Malka Is Closing - Bridgetown Bites

Malka’s Bellflower Salad. Photo credit: Mike Novak via Portland Monthly

The sad news of Malka closing hit my inbox this morning. This special place was much beloved by Portlanders and their absence will be a hard one, but will provide fond memories for years to come. Their service will be Sunday, February 26.

The food at Malka is hard to define, but it is interesting, flavorful, and adventurous. Their Bellflower Salad was recommended (“Bellflower from Malka is the best salad on the planet”) during last year’s Salad Week . I love the names of the dishes that have appeared on their menu, too—“The Noodle Incident” and “Important Helmet for Outer Space,” to name just a couple. Willamette Week did a profile on them a while back.

Bottom line: the reason they are closing is financial. In Jessie Aron’s email, she elaborates: “While our newer prix-fixe model is significantly better for us and more profitable than the takeout model which got us through the first two years of the pandemic, we are still not making enough money to comfortably take care of the needs, health, and necessary rest for all who work here, ourselves included.”

She continues, “Our staff should already be making a higher wage and receiving health care benefits, with plenty of room in the budget for regular raises, but our profits and bank account simply don’t support this. Meanwhile, Colin, Chris, and I are growing more and more exhausted with the physical and mental demands of running a restaurant while going further and further into personal debt.”

It sounds like COVID and its rotten pandemic; meal models that only went so far from a money standpoint; the rising cost of ingredients and overall inflation; and human exhaustion from being spread too thin are prime engines that drove the financial issues behind Malka’s impending demise. These are huge things—things that are hard to battle, out of their control, and much of it is like an untamable animal. COVID was a killer in a variety of ways. And like the broken record that I can be, I believe the City of Portland could have done more to help our restaurants.

When I was a working classical musician, I remember how I loved the artistry and playing/performing with a group of musicians—but it did not love my bank account. I had demands from my landlord and other normal life services (e.g., utilities, transportation) that I could not meet. It’s hard work with low pay (there are exceptions, of course), and at some point you get to the “stick a fork in me, I’m done” moment. I sympathize with the Malka folks and hear them when they say “The need for a steady wage and the bonds of friendship, plus a love of cooking and a dream of making something truly good will drive us to sacrifice more of ourselves than is healthy or right.”

Jessie also writes about her love of her guests who have supported Malka and their staff for the past three years and the warmth she felt serving those who came through their doors. “That warmth will stay with me in memory for the rest of my life. I am so proud to have done this. We are so proud to have served you. With everything that I am, everything Malka is and was, we thank you.”

As I mentioned earlier, their final day of service is Sunday, February 26. You can make a reservation, here. This is a good time for this reminder, too: If you can, please patronize the places you love in this town. I have made some promises to myself for a handful of spots to eat and shop there on the regular.

Best of luck to the Malka owners, staff, and everyone involved with running Malka. You will be missed.

Malka [closing February 26, 2023]
4546 SE Division Street, Portland
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