Alma Chocolate to Close Eastside Industrial Location

Sarah Hart, Alma’s chocolate-filled heart and soul, has closed her Southeast 7^th location, which sat next door to Ancient Heritage Dairy and Renata for three years. Says Hart: “In the last few years, we stretched that passion (and our team) to open a larger production kitchen with second storefront location. While the additional space helped us to realize some bigger dreams initially, we find ourselves once again stressing at the seams.” You can still find Alma’s gold-leaf art pieces, crazy bon bons, and next-level caramel sauce at the original location on Northeast 28^th.

Vitaly Paley to Open Another Hotel Restaurant 

EaterPDX is the first to report that Vitaly Paley, Portland icon and (as of late) prolific hotel restaurateur, will open his fifth restaurant inside the Dossier Hotel in downtown Portland. This will be his third restaurant inside a hotel: his current roster includes Imperial, inside Hotel Lucia, and Headwaters, inside the Heathman. No word yet on a cuisine or concept. Stay tuned. 

Bernie’s Southern Bistro to Shutter

Alberta Street’s two decade-old patio and comfort food staple, Bernie’s Bistro, will close Sunday, October 7. According a Facebook post from owner Kelly Courtney, the building desperately needs costly repairs, while rent hikes are expected to make operation unfeasible. Hope remains, however, that Bernie’s will live on, as Courtney continues to look for a more affordable space.

ChefStable Partners with Icelandic Hotel Group for New Central Eastside Restaurant

Portland’s ChefStable restaurant group is teaming up with Iceland’s Kex boutique hotel group to open a ground-floor eatery buttressing a new hostel/hotel at 100 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. Although it’s not slated to open until 2019 (optimistically), the development wheels have already begun turning. Leading the effort is Ólafur Ágústsson, the food and drink director of the original Kex location and Iceland’s Dill restaurant. No word on the menu, or even a cuisine, though we’re pulling for some authentic Icelandic fare.

Oregon Culinary Institute Murder Takes a Dark Turn 

The plot thickens in the case of beloved Oregon Culinary Institute culinary instructor Daniel Brophy’s murder earlier this year. On September 5, his wife, local romance novelist Nancy L. Crampton-Brophy, was charged as the primary suspect. In a stranger-than-fiction twist, the Washington Post reports that Nancy Brophy, in her career, published several damning works, including The Wrong Husband, and an essay entitled “How to Murder Your Husband.” Yikes. 

Straight from New York Moves into Oasis Café Space 

For many Hawthorne thrifters, Oasis Cafe was a regular stop for a trashy slice of pizza and pinball, and a quick recharge before heading back out into the wilds of House of Vintage or Red Light. That greasy fuel-up disappeared earlier this summer. Now, 30-year-old Straight from New York Pizza has taken over, serving its own floppy, greasy slices just a few blocks from its other east side location at 3330 SE Belmont.