Skip to main content
The Oregon Lottery today got confirmation that Shari’s Restaurants, the 24-hour pie and video lottery chain founded in Hermiston in 1978 and known for its distinctive hexagon-shaped stores, has served its last slice in Oregon.
“All of them are closed as of today,” says Oregon Lottery spokesman Matt Shelby. “We just learned that.”
Shari’s started the year with 42 Oregon locations but, after a series of closures, was down to 17 as this week began.
The Oregon Lottery keeps a close eye on Shari’s because the retailer’s video lottery terminals generate substantial revenue. (In an earlier story about Shari’s troubles, KGW reported the chain collectively generated more than $34 million in lottery revenues last year, earning $7.45 million in commissions.)
Each of the Shari’s stores, like all lottery retailers, deposits the money players feed into terminals into a bank account, to which the agency has access. Once a week, Shelby says, the agency draws its share of the revenue from that shared account.
Earlier this year, Shelby adds, Shari’s account went dry, an indication the chain was in financial distress. The agency shut down access to gambling for all Shari’s locations until Shari’s paid up and posted a performance bond. As individual Shari’s have closed around the state this year, Oregon Lottery staff has immediately visited the locations to grab the terminals—up to six per location—and spirit them back to Salem where they are refurbished and sent to new retailers. (Shelby says that when Shari’s went dark for a weekend, records show that lottery players simply took their business to nearby retailers, so Oregon Lottery doesn’t anticipate a material drop in revenue from the chain’s demise.)
On Monday, as rumors of Shari’s closure circulated on social media, Oregon Lottery staff queried the chain’s back office for information. Around midday, Shelby says, Oregon Lottery director Mike Wells sent out an all-staff email: Shari’s is finished.
“Shari’s was an Oregon institution, and a longtime Lottery retailer,” Wells wrote. “I’m sure many of you have memories of late-night comfort food, Sunday breakfast, or tasty pies.
“That said, Shari’s has struggled for years, and we’ve supported them as they tried to work through solutions. With the closure of all restaurants, the financial risks in continuing to partner are simply too great. I take no joy in this decision, but it’s the right one for Lottery and for the State of Oregon.”
Shelby says agency staff is at work on managing the end of a long relationship.
“We have disabled all their terminals,” Shelby says, “and we are in the process of canceling their retail contract.”
A Shari’s spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment, but the lottery provided an email from Samuel Borgese, the founder of Shari’s parent company, Gather Holdings, from earlier today saying, “I can confirm at this time that all Oregon Shari’s are closed.”