Downtown Chocolate Shop Cacao Will Permanently Close

Downtown Chocolate Shop Will Close After Almost 15 Years

One of Portland’s most influential chocolate shops is selling the last of its truffles, bars, and drinking chocolate: Cacao will close this fall, owners Aubrey Lindley and Jesse Manis announced via Instagram this week. The statement, however, doesn’t note the coronavirus pandemic at all. “As the market has grown and consumers have become more knowledgeable our role has changed,” the Instagram post reads. “When we opened we helped introduce the world to a new way of thinking about and talking about chocolate, representing the first wave of American craft chocolate makers. The discovery and exploration continues but we are reevaluating where we fit in to that and what the future holds.” Cacao, like Alma Chocolate, was one of the city’s first forays into diligently sourced chocolate, followed soon by “bean-to-bar” chocolatiers like Woodblock and Sebastian Cisneros’ Cloudforest — Cisneros actually worked at Cacao for five years before starting his brand. [Oregonian]

Break-Ins at Portland Businesses

Last week, the Pearl District Mexican restaurant Papi Chulo’s reported a burglary, saying someone stole the restaurant’s safe using a hand truck. This week, more business owners are reporting break-ins and burglaries: Someone broke the glass of the door at Cuban cocktail bar Palomar, according to the restaurant’s Instagram story, and earlier this week, someone burglarized laminated pastry bakery Twisted Croissant. Twisted Croissant owner Kurt Goddard says the burglar broke in sometime between when the bakery closed Monday and when the morning baker arrived on Tuesday, taking a few electronics and valuables; Goddard has since filed a police report. Then, at midnight Wednesday morning, Palomar owner Ricky Gomez says a vandal broke into Palomar, but that person didn’t end up stealing anything. “In the greater scheme of things, I think we’re really fortunate that the guy didn’t break anything else, take any alcohol,” Gomez says. Both businesses are opening as usual — with boarded-up doors.

In Other News...

• The City of Beaverton is offering $500,000 in grants to small businesses and nonprofits within city limits [Fox12]
• New Zealand-style ice cream truck Zed’s will stay open for the winter for the first time, in an attempt to make up for lost business this summer. [PoMo]
• Valley Public House is now open in Happy Valley, housing its own Ranch Pizza and Tamale Boy locations. [EPDX]
• Another noteworthy opening: República, the wine-bar-meets-dessert-bar-meets-Mexican-restaurant in the Pearl District, opened on Wednesday. [EPDX]

Update: This story was updated to include comments from Kurt Goddard and Ricky Gomez.