Cereus PDX Is Closing - Bridgetown Bites

Beef empanada at Cereus in Portland, Oregon. — Beef empanadas.

Over on Instagram, Cereus PDX has announced they are closing after about two and a half years in business at Prescott Village (NE Prescott Street and 15th Avenue). During that time they have offered a menu of tasty South American food and drinks, gracious hospitality, and good times. I wrote about their opening back in 2022 and enjoyed the food when I dined there. We see goodbyes and restaurant closings happen in Portland fairly regularly—unfortunately—but this goodbye message included some critical thoughts from Bradley Thomas Stevens, one of the owners of Cereus.

The Goodbyes

The message on Instagram started with, “It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closure of Cereus PDX, our little unique restaurant and cocktail bar. Over the past two and a half years, Cereus PDX has been a dream come true for myself and our team, serving our community made me feel full of happiness daily.

“Despite receiving critical acclaim, local awards, and overwhelming positive feedback from our amazing guests, we have faced insurmountable financial challenges and a prolonged exhausting process to secure an SBA loan that could have saved the company, we were ultimately denied. This decision has left us with no choice but to close our doors after this Sunday October 13th dinner service.”

They conclude this section by thanking their staff, customers, and the Portland community for their support.

Chicha morada at Cereus in Portland, Oregon. — Chicha Morada.

The Lament

In a screenshot under the goodbye message is a note from Bradley. As I read it, I see it contains frustration, wishes for a better scenario for small restaurant owners in Portland, and encouragement to diners in this city. He revealed some thoughts that we as the eating public don’t often hear: “For us it came down to the insane increased cost of operating a restaurant, bank headaches, and the often unpredictable consistency of when guests would go out for dinner or drinks.”

With inflation hitting restaurants and their suppliers, it is also hitting regular folks. One of the ways they have found a way to deal with that is to not go out to eat as much. Or to eat less at dinner, have less to drink. Some are choosing to eat out at chains where the perception is that the meals are cheaper (though that is not necessarily true). It’s a series of decisions made reluctantly.

Ceviche with avocado at Cereus in Portland, Oregon. — Ceviche with avocado.

He continues with this:

“James Beard is the “Oscar[s]” of restaurants, the highest of honors for our industry. James was a Chef from Oregon. We don’t have a Statue of Liberty or a Space Needle. We don’t have Disneyland or the Hollywood culture. What Oregon has is some of the best locally owned restaurants and bars in the country. If we want to continue having these amazing small businesses we need to start asking our government officials how they can help them continue to exist and hopefully thrive. It’s not even close [to] the margins of success between the small local company and the giant wealthy chain. (And even some of the giants are failing).”

Personally, I think local restaurants are important—no surprise there. And I think certain kinds of protections for restaurants are worth looking into. In particular—and this is not applicable to Cereus—restaurants that have been here “forever,” are not trying to close, are successful by a number of metrics but are being forced out by economic woes beyond their control. I know my “power of the free market” readers will disagree, and that is ok.

So how could government help independent restaurants stay afloat? And at what level of government are we looking to? City? County? Metro? State? Federal? Is there a kind of “AOC” system for restaurants that could be implemented? When I lived in NYC, there was sentiment in support of some kind of help for restaurants, and that was before the pandemic. Something needs to happen to help local independent restaurants stay in business and not get shredded. I suspect Portland does not want to be a town of primarily chain restaurants headquartered out of state.

Perhaps our new city council will come up with some ideas. If you have some ideas, leave them in the comments.

Yucca fries at Cereus in Portland, Oregon. — Yucca fries.

Support Your Local Restaurant

Bradley ends with this:

“No matter what your thoughts are on the topic, please take the time to support our amazing neighbors at 15th and Prescott and other small businesses in our city. You can still go to the other places with those big bank accounts (many of them are truly fun), but make a point to lift up the smaller shops. This is what I believe makes us so special and why we are the [country’s] misfit sons and daughters.”

The restaurants in the Prescott Village shopping center there at 15th and Prescott include Ville Velo Bakeshop, which makes some of the most delicious quiches I’ve had, plus they serve Extracto coffee; an outpost of Momiji Sushi; 1856, a sweet wine etc. bar; and Casa Madera, which used to be called El Indio de Oro, serving up Mexican comfort food. Colibri, a local florist that used to stock Cornet Custard, is also just across the street.

The absence of Cereus will no doubt be a sad one for its fans. I’ll be curious to see what opens in its place. Although I wish they did not have to close, I send Bradley and his team all the best as they are forced to pivot to new projects. Head over to Cereus if you can before the 13th to enjoy their food, drink and hospitality.

Cereus PDX [closed October 13, 2024]
1465 NE Prescott Street, Portland
Cereus PDX website | Instagram | Facebook