Skip to main content
McCormick & Schmick’s, the Portland seafood chain that went national, is closing its last restaurant in the city under that name.
McCormick & Schmick’s Harborside, which sits in the RiverPlace complex, will close after dinner service on Sunday, ending a three-decade run at the location, according to two people familiar with the matter.
A public relations firm for the chain didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
McCormick & Schmick’s was founded in 1979 by Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick. The pair had teamed up a few years earlier, after McCormick bought Jake’s Famous Crawfish in 1975. The original McCormick & Schmick’s operated at its original location in Old Town until 2009, when the Great Recession took a toll on sales.
The closure is the latest bit of bad news for downtown Portland, which has struggled to recover from the pandemic, and for the RiverPlace area, which has lost businesses over the years. The nearby RiverPlace Athletic Club remains shuttered after closing nine years ago amid financial woes. A planned redevelopment is on hold.
The McCormick & Schmick’s empire expanded from a single restaurant in Old Town to a second at RiverPlace, and then nationally. It sold shares to the public in 2004 and had more than 100 locations by 2009. Landry’s Inc., owned by Texas billionaire Tilman J. Fertitta, bought the chain in 2012.
McCormick & Schmick’s still has a restaurant in Tigard. Landry’s Inc. also owns Jake’s Famous Crawfish in Portland’s West End.