Skip to main content
After two years of providing Portland film buffs with an unusual blend of movie theater, pizza parlor and coffee shop, The 4th Wall Cafe on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard has closed without explanation.
The situation looked dire when The 4th Wall appeared to wipe its official website almost blank, leaving behind a message with an air of finality: “Due to some seriously unfortunate personal circumstances, we will be shutting down. It’s been a great ride, friends. Thanks for the memories!”
In an Instagram video, owner Asa Fager offered a cryptic elaboration, asking patrons to stay tuned for more details. “Some shit hit the fan in big way,” Fager said. “We still have a lot to sort through, but things are going to drastically change.”
Founded by Jason Thompson and Fager, former staffers at the fabled (and now shuttered) Seattle movie theater Cinerama, The 4th Wall had become a unique community for cinephiles, hosting discussion groups for films like Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and screening modern classics like Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation.
In 2022, Fager explained the vision for The 4th Wall, telling WW, “The era of the multiplex is over, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. We just have to figure out what the new experience is.”