Goodbye, Frog & Snail - Bridgetown Bites

Photo credit: Frog & Snail

Last week I saw the news on Instagram: Frog & Snail, one of the best places for French-style crepes (including Breton-style buckwheat crepes) in Portland, closed abruptly. The reason behind that is that the owner, Chad Bernard, died on August 15 in what seems to be a sudden event. My heart goes out to his friends and family on his untimely passing.

The announcement of Frog & Snail’s closure went like this: “We are devastated to announce that we are closing permanently due to unexpected tragedy. RIP Chad Bernard, always in our hearts.”

To be honest, I did not know Chad, aside from what was reported in the news about his restaurant. The Willamette Week interviewed him during the pandemic in May 2020, soon after he had converted Chez Machin into Frog & Snail, using “the shutdown as an opportunity to overhaul everything about his business—from the menu to the décor on down to the name.” The article also mentions his time working at Bamboo Sushi and with Johanna Ware “Smallwares,” etc.), and the influence of his family from France’s Alsace region.

I agree with WW about The German, made with a buckwheat crepe and filled with potatoes au gratin, caramelized onion jam, crispy bacon and scallions, topped with tangy crème fraîche. I’ll miss eating it.

But one of the things I’ll miss most is the French onion meatball sub, a glorious mashup of a sandwich and a classic soup. For a while it was a standard offering on the menu, and later on it became a special offering. It was simply wonderful.

french-onion-soup-sub-frog-and-snail-portland-oregon

As to why Chad Bernard died, there are no details online about that, except from some sketchy content mill sites that I do not necessarily trust to be accurate. There is a Legacy page posted with details on the memorial service in Ashland on August 27.

Again, I am very sorry about the passing of Chad Bernard, and the pain and sadness his loved ones left behind are experiencing. The subsequent closing of Frog & Snail is a sad thing, too. Read the Instagram announcement’s comments for tributes and love for the business and the people involved. As a food writer, lover of crepes, and kind people, I send my best to all affected by Frog & Snail’s closure.

Frog & Snail [closed August 2023]
3553 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
frogandsnail.com | Instagram