Fido’s, the Tigard Taphouse That Became Famous for Housing Adoptable Dogs, Is Closing

Fido’s, the world’s first taproom that housed adoptable dogs in Tigard, is winding down business after a nearly five-year run.

On Dec. 20, founder Scott Porter announced on the pub’s Facebook page that the last day of operation would be Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023.

“Thank you to all that have supported Fido’s. It’s time for my wife and I to move on,” the post read. “We’ve had tremendous joy from this unique business and have made many friends.”

Porter has been searching for someone to purchase Fido’s for at least 10 months so that he and his wife can move to Arizona and retire. Last February, he posted an asking price of $60,000, which includes trademarks, the website and social media accounts, as well as all of the furniture, fixtures and equipment.

When Fido’s opened just off of Highway 99W in a shopping center anchored by a Walmart, it became the rare taphouse where patrons rarely headed straight to the bar. Instead, most customers, who typically learned about the spot via a barrage of media coverage—from the Hallmark Channel to Men’s Health—wandered in and began searching for the rare dogs that lived in a bar.

It was a unique arrangement—one that no land use code had addressed up until that point. And while there indeed were, up until the pandemic, adoptable animals located on the premises, they did not have free rein of the space. Their room, with its own entrance, was attached to the taphouse so that the dogs were separated from people food and hazards like a clumsy customer’s shattered pint glass.

One of Porter’s biggest challenges when he was trying to launch the novel concept was finding a supply of adoptable dogs. His initial idea was a bit too ambitious: driving to Southern California to pull dogs out of overpopulated shelters himself. But that would’ve been a lot of travel to keep up with what became steady demand upon opening: On average, two dogs a week found their forever homes at Fido’s. Porter eventually teamed up with Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals, who helped place dogs that had been examined by a veterinarian and screened for temperament, which allowed the nonprofit to free up space in its other foster homes and save more lives.

More recently, Fido’s turned to holding adoption events rather than housing dogs on site, in order to continue its mission. If you’re interested in grabbing the baton, Porter is still actively seeking out a buyer. You can email him at ilovefidos@gmail.com (serious inquiries only are requested).