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This story has been updated to reflect that Tusk is open tonight.
One of the city’s top restaurants, Tusk, posted a sign today announcing it had closed.
In an email, responding to a question about why Tusk’s general manager had posted a sign saying Tusk was closed, Sortis Holdings Founder Paul Brenneke says the restaurant remains open.
“Not sure what you are talking about as I just called over there to check on them,” Brenneke wrote in an email at 3:15 pm. “We don’t open until 5:00 so of course it was closed. Come on over for dinner tonight and see for yourself. More hot tips from haters who are trying to hurt us.”
The initial news came from a bare-bones sign taped to the restaurant’s front door at 2448 East Burnside St.
Tusk has enjoyed a strong critical reception since the day it began operations in 2017. WW called it a “generational restaurant.” As recently as 2022, USA Today named it one of the city’s 10 best restaurants.
But Tusk and its sister restaurant, the high-end Italian spot Ava Gene’s, located at 3377 SE Division St., suffered through the pandemic, just like more pedestrian restaurants. Sortis Holdings, the hospitality investment firm led by Portland businessman Paul Brenneke, invested in Submarine and brought it inside what Sortis named the Sustainable Restaurant Group, alongside Bamboo Sushi and other Sortis Holdings investments.
As WW and other media have reported since November, many of the companies Sortis Holdings invested in have struggled to pay their bills, resulting in liens and numerous lawsuits.
Related: Sortis Holdings’ Landlord Sues for Nonpayment of Rent
It is unclear why Tusk announced a closure. The principals behind the restaurant’s landlord, Burnside General Stores, LLC, did not immediately respond to a voicemail. Tusk general manager Gary Huddleston, whose name and number are on the closure sign on Tusk’s front door, did not respond to messages seeking comment.