Old Town Nightspot Tube Has Closed Due to the Pandemic

Farewell, Tubesdays.

IMAGE: tubepdx.com.
By Andi Prewitt

The party's been over in Portland's Old Town for the better part of a year now, but today officially marks the end of long-standing nightclub Tube.

The intimate lounge, which has been hosting revelers into the early hours since 2001, announced on its Instagram account today that it is closing permanently.

"When you walked through that door and into the tunnel, we were all friends, the post stated. "The music was loud and it was good. We've had DJs that normally play for thousands rock for 50. Art has been at the forefront in every form. We've loved being that place for the community."

Tube's owner, Eric Bowler, has seen the pandemic chip away at his collection of bars and clubs since spring.

First, in June, he shuttered Revelry, the Korean-inspired drinking food establishment known for its fried chicken tossed with peanut brittle. Fortune and Maxwell, two other bars not far from Tube, then followed.

Related: Nightclub Owner Eric Bowler Has Shut Down Two Bars in the Pandemic. He Can't Be Sure He Won't Have to Close More.

Bowler now has one facility left in his portfolio—Southeast Portland sports bar Century, which has added outdoor seating to accommodate drinkers as the global health crisis drags on. With the upcoming end of the commercial eviction moratorium on Dec. 31, and the inability of the federal government to provide another aid package, Bowler says his hand was forced when it comes to letting go of Tube.

Farewell, Tubesdays. You were the hottest party on a Tuesday night in that hood.

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