Local businesses provide employment for area residents in addition to products and services close to home. Mid-county Memo Business Memos celebrate news, advancements, promotions, retirements, expansions and other noteworthy events at these cornerstones of our community. To share news of your business with our readers, Business Memo submissions for the October issue are due by Tuesday, Sept. 15. For best results, e-mail Darlene Vinson at editor@midcountymemo.com. You may also mail submissions to 3510 N.E. 134th Ave., Portland, OR 97230. To leave a message, call 503-287-8904. The Memo’s fax number is 503-249-7672.
Waddle rehired as Cleary’s GM
In August, the new managing partner at Cleary’s Restaurant & Spirits rehired Kathy Waddle to run their Menlo Park Plaza Restaurant. Waddle, who was Cleary’s general manager from 2000-2010, said she is happy to be back at the helm. “Welcome back to my second home,” she said wryly when asked how she felt about getting her old job back. “Seriously, I’m going to do what I can to bring our old customers back and bring in new people.”
Leaving to attend school in 2010 when the restaurant was sold for the second time in its 25-year history, Waddle was rehired as a server in 2012.
When new majority partners recently took over, they realized a change in management was needed, which is when they turned to Waddle. “We needed changes. They [new partners] recognized what we needed to do and made changes,” she said in an interview.
A neighborhood institution, Cleary’s is known for having longtime employees, which include—besides Waddles’ tenured service—21-year bartender JP Pierce, 16-year server Julia Davis, and 10-year bartender Vickie Schlotz.
Waddle, who recognizes her neighborhood and customer base is aging and changing at the same time, acknowledges they are not only losing customers to death, but also members of the Cleary’s family as well. “We lost Audrey this year,” Waddle said.
Before her last stop at Cleary’s for a dozen years, server Audrey Wallace worked for decades at Rose’s and the American Broiler in east Portland. She passed away January 2015.
Waddle said customers come in nearly every day asking after Wallace. “It’s sad,” she said. “But it shows how committed customers are to the staff.”
Waddle is optimistic about the changes in the neighborhood with new people moving into east Portland every day. “I see new faces all the time,” she said. “I have lots of ideas to bring in new customers who just moved here and old customers who forgot we’re still here.” Her ideas include a new and improved menu, bringing back Karaoke and holding frequent events, like a 25th anniversary party for starters.
Stay tuned. Cleary’s is at 12429 N.E. Glisan Street in Menlo Park Plaza.
Gateway has its own brewery
Widmer Brothers alumni Joel and Karen Sheley recently launched Gateway Brewing, a nanobrewery. Based in the Hazelwood neighborhood, the Sheleys have created three brews so far: Responder Red, a red wheat ale; Exit 7 IPA, named for the Gateway exit off I-84; and Glendoveer Golden Kolsch. Gateway beers range from 4 to 6 percent alcohol by volume and international bitterness units, or IBUs, top out around 80.
Find these beers on tap at McGillacuddy’s, 11133 N.E. Halsey St., and Ring Side Grill, 14021 N.E. Glisan St.
Joel and Karen plan to release their Responder Red at GABA’s First Responder’s Tribute and Business Fair this month.
Visit www.gatewaybrewingpdx.com for news of new releases and additional locations pouring their products. For more information, contact Karen at karensheley@gatewaybrewingpdx.com.
Fresh, line-caught fish direct from the ocean to your table
Mid-county is rich with farmer’s markets and farm stands providing us with fresh, local produce. The fishing community in Port Orford on the southern Oregon coast has created a community-supported fishery that delivers wild, line-caught seafood direct from the Pacific Ocean to fish-loving communities throughout Western Oregon.
Port Orford Sustainable Seafood offers monthly shares of seafood that is caught and processed by the fishermen and women themselves, providing a meal that you can trace to its source.
Shares may include salmon, halibut, rockfish, black cod, lingcod, Albacore tuna, Dungeness crab and several kinds of clams. Members can choose shellfish-free packages if preferred, and there are membership options to suit every budget and every size household. Every month brings a variety of quality seafood, vacuum-sealed and blast-frozen in meal-sized portions to a drop site near you.
At this time, there is no drop site east of 82nd Avenue. Check out this delicious opportunity at www.posustainableseafood.com to select a membership that fits your family and let Mike Baran, the CSF manager, know that you would like a drop site here in Mid-county. If there is enough interest from Memo readers, a drop site will be established in Parkrose.
Baran’s email address is csfmanager@posustainableseafood.com. Be sure to mention you learned about POSS in the Memo.
Local bar gives away new car
Larry Olsen, who owns three bars in east Portland, recently gave a customer a brand-new 2014 Chevy Cruze … for free. Free—except for about $2,000 in taxes and registration fees.
For five months, beginning in November 2014, Olsen let customers fill out an entry form whenever they patronized one of his bars—Boss Hawg’s Bar ‘N’ Grill on Northeast 102nd Avenue near Glisan Street; the Daily Double Inn in outer Northeast on 162nd Avenue; and Mr. Dealers Double Up Café in the Powellhurst-Gilbert neighborhood on Southeast 123rd and Powell Boulevard. The more times you went to one of his bars to either eat, drink, watch sports or play the lottery, the more chances you had to win.
Why did Olsen give longtime customer Laquesha Muldrew a new car that retailed for about $14,000? Olsen—who was marketing vice-president for Thrifty Auto Supply, a locally owned chain before he got into the bar business—said he is always thinking about different ways to return a portion of lottery profits to customers. The car giveaway was the biggest twist on the many ways he rebates loyal patrons. “The customers spread the peanut butter around and I put the jelly on,” the laconic Olsen said.
After promoting the contest in the local paper and on social media, he received thousands of entries from hundreds of people. In April, he held an event at Boss Hawg’s where he drew ten finalists for the car.
On June 25 Olsen held a “Halfway to Christmas” party—also at the Northeast 102nd Avenue eatery—with finalists given a key and then, one at a time, try and open the car’s door. Muldrew was last to try, so when the key of the finalist before her wouldn’t fit, she knew she won. “I was in shock,” she said. Muldrew, who works for Liberty Mutual Insurance, said the Chevy Cruze is the first new car the 32-year-old has ever owned. “All my Dad and me had to do was come in. It’s (Boss Hawg’s) so close [to my home] “I love it. Everybody there’s really nice.”
In addition to giving away more than $30,000 in cash, prizes and merchandise that night, Olsen said he served a free Christmas fare buffet to the more than 150 people in attendance.
Asked if he was going to do it again in 2016, Olsen said, “I’ll do something. Maybe not a car, but I’m always doing something for my customers.”
UWS Gresham clinic has a new name
University of Western States, a leader in healthcare education and community-based healthcare, announced the university’s clinic in Gresham new name is Health Centers of UWS. The name change emphasizes the integration of the university’s healthcare facilities and conveys the clinics’ emphasis on patient-centered healthcare and collective affiliation with University of Western States.
Since opening in 2009, the Northwest Civic Drive facility has served the healthcare needs of the east Multnomah County community. Available services include chiropractic care, rehabilitative services, massage therapy, nurse practitioner family medical care and functional medicine services. The clinics’ health care professionals provide services in a collaborative model to best serve patients’ individual needs. Under its new name, the Health Centers of UWS in Gresham will continue to provide high-quality, accessible, patient-centered healthcare consistent with the values and standards of University of Western States.
UWS has also launched a new website for patients featuring the ability to download forms, view profiles of clinicians and access their information via MyChart. Patients can now view medical records and connect with their healthcare providers. Visit www.healthcentersofuws.com to learn more.
Good World finds new home in Parkrose
After leaving their space on Northeast Sandy Boulevard in August, Good World Chinese Restaurant owners Wan and Kevin Su signed a lease for 3,800 sq. ft. at 5055 N.E. 122nd Ave. in the Parkrose Plaza.
About 1,500 sq. ft. smaller than the former bank building space the restaurant occupied in the heart of Parkrose, Wan Su said they’ll make do. Su also said they hope to be open by the end of October, but it’ll depend on how fast they can get the new space configured for their operation. “It’s not as large, but we’ll be fine. We’re not sure how long it will take to open, it depends how fast we can fix the new place.” Su said call her at 503-252-3283 or visit their website www.goodworldchinese.com for updates.
Opened in 2009, Good World serves Cantonese and Mandarin style cuisine. In addition, they serve dim sum daily. The new space, like the old, will have a full bar and all lottery games when the Sus reopen.