Multnomah Village is Losing an Iconic Restaurant Today

O’Connor’s, a historic dining establishment that sat in Multnomah Village for almost 30 years, and for decades prior in downtown Portland, is serving its last bowl of jambalaya today. Though nothing was announced on social media or the restaurant’s website, a tip from an Eater user and a call to the restaurant confirmed that today would be the restaurant’s last.

The Southern-fashioned vintage tavern was a mainstay in Multnomah Village for decades, serving breakfast, lunch, dinner, and drinks from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. seven days a week. It served a diner menu of omelettes and scrambles for breakfast, and a classic tavern menu of burgers and salads in the evening, plus an assortment of Southern dishes, including jambalaya and gumbo; its fried hush puppies were a popular item amongst locals. It also operated as a venue for live music.

Prior to its move in the early 90s, O’Connor’s had been operating in downtown Portland since 1934. It was once considered the last vestige of chauvinism in the city according to a report from The Oregon Journal that is proudly displayed on the restaurant’s website. “As of this week only one tiny enclave of the male world continued to fly its colors and that was the tiny cafe and saloon in the Times Building long known as O’Connor’s,” an excerpt from the review reads, going on to lament the intrusion of women in traditionally male spaces.

Though no official statement has been issued, locals report that the reason for its closing is the owner, Steve Arel, retiring and selling the building, and not the sudden incursion of suffragettes. Eater PDX has reached out to O’Connor’s, and will be updating with any new information.

Correction: This story has been corrected to show the owner’s name is Steve Arel, not Steve O’Connor.

• O’Connor’s Cafe and Bar [Official]