Chesa Is Closing for Good July 1

This just in from PoMo: After a year and four months, the modernist Spanish restaurant Chesa — helmed by big-time Portland chef Jose Chesa (Ataula, 180) — will turn off the Josper charcoal oven on July 1, but beginning July 16, it will offer Sunday-night paella dinners, so not all is lost.

Additionally, co-owners Chesa and Cristina Baez will continue to use the venue for special dinners, pop-ups, and events. Their adjacent Spanish xurro spot, 180, will continue business as usual, with the potential to expand being discussed.

Coming from the Portland chef who put modernist Spanish cuisine on the map in Portland, Chesa received nominations in three 2016 Eater Awards categories, but it appears it never really got rolling. Baez told PoMo, “Chesa was building up, then winter came. Everything just stopped for six weeks. Not a pause; Portland stopped. We never regained that momentum.”

Guess the real toll of Portland’s snowpocalypse is still making itself known. Or do you think there’s another reason this high-powered (and delicious) restaurant didn’t get off the ground? Sound off in the comments.

• Chesa [Official]
• Jose Chesa’s Spanish-Modern Restaurant Chesa Will Close July 1 [PoMo]
• All Previous Chesa Coverage [EPDX]
• 180 [Official]
• All Previous 180 Coverage [EPDX]