Can Can Culinary Cabaret Will Open in Portland

The other day a colleague mentioned that the Can Can Culinary Cabaret is set to open in Portland. I did a little research and saw that the last article on their Portland plans was back in 2022. So I thought, why not reach out to them and see where they are with everything? I had a great conversation with Chris Pink, Can Can’s executive director. Here’s what I learned.

Can Can Culinary Cabaret’s Location: The Paris Theatre

Portland’s Can Can will open in the old Paris Theatre on SW 3rd Avenue. The theater was built in 1889, opened in 1890 and a started out as a burlesque house called Third Avenue Theatre.

According to Cinema Treasures, it was renamed Paris Theatre in 1963. Multiple sources boast its 4-year run of “Deep Throat,” a famous porn film starring Linda Lovelace. 40 years later in transformed into a club and concert venue. In 2007 it returned to being an adult theater called Ray’s Paris Theatre, which showed gay and straight porn. In 2018 it returned to live music; in 2019 it shut down.

In 2021, PINK PINK INC bought it for $1M, according to Portland Maps. The process to purchase it started pre-pandemic.

Chris Pink, Founder

The Can Can Culinary Cabaret was founded by Chris Pink in Seattle, who comes from both an arts administration and a performance background. He had a double major in college: “I was a vocal performance major with an arts administration major,” explained Chris.

He went on to tell me more of his artistic life: Time as a chorus member with Spokane Symphony and Spokane Opera (FKA Uptown Opera); he also worked for Lyric Opera Chicago; and he has played in what he calls “crazy rock bands.”

Throughout his artistic life he’s balanced performing with the administrative side of the arts business. As a former performer, I can’t tell you how valuable it is to have some arts administration knowledge under your belt.

Can Can Culinary Cabaret: Who They Are and What They Do

Chris gave me a general idea of the company’s work as Can Can Culinary Cabaret. “So, we are a theater company, cabaret, burlesque, dinner theater, and sort of everything in between,” he explained. “Everybody in the company are owners or longtime performers—-some performers have been with us for over twenty years, and have all spent their entire lives in the theater.”

He added, “Our cast will be Portland-based. Our staff will be Portland-based, and we’re just excited to be able to share our crazy shit with everybody.”

Staying Under the Radar, and Renovations

One of the reasons there hasn’t been much written about the Portland Can Can, is that Chris and his team been focusing on the work needed to get the Portland theater up and running, rather than handling publicity. Chris said, “We’ve been sort of intentionally staying under the radar, but I think it’s time to start talking.”

Chris and his team has been renovating the theater since they bought it. “I mean, it’s gone through a giant bunch of renovations, with the roof structure being done and some seismic upgrades. All the fun things that no one really gets to see.” When I stopped by, he elaborated on the roof situation, which had quite a bit of water damage at one point. I believe he mentioned that at one point, wildlife had taken up residence there.

Unfortunately, much of the original elements of the theater are no longer in existence. “In fact, none of it was,” explained Chris. “The theater has been renovated over the years, multiple times. We want to bring it back to its original glory—and then some.” Chris mentioned that “over the years” is about a 40-year span of changes.

One thing that has helped is that they’ve found visual representations of the buildings that were in existence in Old Town in the late 1800s. This allows them to understand what is historically accurate—and what is not.

Historical Preservation

I asked if they’ve also worked with a historic preservation professional to further help them to understand what some of the original elements were. And the answer is yes, for both the interior and exterior.

“We have worked with Norm [Gholston] over at the Architectural Heritage Center—they’re actually donating bits and pieces to the space for permanent display,” said Chris. Norm also believes that the Paris Theatre sign is the oldest theater sign in the city.

Chris has also worked with Steve Stone, Portland’s movie house history expert.

Interior Design at the Paris Theater

Regarding the interior, they have worked with John at Wright Architecture, though they haven’t rearranged much as far as the floor plan goes. Inside there’s the stage, seating areas, and balcony, which are mostly staying where they have been. But Chris, who loves curves, has integrated them into the visual design—a curved stage edge, curved edge to the balcony, curves in the balcony bar top. But it hasn’t come without some resistance.

“When I say that I want to do round things, they look at me like they’re going to kill me,” joked Chris. “When you do things in curves, there’s a whole different level of complexity—and waste, in some ways—because everything has to be a curve. So you have to be really economical in how you implement the curves.”

Having seen it myself, I must admit that I find the curves visually appealing. My hope is to be able to share some before and after photos of the space at a later date.

Can Can Culinary Cabaret: The Dream

Chris mentioned that over the years—since the mid-2000s—Can Can has performed a number of times here in Portland, in places like Dante’s and the Star Theater. They remember the Paris Theatre when it was a porn theater. But even then they had their eye set on this building for a future Portland cabaret. “We’re like, ‘That’s gonna be a Can Can one day!'” said Chris.

He continued, “It was like this pipe dream when we were young and dumb and like really, really fucking wild, doing things we shouldn’t be doing and all that kind of stuff. And then it just sat in the back of my mind.

“We put an offer on another building, and it fell through. And I immediately was like, ‘What’s happening with the Paris? What’s going on with that? I gotta get back to that!'”

They spent months contacting the owner, writing them letters, and pleading their case. And now, here we are.

The State of Downtown

We talked a bit about the area they are opening Can Can in, and acknowledged that it has seen better days, yet is full of potential. It’s full of history and stories. You drive into Portland, and you see people who need services are right there in front of you. They’re not hidden away like they might be in other places.

In contrast, you have Voodoo Donuts—love ’em or hate ’em, they are a Portland tourist attraction—right there. And you have old buildings (a personal favorite is the New Market Theater Building on SW 2nd Avenue from 1872), the Saturday Market, the waterfront. The James Beard Public Market is coming. A pedestrian wayfinding pilot project launches in August to encourage walking in downtown.

“Well, you know, we’re kind of in the heat of it right here in the core because right across the street there’s the Mission and Street Roots—that’s the reality,” said Chris. “And those are things that we obviously encounter in Seattle, as well. Our original location is in the Pike Place Market—and it hasn’t always been what people consider the Pike Place Market.”

Pike Place and Portland

Speaking of Pike Place Market, Chris says that half of why they exist in Seattle is to be able to help organizations like the Pike Place Market Foundation. “It’s one of the most prolific organizations on the planet,” explained Chris. “They provide housing, they provide food, they provide medical benefits, dental. All of these things can coexist in a place like the Pike Place Market, which is considered one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world.”

He continued, “Sometimes I look at this area, and I think there is a way to do that here and have it be where we’re taking care of our fellow neighbors on the street. And where we’re able to have commerce to support them and put food in workers’ mouths. To be able to be a pro-employee employer, where we’re able to pay people, give people a 401K, medical benefits. So we can make this work together.

“It’s sort of my own personal hope or dream to use the Pike Place model in Old Town. To use that model as a set of best-practices, and figure out what the Portland version of that model is. I’m very much informed—I attend weekly meetings with the city, the Problem Solvers, and all those things.”

He mentioned that when the balance is off in a city, small businesses struggle to exist. And that impacts the small business climate, which then affects tax revenue and tourism. And that includes local tourism. He hopes that Can Can Culinary Cabaret will encourage folks to spend time downtown.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve talked to people all over the city, that are like, ‘Oh, I haven’t been to the on the other side of the bridge in years now.'” Chris wants to see that change.

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The Can Can Culinary Cabaret Vibe Inside

Chris describes the vibe as colorful and pleasantly gaudy. “We work under a very specific sort of aesthetic, which is kind of tongue-in-cheek for us, and we call it “GAF,” which is “gaudy as fuck,” he explained. It’s kind of making fun of Rococo, paired with a sort of Parisian-ish vibes, all mixed in with their cabarets. “We’re just over over the top!” exclaimed Chris.

He added, “And whether it comes across as hokey or not, I’m unsure, because I’m so into it!” He says that people seem to enjoy it.

Color

The color pink is prominent in the theater’s interior color-scheme, but overall Chris is interested in bringing brightness and color to the space. “Sort of positive vibes and energy, and I want to do the same thing on the inside,” said Chris. “When people come in, it will be dimly lit—but not like walking into a dark goth theater.”

“Portland does that so well, and there’s so much metal and goth, and I love it,” remarked Chris. “You know, I go to Dante’s, but I think we’re sort of trying to counter that—or not bring more of what already exists. We’re trying to do something different.”

In Seattle’s theater, they are also colorful: blue/turquoise (inspired by the Puget Sound’s water and sky) accented by pinks and golds. They are doing the opposite here in Portland, which is very pink accented by turquoise and gold.

The Shows

The shows will accommodate all ages and adults. “Depending on the time you go to a show, it will be all ages,” said Chris. It’s the matinee shows that will be geared toward all ages, and evening shows for adults. They have figured out ways to convert the adult shows into something more appropriate for a younger viewer.

“So, basically, we take our evening show and we throw on some bloomers, throw on garments that cover up anything that might not be appropriate for the young,” explained Chris. “And then we change the language in the show because we are notorious for our f-bombs. It’s really difficult to take them out, but we do.”

Visiting Can Can Culinary Cabaret

Regarding spending time at Can Can Culinary Cabaret, I asked if someone could come in and just have a meal, a drink, or just go to a show—or if the food and entertainment are really intertwined.

“You will be able to buy tickets that have food and beverage with them, and then you can also just see the show without food or beverage,” explained Chris. “Or you can just come and hang out on our deck or at the bar, during non show times. That’s sort of how we figured it out over the years.”

The Menu

In their Seattle location, the menu is a French-meets-Northwest-inspired menu with local sourcing. “In Seattle because we’re in the market, we’ve got this crazy access to all of this sort of, like, extensive, fresh, local fare.” They will take a similar approach in Portland, but initially they will probably be relatively limited in their menu size.

“It’ll be a little bit more difficult to reproduce in Portland, especially with the size of the kitchen, but we’re going to do our absolute best to model a micro version of that.” They are looking to source locally as much as they can.

The menu is still to come; they have a working rough copy of it but it’s still not ready for public consumption. They will also have a full on-site liquor license, happy hours, and things like that.

What Will Can Can Culinary Cabaret Bring To Portland?

Chris believes that their unique brand of entertainment will do well here in Portland. He says that while it’s tempting to pigeonhole them (are they burelsque? Circus? Something else?) they stand by the cabaret company concept. And their goal is to create a body of work that is original.

“Our original works are scripted, choreographed, designed, conceptualized, with costumes, is visually creative and audio creative,” said Chris. We create all of our music from the ground up [even if it is inspired by popular music of the day]. All of the choreography is original.”

This is original art.

When Can Can Culinary Cabaret Will Open

At this point in time they are aiming for an October. opening. But they are realists and understand that they may have to extend that to November; only time will tell. There are still a number of variables in play that will determine their opening date.

When they are open it will likely be on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, with the possibility of adding Thursday to the schedule. And they’ll nail down the hours for each day closer to their opening this fall.

I look forward to seeing Can Can Culinary Cabaret open in Portland and bring more color and original art to the city. I don’t think we can have too much of that. All the best to Chris and his team as they work on the building and open their doors downtown.

Can Can Culinary Cabaret [projected opening fall 2025]
6 SW 3rd Avenue, Portland
Can Can Culinary Cabaret website | Instagram (Seattle)