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Two years after Roe—one of Portland’s finest seafood establishments—reopened as Tercet, the business appears to be rebooting yet again.
On Nov. 9, chef John Conlin announced on social media that the restaurant, located in the historic Morgan Building at 515 SW Broadway, would be closing and reservations were no longer being accepted. However, he left a sliver of hope for fans of the prix fixe spot: Tercet “in its current form” is no more.
The Instagram post failed to elaborate on any future plans, and an email WW sent to Conlin has yet to receive a response. It’s not clear, then, whether there will be a similar Roe-to-Tercet transition, though the statement did seem to indicate that it would be staying put downtown.
“Looking back on all we’ve done (and cooked, and shucked, and served!), it’s been a great ride and we are very proud of everything that we accomplished with our humble team,” the post read. “We are excited for the next chapter of our journey and look forward to the date when we can welcome you all back into our dining room.”
Seafood-centric Roe halted service during the initial pandemic lockdown in 2020 and didn’t resume operations for 18 months—one of the longer restaurant shutdowns in the area. Conlin and fellow chef Wyatt VandenBerghe as well as sommelier Michael Branton used that time to rebrand and refresh the menu.
In November 2021, an email notified subscribers about the relaunch and that the restaurant would still focus on gems provided by the sea, but that the chefs had slightly widened their culinary scope.
After a series of sold-out preview dinners its first week back, Tercet officially activated its online reservation system. The theaterlike presentation of dishes that made Roe a standout dining option was preserved, and during a 2022 review of the space, we noted that it had maintained high standards.
We hope that whatever form Conlin and his team reemerge as, the food will be just as delicious (and beautifully presented) as it was at Tercet and Roe.