Ringside Grill Is Closing This Month

One of Portland’s oldest restaurants, Ringside Steakhouse, has sold its sister business, Ringside Grill, the swank bar and grill attached to the Glendoveer Golf & Tennis club, the Ringside Hospitality Group confirms with Eater. Established in 1979 at 14021 NE Glisan St., Ringside Grill will cease service on August 30.

“I wouldn’t have believed it five years ago,” Ringside owner Craig Peterson tells Eater, speaking of the closure. “The bar-to-dining-room ratio was skewed. Dinner hasn’t been able to compete since the recession.”

Just who the new owners are hasn’t been disclosed, but Peterson confirms they are restaurateurs who already have a presence in Portland.

Peterson says the decision to sell was difficult, but current changes in the restaurant industry — such as the rising minimum wage, the difficulties around sharing tips between front of house and back of house staff, and the current steps being taken to require more predictable work schedules — made it difficult to balance the numbers.

“I believe in all these changes, but I don’t know how they’ll be paid for,” he says. “I’d rather make a little earlier move, than wait.”

Ringside Hospitality was tempted to renew the Ringside Grill lease and “try another run,” but when the new owners proposed purchasing the business, the decision to sell made sense.

“The good thing is the new owners are moving in with a spot-on concept that’ll be really good for the golf course and the community,” says Peterson.

The changes at Ringside Hospitality Group do not stop with Ringside Grill. Ringside Fish House is also halting its lunch service on August 30, with the caveat its happy hour is getting a reboot with a new menu.

The hospitality group says it is working to hire as many of the Ringside Grill staff as possible at its other establishments.

• Ringside Steakhouse [Official]
• Ringside Grill [Official]
• Ringside Fish House [Official]
• Portland restaurant and bar news: 10 things you need to know this week [Oregonian]