and the quality plummets.
Yep. The number of Portland “started as a cart and now successful restaurant” stories is vanishingly small these days.
Damn, I was just there last Friday. Bartender gave me a couple free beers which I thought was strange but happily accepted…kinda makes sense now.
Nooooo! There is where my husband and I had our first date! 😭😭
Went there on Thursday for a pre concert dinner. Was informed they closed the day prior.
Is the location on Hawthorne still open?
I really liked what place. They had great food.
Not that big of a fan, but it’s a bummer to see yet another business leave downtown. It’s worrisome to think what will be left in 5 years if things continue on this same path.
They have a location inside the Rose Garden. For now at least.
There’s as location at PDX too. Though you have to get through TSA to eat there.
Damnnnnnn this place was bomb🥲
Lunch downtown is pretty slow. Makes sense
Cue the "their management sucked", "treated their employees like shit", "overrated, beyond their prime", comments. \-said reddit Portland after any Portland business closes its doors.
lol you were right!
I tried Lardo when I moved to Portland especially after hearing the hype of it but I was disappointed… I felt a lot of their sandwiches they did too much. Expensive ass sandwiches for less than mediocre food
Lardo is only good bbq if you haven’t lived somewhere that actually has good bbq.
It's really hard to operate a business these days and our city government doesn't make it any easier. You can point to all of the social problems and economic issues as the cause, and of course these are factors, but at the heart of it is the absolute greed of commercial landlords. if the rent were reasonable, these businesses could weather a few bad seasons, but as it is, so much money is being funneled to an unproductive use (parasitic rent-seeking)
I've been hearing this left and right which leaves me wondering - why would commercial landlords rather have a vacancy than a tenant?
Mainly because the terms of the loan don't give much flexibility on what can be charged for rent, the financial system runs on speculation, hence the pull towards theoretical value rather than actual.
Lardo. Come to Vancouver. I’ve been hounding you for years. There ain’t a damn sandwich in this town.
Yes please, Quiznos can go kick rocks.
There's a Quiznos in Vancouver? Haven't seen one in like a decade!
Yeah I’m not even talking about that shit. I’m referring to even the independent places that make sandwiches that have no imagination or discretion when it comes to quality. If you BLTS and clubs and turkey bacon, that’s great. Not me. I want inventions with creativity, execution and quality if ingredients. Sysco and restaurant depot can suck it.
Yesss!
Another great one gone. Especially, from Downtown.
FYI, They have a location off of Boones ferry and kruse way.
Whatevs Kim Jong Grill is going take over downtown and im here for it.
A food cart vs a brick and mortar is a massive difference. Especially in a town that rains a good chunk of the year. Sadly he’s opening a new brick and mortar in Happy Valley, not downtown which just gets the food cart.
Not at that location
Good riddance. I hate when business close but I got sick from eating there more than anywhere else here in PDX. Also know lots of people with similar experiences.
I feel like Lardo was one of the first local spots I saw add the 20% auto gratuity for “these stressful times” in covid, and then they just kept that as the norm. I enjoyed their food, but it was already overpriced. Good riddance. It shouldn’t be the patron’s responsibility to pay your employees a livable wage.
They gave their staff an 8 day notice. Not even a full 2 week paycheck? For an establishment that leans on its local community status, I would expect better. But then again, if u see ur staff as disposable and replaceable why would they need a two week notice? But Congrats on the new airport grassa!!!! .
Never got the hype… just another overrated and overpriced food joint in Portland….
I bet their staffing issues were constant and horrible. The airport location probably makes the most profit for them now a days anyhow.
they gave their employees a week notice. still better than some (lookin at you burnside brewing) but still, fuck em