It started out as Greasers Cafe, changed its name to Rockabilly Cafe, and made it through a chunk of the COVID pandemic—quite a feat, to be honest, as COVID was merciless on restaurants. Unfortunately, Rockabilly Cafe has closed, taking their burgers, fries, shakes, and more with them.
They posted to Instagram today: “With a heavy heart, Rockabilly Cafe is closed for business. We would like to thank our customers in the community.” A comment from the business added, “We are going to miss you our loyal customers. Thanks to everyone. Onward and upward.” Google also lists them as “permanently closed.”
This 50’s-style diner offering American comfort food with organic, local ingredients, was a dream of its owner, David Liberman. I’ll repeat what he said about the place as he prepared for its opening: “This has been a long time dream of mine, and a year of intense work to make this happen. I am truly excited for this.”
They started out offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but pulled back a couple of months ago to just breakfast and lunch (and brunch and dessert), with the plan to focus on private and catered events, like their sock hops, in the evening. Social media gave the impression that—like so many other restaurants in Portland—staffing had its challenges.
From what I can tell from my interactions with David over messages, he’s an upbeat guy with a positive attitude and I think he will, as they say, “land on his feet.” Very sorry to see Rockabilly Cafe shutter, but perhaps David will bring something else to Portland’s food scene at a later date.
Rockabilly Cafe [closed May 2023]
8537 N Lombard Street, Portland
rockabillycafe.com | Instagram | Facebook
Meg Cotner
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I thought Chop was much better. Hoping for something similar to go into that space.
Chop definitely had a devoted following and many lamented its closing. I hope something great goes in this space!