Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks in Portland: Closed? Here’s What We Know

Cheesesteak from Grant's Philly Cheesesteaks. — Farewell, sandwich. Photo credit: Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks.

It appears that after 22 years in business, Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks has closed. They had two locations, one in East Portland (15350 NE Sandy Blvd) and one in Northwest Portland (1203 NW 23rd Avenue). Here is what we know so far about what’s up with this Portland cheesesteak destination.

The Food at Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks

Grant’s was founded in 2003 by Grant and Diane Schuler. Their first location was on NE Sandy Blvd, and in 2014 they opened the NW Portland location. Here’s what they offered:

“All of our steak sandwiches consist of thinly sliced/chopped sirloin steak & or chicken breast prepared on the grill & served on an amoroso roll. Choice of grilled onions, sweet and/or hot peppers. The half sandwich has 1/4lb meat; the whole sandwich has 1/2lb of meat. All sandwiches served with homemade potato chips.” They also had a vegetarian “gluten steak.”

For cheese, you could get provolone, cheddar, Philadelphia cream cheese, American cheese, and Cheez Whiz, which is pretty authentic right there.

For those who did not want to participate in the cheesesteak action, there were salads, burgers, hot dogs, fries, and cheese fries. They had Tastykake products on the counter. The full menu is still here.

The First Inkling of a Closure

A reader emailed me the other day asking what was up with Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks. “I was wondering if you have any info on Grants Cheesesteak that was on NE 153rd x Sandy. I’ve been trying to find the owner of the building to no luck.” Honestly, the idea that they were perhaps closed was kind of shocking, as that place seemed like it would always be there.

We continued the email exchange and on recent Sunday afternoon I decided to go out to the NE Sandy location to see for myself what was going on.

Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks Is Outta Gas

I drove over and the first thing that caught my eye was a bright yellow door hang tag. It was from Northwest Natural—they turned off the gas meter on Monday, November 17.

I looked through the front window. The place was dark inside, save for the glow of the customer-facing POS system. Signage was still up inside but it was clear that no one had been there for a while.

So What Happened to Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks?

My emails and phone calls (the NE Sandy number was out of service, and the NW 23rd number just kept ringing) to them have yielded nada. The reader who contacted me initially said “I’ve called, emailed and drive by there daily but nothing.”

Was it possible that it was just time to retire? My hope is that the reason for their closure is not in the realm of tragedy.

Other details worth noting at the writing of this article:

On Google, both restaurants are indicated as permanently closed.
Both locations are indicated as “closed” on Yelp.
Their website is still operational, which means their Comcast account is still up and running.
Their annual report with ORSOS is due in January 2026 and has not yet been filed.
The last communication from Grant’s online to a public review (NE Sandy Blvd location) was four months ago, which means mid-July.
On October 8, 2025 the owner of Portland Burger tried to get ahold of the people at Grant’s but there has been no response.
I know of at least one business interested in this space and they would love to work with the property owner, who appears to live up in the Seattle metro area.

Activity at the NW Portland Location: Baka Umai Is Coming

Back in early September 2025, a liquor license application for Baka Umai was published for the address of the Northwest Portland Grant’s location. And a permit was issued on September 15 on PortlandMaps: “Modify circuits for new prep kitchen appliances, bar area appliances, and new lighting layout for restaurant.”

Additionally, Baka Umai received the keys in mid-June, and at that point comments about Grant’s were in the past tense. They told me, “They were gone before we got the keys.”

This will be a second location for Baka Umai, which offers ramen, katsu, small plates and more (here’s their menu) on SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks: RIP

Grant’s was one of the most well-known places for the Philly cheesesteak in Portland. It was certainly the first one that occurred to me if someone asked me about this iconic sandwich. And reviews online were overwhelmingly positive—until the end when folks would show up and no one was home.

Of course, like a lot of icons, people have divergent and strong views about them. And I am not here to yuck anyone’s yum—so, if you have any current cheesesteak recommendations, feel free to drop a comment here or on social.

The exterior of Grant's Philly Cheesesteaks.

All the best to Grant and Diane on whatever is next for them.

Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks [closed in 2025, exact date unknown]
15350 NE Sandy Blvd and 1203 NW 23rd Avenue, Portland
Grant’s Philly Cheesesteaks website | Facebook