Cup & Saucer Cafe Has Closed - Bridgetown Bites

Photo credit: Cup & Saucer Cafe

Over the weekend I learned that longtime Hawthorne Blvd breakfast/brunch/lunch staple Cup & Saucer Cafe has closed. The owner, Karen Harding, posted a handwritten note on the door announcing the closure.

It reads:

Hello Friends!
Cup & Saucer Cafe is closed, forever. Thank you for 33+ years of wonder and delight and much labor, mostly of love. We opened in 1988, I was 25! I am now 59 years old and ready for the next adventure. I would welcome your stories. Please send to KarenKavla7@gmail.com.
Farewell,
Karen Harding

I read about a lot of good memories about the place; people are really going to miss it. I definitely recommend sharing any of your beloved memories with Karen via her email address she mentions above.

So what’s next for the space? Often times it’s unknown so soon after a closure but I have the details for you—it will be home to a second location of Beaumont-Wilshire’s Little Griddle. You may know Little Griddle as the home of the Trini food Mad Man Popup. The owner of Little Griddle cooked at Cup & Saucer when he moved to Portland in 2011, so there’s a natural connection. More on the backstory:

“I moved to Portland in 2011, and got a job cooking eggs at Cup & Saucer, which Karen owns. She opened Cup & Saucer in 1988, the same year I was born. Eventually I went on to do other jobs, but we remained in each other’s lives. Fast forward to 2017 and I’m opening a restaurant with my friend Yossel. In 2019, he sold his half of the business to Karen, and the rest is history …. We will be renovating their beautiful Hawthorne location and opening a full-sized Little Griddle in its place. The original Little Griddle isn’t going anywhere, so don’t fret. We are incredibly excited, and hope you are too!”

Some of the delicious things you can get at Little Griddle. Photo credit: Little Griddle

So there you have it. Sounds like everybody’s happy. I wish Karen the best in whatever is next for her, and for the Little Griddle folks as they expand into this second location.

Cup & Saucer Cafe (closed March 2022)
cupandsaucercafe.com | Facebook | Instagram
Little Griddle (second location, opening 2022)
littlegriddlecafe.com | Facebook | Instagram
3566 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland