Chez José, a popular local Mexican restaurant that once boasted three Portland-area locations, is closing for good after 35 years, owners Howie Schechter and Tom Midrano Jr. wrote in an email.
“We started Chez Jose in 1987 on a shoestring, and built a business that fills us with incredible pride,” Schechter and Midrano Jr. wrote. “Our loyal clientele has supported us over these many years — through a fire that devastated our building, though ups and downs in the economy, and now through these past few years of Covid.”
After debuting their lime-chicken enchiladas and frosty margaritas in a comfortable Burlingame dining room in 1987, the partners slowly expanded to the east side. By the late 1990s, Chez José was operating three locations, including Chez José East (aka Two Chez) on Northeast Broadway, and Chez Grill on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard.
A 2001 fire at the adjacent Burlingame Grocery, later ruled to be arson, forced the partners to rebuild the original location.
Schechter and Midrano Jr., who plan to retire, had been looking for a buyer to continue the Chez José concept at its original location, “but due to the challenges facing the restaurant industry, that hasn’t been possible,” they wrote.
“We have been operating with the bare minimum of kitchen staffing for the past six months, and chose to end the restaurant on our own terms rather than an abrupt ending due to lack of staff,” they wrote. “This affords us an opportunity to celebrate with our customers and staff, as is appropriate given our wonderful run of serving the city of Portland for the past 35½ years.”
Visit Chez José between now and Oct. 8 at 8502-A S.W. Terwilliger Blvd.
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com; @tdmrussell
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