When XLB opened in January of 2017, owner Jasper Shen couldn’t have known how prescient his words would eventually appear. Shen told press outlets that his Chinese restaurant—which specialized in its namesake xiao long bao, or soup dumplings—was based on the foods he grew up eating with his family. Flash forward to 2025, and that sentiment has been echoed again and again at eateries like Xiao Ye, Matta, and Mémoire Cà Phê. XLB’s arrival also predates buzzy Chinese dumpling houses like Din Tai Fung and Dough Zone. Sadly, it served its last bao in spring of ’25, citing slow business as the reason. Today, Sun Rice has moved in, serving Filipino brunches in the mornings and drinking snacks in the evenings. 

Immigrants make up 22 percent of all food service workers in the US, so the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has already created serious upheaval and heartbreak within the restaurant industry. Case in point: Reeva—the matte-black wood-fire pizza cart on NE Sandy Boulevard—was forced to shutter after founder and chef Roberto Hernandez Guerrero was denied citizenship. Roberto’s eldest son, Demian Hernandez, told The Oregonian that his father traveled to Mexico for what he thought would be his “final interview” in a grueling and exorbitant seven-year-long application process; when he arrived in Ciudad Juárez, the chef was denied not only a green card, but the ability to reenter the United States. This leaves Hernandez Guerrero stranded in Mexico, separated from his wife, two children, and the business he built. A fundraiser helped secure capital for legal fees and a potential future return, but any reunion or reopening will be at least 18 months away, if not longer.

It’s hard to imagine Portland’s beer scene being what it is today without Upright; it’s impossible to imagine our farmhouse scene without it. Its first home an eclectically decorated “if you know, you know” location buried in the basement of the Leftbank Building, Upright quickly caught on with beer fans thanks to owner and brewer Alex Ganum’s take on farmhouse ales, saisons, and pilsners. Originally focusing on its niche portfolio, Upright eventually expanded into more familiar Pacific Northwest styles like IPAs and stouts, and its subterranean taproom moved up to street level; Ganum also opened a satellite location in a former gas station in Cully. But market saturation, rising operating costs, and the other usual suspects led to him shutting down brewing operations in late fall and closing the pub at the end of the year. The taphouse in Cully will remain open, pouring beers from other local breweries. 

When it first opened in 2016, Dame sported a traditional restaurant model with a focus on wines. But after its initial chef left, owner Jane Smith converted Dame into more of a culinary cultivator, hosting residencies like Patrick McKee’s Italian restaurant Estes and Luna Contreras’s Mexican spot Chelo. Next door, Lil’ Dame hosted pop-ups like the late Lauro Romero’s Clandestino. But on December 19, Chelo, which had permanently taken over the main restaurant space in early 2025, quietly closed. The day after Christmas, resident Southern restaurant Ma Cher’s owners Chase Dopson and Maggie Irwin announced via Instagram that they were leaving the space at the end of the year. The next day, Smith took to Instagram to announce the closure of both Dame and Lil’ Dame. Neither group shared the reason for closures. However, in early January, The Oregonian reported that Contreras had been arrested on charges of domestic violence and harassment on December 19.

Six months after it was named the best bakery in the United States by the James Beard Awards, Jinju Patisserie shocked the scene when owners Jin Caldwell and Kyurim Lee—two Korean expats who originally met in Las Vegas—announced the patisserie would be closing on December 28. The reason wasn’t so much the sudden surge of renewed attention (though that did happen) as it was the need for growth and a new space. So while the original location remains closed, there’s high hope for a future with their exceptional almond croissants and yuzu bonbons in it. Until then, keep an eye on their social media profiles for any pop-ups or residencies. 

Effectively the bar for Wonder Ballroom, Cliff’s didn’t revolutionize Portland’s bar scene or invent weird new cocktails or win any James Beard Awards. What it did was build a devoted community of regulars beyond the stream of concertgoers, a community that adored the bar for its warm hospitality, affordable bar food, and solid drinks. Despite the bar’s financial success and local acclaim, its landlord didn’t share that affection, and chose not to renew the bar’s lease when it expired at the end of 2025. Currently, owners Josh and Sierra Luebke are on the hunt for a new location. 

“Sales just aren’t there anymore, while costs keep climbing,” Adam Robinson explained after the announcement that his envelope-pushing cocktail den Deadshot wouldn’t see 2026. What began as a pop-up bar companion to fine dining restaurant Holdfast eventually expanded into its own cocktail lounge, which specialized in unconventional cocktail ingredients like sesame, mustard, even cabbage. It was also home to pop-ups and residencies, starting with the same Holdfast and later Filipino restaurant Sun Rice and Frenchy spot Plumb. Despite establishing itself as one of the city’s premier destinations for cool, creative mixed drinks, Deadshot’s only reliable revenue came from the Christmas-themed pop-up Miracle Bar, which it hosted for five years. After a final festive installment, the bar closed for good at the end of 2025.