Gentle Readers,
An interesting letter crossed the Dish desk just the other
day. It came from a Mr. John A. DiGregorio, proprietor
of the Monte Carlo restaurant and lounge at 1016 SE
Belmont St.
DiGregorio is upset. He bought the Monte Carlo business
three and a half years ago when it was at a crossroads.
You may recall that the Italian restaurant had been subsumed
by the wild nightlife goings-on at the attached dance club.
At the time, a strange parallel existed: The dining room,
all flare red and decked out with green, red and white flags,
shared a thumping wall that shook with disco. DiGregario
purchased the restaurant and club with an eye on turning
it around, and so far it has worked. The Monte Carlo establishment
and the land where it sits has been in Italian hands since
it was built in the early 1920s. But now, its days may be
numbered.
Seems the Farmers and Ranchers Association, which
owns the land, has recently struck a deal with the Portland
Development Commission, which wants to raze the building
and put up some low-income housing. The attorney for the
Farmers and Ranchers says it's a business decision, but
for DiGregorio it's a bad business decision: He says he's
out a lot of money.
But what about Portland? Well, truth be told, Miss Dish
thinks the Monte Carlo could take more care in its dishes--but
wow, what a room! Losing its red booths and old-school Italian-stallion
neon façade would be yet another blow to Portland's
dying architectural diversity. Every time a colorful site
is knocked down for some drab re-fabbed thing, a piece of
our history goes down the tubes. Besides, Miss Dish has
been waiting for the day the Monte Carlo gets some cooking
lessons and settles into its saucy interior with the right
sauce. Will it happen?
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Willamette Week | originally
published January 5,
1999
|
