Wildwood Will Close Next Week After 20-Year Run

Photo of Wildwood courtesy Avila/EPDX

Whoa: Venerable NW institution Wildwood will close its doors next week, after a 20-year run on NW 21st Avenue. Eat Beat breaks the news that the restaurant will mark its final day on Tuesday, February 25, after ongoing lease negotiations fell through. In an announcement (full text posted below), general manager Cana Flug says: "We've been in lease negotiations for a while and unfortunately we were not able to come to an agreement that made sense for us."

Chef Cory Schreiber founded Wildwood back in 1994, and earned the James Beard Award for Best Chef Northwest four years later. Schreiber left the restaurant in 2007, and chef Dustin Clark has served as executive chef ever since. In its two decades, the restaurant was well-known for pioneering "Pacific Northwest" cuisine. According to an announcement, Clark plans to team with Flug for another project in the near future, but until then, there's just one week left to say your Wildwood goodbyes.

We will be closing Wildwood on Tuesday, February 25. We are proud of our past, our present and what this restaurant has meant to the Portland restaurant community for the last 20 years.

We are especially proud of the strides our team has made in recent years and the awesome amount of blood, sweat and tears they have dedicated to the restaurant. After our best year since 2007, it is unfortunate we have to close now. Our team, lead by Executive Chef Dustin Clark in the kitchen, worked hard to bring customers an incredible dining experience each night. Wildwood is where so many life occasions were celebrated, where so much culinary talent came through the door, and where farmers were always our stars. We will miss being a part of your life, but want to thank you, our Portland community for your incredible support over the years. You have all been a part of the Wildwood family.

Please join us this entire week through Tuesday, February 25th for seven days of celebratory send off. We hope you'll stop by, raise a last glass with us and send Wildwood off in style! With the closure of Wildwood, Executive Chef Dustin Clark and General Manager Cana Flug plan to embark on a new concept together. Details will be forthcoming in the near future.

· Wildwood Closing After 20 Years in Northwest Portland [Eat Beat]
· All Wildwood Coverage [Eater PDX]