Delve into the Rose City’s colorful and sometimes tumultuous past through the memories, meals and recipes that put these bygone restaurants on the map. From the Quality Pie, a favorite of Portlanders from all walks of life, to the River Queen, which enjoyed a long and storied life as a working vessel before becoming a stationary restaurant on the Willamette River, visitors and locals alike have enjoyed a unique variety of eateries. Celebrities once enjoyed steak dinners in the Barbary Coast’s Roaring 20s Room, while Café Lena offered simpler fare to poets and dreamers in search of a relaxed atmosphere. Join author Theresa Griffin Kennedy for a sumptuous tour of Portland’s shuttered cafés, diners and grand dining rooms.
Theresa Griffin Kennedy is a native Portlander with a strong connection to her Pacific Northwest heritage. A graduate of Portland State University, she has been published in The Rumpus, Pathos Literary Review, Portland Monthly Magazine, the Portland Alliance newspaper and the Street Roots newspaper. Her first book of fiction, Burnside Field Lizard and Selected Stories, was selected as a finalist for the 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Award. Kennedy lives in Portland with her husband, Don DuPay.