Dottir and Lady of the Mountain Have Both Closed, but Kex Is Finalizing Plans for a New Food and Beverage Partner

The ground-floor restaurant should open this spring, and the rooftop bar is scheduled to begin popping its umbrellas by the beginning of summer.

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By Andi Prewitt

Dottir, the Nordic-influenced restaurant inside Kex hotel, is one of the latest local restaurants to call it quits during the never-ending pandemic—but at least it got to go out with a bang.

The 3,500-square-foot space occupying the property’s ground floor held its final service as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. Dottir announced the impending closure on social media in the days leading up to the final party.

“It’s no news that this year has been hard for everyone in a myriad of ways, and we at Kex are in no way immune to the difficulties of the pandemic,” the Instagram post stated. “When we first opened Dottir in November 2019, PDX came out en masse and we were so stoked for the love and the chance to prove ourselves. We only got 4.5 months to do so before the pandemic shut us down.”

Dottir The ground-floor restaurant Dottir inside Kex. Photo courtesy of Kex.

Following the initial COVID shutdown in 2020, Kex actually first launched Lady of the Mountain before reopening Dottir. When the rooftop patio welcomed diners in August of that year, it was like a pandemic gift: The weather was warm—making it the perfect perch to soak up the sun with a low-ABV cocktail—and patrons were still primarily seeking out open-air dining since vaccines were far into the future.

Dottir resumed service a week later, installing tables in its courtyard and street seats on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to provide customers with even more al fresco options.

Just two months later, Kex closed both restaurants ahead of the first forecasted soaker of the fall. The owners said it just wasn’t feasible to keep those spaces going through the colder months, and would-be customers remained jittery about eating inside.

Finally, in June 2021, Kex brought back all of its amenities, including the ability to book an overnight stay. The 26-room hotel will remain open even though Dottir and Lady of the Mountain have shuttered.

A Kex representative tells WW that the property is in the process of finalizing plans to bring in a new partner for its food and beverage spaces. An announcement is expected in the coming weeks, but a general timeline, at this point, has the first-floor restaurant opening this spring and the rooftop bar popping its umbrellas by the beginning of summer.

Related: Lady of the Mountain Is a Rooftop Bar Worth Summiting

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