🍕 An iconic Portland pizzeria will close

Is the Char Bubble Bursting?

For a minute there, it felt like a new pizzeria was opening in Portland every week. Sourdough neo-Neapolitan pies flew hot out of wood-fired ovens, topped with chanterelles in the fall and green garlic in the spring, from St. Johns to Sunnyside. But back-to-back pizzeria closure news broke last week, including a groundbreaking pizzeria from a Portland legend. Let’s break it down:

• Oven and Shaker says goodbye: The Pearl District pizza restaurant and bar from Portland Italian culinary legend Cathy Whims, Aviation Gin co-founder Ryan Magarian, and prolific restaurateur Kurt Huffman will close on Oct. 30, after 15 years in business. Expect some Oven and Shaker original cocktails from years past to return to the menu before then, and don’t worry, Whims’s Nostrana is still slinging pies six nights a week. [Oregonian]
• Vincenzo’s follows suit: It may not be as famous as Oven and Shaker, but Vincenzo’s in Rose City Park broke its diehards’ hearts when it closed Saturday, Sept. 26. I was awfully fond of the family’s third-generation Sicilian dough recipe, particularly when it supported a generous slather of Vincenzo’s five-hour braised beef sugo. The closing announcement teases that owners Chelsea Coco and Vinnie Coco Jr. are pursuing “new and exciting opportunities” elsewhere — does that mean another restaurant in Portland? We’ll have to see. [Oregonian]
• Pizzageddon? Not quite, says Oregonian food writer Michael Russell. “No, we’re not ready to call it the pizza version of Portland’s recent barmageddon,” he writes. Russell told me over sushi last night that he sees the duo of closures as random. “Oven and Shaker and Vincenzo’s are pretty distinct in terms of both reputation and the economic realities they each face,” he said. “One had a good 15 year run, especially considering what Kurt Huffman mentioned about the lunch demand vanishing in 2020. From their farewell post it seems like the Vincenzo’s folks just got a better opportunity.” [Oregonian]
• The pizza keeps coming: It’s not like Portland has a dearth of pies — or even new pizza, after all. In March, Second Oven Pizza opened on Williams, specializing in thin-crust, square-cut, Chicago tavern-style pizza. And in May, Harmonies opened in St. Johns, from the restaurateur who owned a personal favorite (and now-closed) dough haven, Handsome Pizza/Seastar Bakery. I like Fernando’s Pie there, which has a bunch of house-made Italian sausage and pickled peppers (finish with a scoop of spiced tea ice cream). [Second Oven/Harmonies]

Meet the Multnomah County Chair Candidates

The fall election countdown continues, and on today’s show, podcast host Claudia Meza chats with the three candidates running for Multnomah County chair: Current Multnomah County District 3 Commissioner Julia Brim-Edwards, current District 2 Commissioner Shannon Singleton, and former District 1 Commissioner Dr. Sharon Meieran. [City Cast Portland 🎧]

Portland Police Chief Accused of Violating State Law

Earlier this month, Portland Police Chief Bob Day criticized City Councilor Mitch Green, who is currently running for re-election, for his past tweets, in which he called police “cowardly” and “incompatible with peaceful society.” In a Sept. 16 press release, Day wrote that he no longer has confidence that Green “is evaluating the Police Bureau reasonably and objectively.” But in the perspective of Portland attorney Nate Haberman and former City Council candidate Jonathan Tasini, Day’s press release violated state law, which states that a public official cannot “promote or oppose” a person’s election campaign in their professional capacity. Haberman and Tasini have filed complaints against Day with the Oregon Secretary of State. [OPB]

Higher Taxes on Portland’s Biggest Corporations?

City Councilors Mitch Green and Angelita Morillo have proposed what they’re calling the “Fair Share Tax,” which would increase business taxes on 405 large corporations, targeting the companies with the highest pay ratios (aka how much money the CEO makes vs. the median worker). The other side of the coin: The proposal would cut taxes for 18,000 local small businesses. [Portland Mercury]