Fried Chicken Paradise Dub’s St. Johns Is Closing Its North Portland Restaurant

Dub’s St. Johns, the soul-food restaurant specializing in fried chicken, barbecue, and waffles, is closing its doors for good on Saturday, October 13. Owner William “Dub” Travis wrote a Facebook post late Monday night, citing 15-hour work days and a lack of sustainable profit as the reasons for closing. “We aren’t making enough money to keep the doors open,” the post reads. “We’ve tried a good many things that we thought would be appealing to the community and bring in the amount of business to keep us going. Even with your wonderful support it just wasn’t enough.”

The North Portland restaurant moved three separate times since it opened in 2012. The original Fremont location, Mack & Dub’s Excellent Chicken & Waffles, burned down less than a year after opening. The restaurant moved into the Ranger Tavern kitchen in 2013, before settling into a semi-formal restaurant space less than a year ago in December of 2017.

In every location, Dub’s was celebrated for its food: The fried chicken was a longstanding member of Eater PDX’s fried chicken map, also garnering props from Thrillist and The Oregonian. The restaurant was active in the St. Johns community, sponsoring youth sports teams and delivering free meals to the area’s unhoused. Travis also organized 2018’s Support Black-Owned Restaurant Week, the annual celebration of restaurants owned by Black Portlanders. The Facebook post announcing its closure was met with an immediate outpouring of grief, with dozens of commenters saying how much the place meant to them. Eater PDX has reached out to Dub’s St. Johns for a statement, so stay tuned for updates.

• Dub’s St Johns [Official]
• Announcement of Closing [Facebook]
• Mack and Dubs Fire May Be Arson, Hate Crime [Willamette Week]
• Dub’s Chicken and Waffles is Going Brick and Mortar [EPDX]
• 16 Real Deal Fried Chicken Spots in Portland, Mapped [EPDX]
• All Previous Dub’s St Johns Coverage [Facebook]