Gossip Should Have No Friends

[December 17th, 2008]

HEEERE’S JEFFREY: Eugene bartender and stellar booze blogger Jeffrey Morgenthaler (jeffreymorgenthaler.com) is moving to Portland to take over the bar at Clyde Common from Kevin Ludwig and Tim Davey, who are leaving the restaurant to start Ludwig’s long-awaited tavern, Beaker and Flask, in early 2009. Morgenthaler told Scoop he’s “thrilled” about the new gig. And we’re thrilled to have him.

STORY TIME: Abraham Ingle, 29, is about to change the way you look at that tree down the street that your dog loves to pee on. The Portland artist’s latest project, Neighborhood Diaries, is an audio rumination on Portland’s streets and neighborhoods. He’s calling it a collection of “location-based memories of normal residents,” encompassing everyone from former members of the Black Panther Party to p:ear volunteers. The anticipated release of the project’s final podcasts is in March; in the meantime, make your own historical contribution by allowing Ingle to record your memory (email him at hoodturkey@gmail.com). Want to see how competent he is before trusting him with your remembrance? Visit his website hoodturkey.com and download Episode 1 of The Flight and the Fall, his artsy audio show similar to NPR’s This American Life, or attend the debut of Episode 2 on Sunday, Dec. 21, at Valentine’s.

AU REVOIR, LUCIER: Lucier, the glitzy and controversial restaurant by the Marquam Bridge, closed its doors after dinner service last Saturday after just over six months of business. Lucier co-owner Chris Dussin said the economy was the primary reason. He hopes to reopen with the same name in the spring or summer of 2009, he said, but will “wait and see.” If Lucier can reopen, Dussin said the establishment would take a look at whether its menu matches what’s right for the economic times. Dussin added that an unfavorable review in The Oregonian was also a factor in the closure. “[Food critic] Karen Brooks’ review certainly didn’t help, ” Dussin says. “For me, that review was unprofessional, and she is the one who lost credibility. I don’t think restaurants make it or break it based on the opinions of writers.” He cited the long-term success of The Old Spaghetti Factory, his family’s national chain of restaurants.

CHEF SANDWICH: Hot on the heels of news that Kenny & Zuke’s will open a spinoff in March called SandwichWorks at Northwest 24th Avenue and Thurman Street, and tasty reports from Tommy Habetz’s new Bunk Sandwiches, comes word of yet another chef-driven sandwich shop. Michael McFarlane, who previously ran the kitchen at El Gaucho, will open Petisco (a Portuguese word meaning, more or less, “really good food”) at 1411 NE Broadway in January. Our tipster says McFarlane is “planning a breakfast sandwich to rival Tommy [Habetz]’s.”

I.o.w. i.o.u.: Portland’s In Other Words bookstore, the only remaining nonprofit feminist bookstore in the country, has always operated on financial thin ice. Now that ice is beginning to crack, according to Katie Carter, an employee at the bookstore. Carter sent out an SOS email to volunteers and news media last week explaining that the bookstore is facing a financial crisis. As a result of lower sales and the recession, the bookstore has been unable to repay its debts and will have to close if it cannot raise $11,000 by the end of December to repay a short-term loan. It’s received $600 in donations since sending the missive. “This is a place where people come and find their community,” Carter says. “We are very optimistic.” Reaching the December goal is only the beginning of a long battle to save the nonprofit. It still owes $40,000 in longer-term loans and is organizing fundraising efforts to keep afloat during the coming year. Donations can be made at inotherwords.org.