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Address: 3766 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Year built: 1907
Square footage: 1,169
Market value: $650,930
Owner: Sellwood Corner LLC
How long it’s been empty: 8 years
Why it’s empty: A diner’s legal battle
On the same bustling block as a few historic mainstays of Hawthorne Boulevard—including McMenamins Bagdad Theater & Pub and Nick’s Famous Coney Island—lies a boarded-up building covered with graffiti. The vacancy makes little sense considering its prime location in the middle of a hub for commercial activity and tourism.
“It definitely jumped out at me that it was unoccupied,” says Chris Boyle, property manager of the nearby Bagdad.
The property contained Tabor Hill Cafe, a breakfast and lunch spot that since 1986 was a neighborhood fixture, but in 2003, owner Mark Gearheart, a local physician, leased the property to Ngay Luong for 10 years.
Bill White, owner of Fred’s Sound of Music, the business adjacent to Tabor Hill Cafe, says the creativity of the food declined under new ownership, but he remembers Luong and his family fondly. “They were always friendly and nice people to work next to and always very courteous,” White says.
Tabor Hill Cafe closed in 2014 when Luong’s lease expired. Gearheart filed a lawsuit against Luong in February 2020, claiming Luong’s disregard for maintenance was so egregious he had “left it uninhabitable.” The two sides reached an undisclosed settlement this February.
Gearheart testified for the lawsuit he was trying to restore the property to a habitable condition. An advertisement posted online in 2018 by Gearhart Properties signaled he has also tried to sell it.
In the meantime, the property suffers from broken windows and graffiti, says Veronica Douglas, manager of Crossroads Trading, a clothing store on the same block. White says his employees frequently pick up trash left outside the building. Its future remains unclear.
“We see activity there once in a while,” White says, “but I’m not so sure what they’re doing.”