Winter storm deals Portland area restaurants yet another blow – OregonLive

Daniel Cardoso used to look forward to snow days. On those rare occasions when winter weather shuts the city down, the longtime local restaurant owner found that sales would shoot up, with nearby customers stopping by for a bite or picking up takeout to go.

As with so many things, this year was different. As many Oregonians woke up to a blanket of snow Saturday morning, Cardoso learned the parking-strip patio at his Santa Fe Taqueria, 831 N.W. 23rd Ave., had collapsed under the weight of snow, twisting canopies and bending corrugated plastic walls, some beyond repair.

Were getting numb to all the catastrophes that are happening, Cardoso said Tuesday. We think its normal now.

For restaurants and bars buffeted by nearly a years worth of cascading disasters, from state-mandated shutdowns designed to curb the ongoing pandemic to wildfire smoke that choked off outdoor dining, Presidents Day weekend was meant to provide a glimmer of hope. After weeks of falling COVID-19 cases, Friday was the first day in nearly three months that metro-area restaurants were allowed to invite customers indoors, albeit at 25% capacity. And Valentines Day, which fell on Sunday this year, is often the busiest day of late winter.

Instead mother nature dealt these businesses another blow. Across the metro area, canopies large (Bethany Public House, 4840 N.W. Bethany Blvd.) and small (Nightingale, 18 N.E. 28th Ave.) collapsed overnight, cutting off access to what had been a lifeline during the most recent shutdown. For some restaurants and bars, wrecked tents werent the only hurdle; many spent the weekend without power as well.

Snow weighed down a canopy over an outdoor seating area at Bethany Public House on Saturday.Kjerstin Gabrielson/Staff

On Friday, Quaintrelle, at 3936 N. Mississippi Ave., scrapped plans to reopen a few indoor reservations for a six-course, $200-per-person Valentines weekend meal. HK Cafe, a banquet-sized dim sum restaurant at 4410 S.E. 82nd Ave, reopened Friday, but despite the Lunar New Year, business was slow to pick up.

Baerlic Brewings new Piehall, a collaboration with Ranch Pizza that briefly opened last fall in the former Blitz Ladd sports bar at 2235 S.E. 11th Ave., reopened Friday with tables spaced eight feet apart, a souped-up ventilation system and carbon dioxide checks to ensure frequent air circulation. After a slow Friday, Saturdays snow day was busier but brought news that a large tent at the brewerys Barley Pod location, 6035 N.E. Halsey St., had collapsed, and power was out there through the weekend.

According to Cardoso, the past four days have been the longest stretch that any of his restaurants have been closed since he first opened Mayas Taqueria at 1000 S.W. Morrison St. in 1986. (Santa Fe followed in 1990, and Aztec Willies in 1994; he has since sold Mayas). Managers were unable to get their cars out of their driveways, while MAX trains and bus lines were down throughout the city.

Santa Fes damaged patio set the business back about $6,000 to build last year, Cardoso said. A similar setup at Aztec Willies, 1501 N.E. Broadway, was saved last weekend in part because city plows had pushed up a stabilizing wall of snow along one side. But a manager who arrived Saturday to get the restaurant up and running quickly learned there was no power in the building.

All of these disasters and chaos teach you things about survival, Cardoso said. If you can run a restaurant right now, you can run any business.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

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Winter storm deals Portland area restaurants yet another blow - OregonLive