Cava R.I.P.
From the owner of Cava:
Hello all~
It is with a very heavy heart that I have to share this sad news…
After this evening, CAVA will be no more. Tonight will be our last
night of being open for business. This has been an incredibly
difficult and painful decision to come to.Blame it on the “economic crisis”, or the location, or what have
you…. the business is just not pulling in what it needs/used to, and
the costs heavily outweigh the intake. We’ve stayed open as long as we
could, digging deep into our own pockets to try to keep it all
running, but to no avail. It’s sad, for last night we actually had a
good amount of folks come in. And they loved it. And we know people
love it, and they (and us) will be very upset about this closure. It
makes me ill to think about all the work and love we put into that
place, only to have it fade away and become another statistic…I wish I had a million dollars, or an investor in these crazy times,
to keep it all afloat and keep everyone happily fed, and the staff
employed. But in the end, we need to save CAVA from delving deeper
into debt.So, if you’re free tonight, please come on by and raise a last glass
at the bar, and a last bite of that amazing mushroom bruschetta. I
will so miss that dish… will miss it all.
Food DudeComments
29 Responses to “Cava R.I.P.”Leave a Reply
Please support our sponsors
Donated advertisement
Damn!!! My girlfriend’s sick or we would be there.
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
No more great cocktails? No more butter lettuce salad?? No more amazing soft lightly salted perfect white dinner bread???
This breaks my family’s heart- best of luck to you in future endeavors.
That’s too bad, I liked the place. If I lived closer, I would have gone there more often…way more often.
eh, maybe it was the $13.50 for a bacon cheeseburger that did it. I dont know…..
You’re a peach, CO. Really. Way to go.
Very sad, really liked that place. Great food and a really comfortable atmosphere.
My whole family is just sick at the demise of our beloved Cava. We always wished we had more disposable dollars so we could go to Cava once a week. They have my husband’s favorite hamburger. We got it at happy hour when it was two dollars less. What more can I say, we are just heartbroken.
I feel so bad, and kind of guilty, because I’d been wanting to check it out since before they opened, and never managed to get there. Part of the problem, I know. I’m so, so sorry that it didn’t work out for you guys. I know how much effort you put into it.
amy, i cannot imagine what you are going through, I am so sorry to hear this news. Dang economy.
That’s a bummer, it was a great place. A little off the beaten path but excellent food & worth the trip.
Damn, I wish I had logged in yesterday so we could have gone over for one last drink to say goodbye. We are going to be lost without Cava. It was the only decent place within easy walking distance of our house and we routinely went there several times a week. We will miss you, Randy. And Jen, and Kate, and all the other terrific servers. And we’ll miss J.B.’s cooking, too. That burger was worth every penny.
Say it is not so! Oh Randy, we are so sorry – wish we were closer, we would be there.
We almost came by last night, not knowing it was your last – DARN. Our family has been coming to Cava since it opened. Jen is a peach and knows us all by name. Our kids LOVE Cava and it was a place we knew we could come for a great kids meal and we could eat/drink like grown-ups – loved the atmosphere. We appreciate your good work, great service and we will miss you. Best of luck in your next endeavor.
Dear Randy et all
So sorry to hear the news. Not only had you become our favorite restaurant, but you were such wonderful hosts for our Backgammon group. We can’t thank you enough for the great food, and the awesome memories. I’m sure we will see you again though……….
Robert & Sue Joki
Twitter: pdxfooddude
says:
I’m also sad to see Cava close. It was one of those places I always wanted to review, but both times I stopped by for follow up meals it was Tuesday, the night they were closed. I think they suffered from a lousy location more than anything else.
Ugh, that is just terrible. It was heart-wrenching to read that just now.
i used to live in portland, until i moved to dubai and when i come back to the states i will move back, i check this site at least once a week to see what the news is on my favorite places and places i used to work and since i left it seems to be one close after another. Is it really that bad back home?
to the owners of Cava and all others struggling, best of luck and sorry.
No! My friend Kate is going to be upset. Loved it but … well, it was so far from our NE homes we didn’t go but a couple of times – so I agree with Food Dude, just far from many foodcentrics who live close in and have to pass a dozen other great options to drive there. Great servers too.
Really sad Cava closed. Used to go frequently, but the disposable income dried up a bit, so haven’t been in recently (same with our other favorite SE spot Toast). I really hope you guys can reopen when things turn around or that you do something different. Cava was a great spot with good food and nice service. Thanks for taking a chance in the Foster Powell neighborhood!! Those of us who live here appreciate it.
Many people have mentioned location as an issue or possible issue – including the owners of Cava themselves.
Obviously the convenience of a location is relative to your location and the fact that I live near 72nd and Woodstock makes me biased to Cava’s location.
However, I am afraid and saddened that as far as a problem with location, I believe it is in many cases more a problem with the perception of the location then the actual location.
As far as the location itself, it had plenty of free parking nearby and was an area I felt safe in. But as far as where Cava is at, I think it is a lot closer and more convenient than many people realized.
From my home, I can get to terminal 2 way out on NW front in 18 minutes in morning. It takes a little longer to get home in the afternoon, but not much more. I am only only 12-15 minutes to downtown (3rd and Clay). I don’t drive exceptionally fast. I also went to the Red Cross in N Portland Late Monday afternoon, and it took me less then 20 minutes.
From my house to Cava is about 5 minutes, so that puts it in as little as 7 minutes from Downtown, 13 minutes from the NW Industrial Area and 15 minutes from N Portland.
It is true that I am listing the good times and they were pretty consistent in the mornings, but I think the worst I ever did in the afternoon is 35 minutes from Terminal 2 to my house, which probably equals about 20 minutes from downtown to Cava.
I realize that this is pretty much a moot point now, but I want people to reconsider, and at least give the drive a try, before you write off some of the great mid-SE restaurants. And please keep this in mind if another restaurant opens in Cava’s spot or if by some miracle Cava reopens (please please please I am hoping).
Amen to that. I’ve grown rather tired of folks complaining about how “Far Away” Foster/Powell is from say inner South East or North East Portland. It’s really not THAT far from anywhere in Portland, no where is that far from another part of Portland really. I’ll really miss Cava, the wife and I were only able to eat there a handful of times and wish it could have been more. Best of luck to the owners and staff, you will all be missed in our far out neck of the woods.
Oh the cassoulet! I’m so sorry to see Cava closing, it’s a tough time for innovative restaurants and income-challenged foodies alike. We loved what Randy was doing, and wish him and Amy well in the future.
I’m near tears reading about Cava closing. I just found out tonight, and I can hardly believe it. It’s a short, 20 minute walk from my house in Foster-Powell, and one of the very best places worth walking to around here. I’m so disappointed not only because the food and people were great, but also because having Cava in the neighborhood, gave me a sense that our neighborhood was improving.
I feel that we’ve suffered a great loss, and that our neighbor has taken a big blow. Cava, Bar Carlo, Toast, are all reasons to stay in the area, I just hope that we can dig a little deeper in our pockets and try to keep the others alive.
I’ll miss Cava a lot, and hope very much they will come back.
So, we stopped last week on Monday and saw the new hours. Then again tonight and realized the sign was gone. We stood at the window in disbelief. Best burger in town hands down. Delicious specials – especially loved the pork polenta dish last winter, also had an outstanding salmon dish. Great wine list and fabulous beer selections. Jen was awesome, as was Kate. Randy we are so sorry about this news. We hope that you will take a breath and open somewhere else in town someday soon (Belmont/Hawthorne?). We loved introducing new friends to Cava. We feel like we have lost a friend. Best of luck to all of you.
Looks like the O didn’t get the memo that they closed; they’re listed in the Diner guide that came out today.
I never did get a chance to try it. I had a hard time finding it, and think that it would have benefited from better signage. The lot next door says that they’ll tow, and I drove by about 4 times on a dark, winter night before finally spotting it. It was unexpectedly closed (I even called ahead but the recording didn’t say they would be closed). The other couple who walked up said that that was the third time that had happened to them.
It would be great for them to reopen, but Amy Ruppel stays pretty busy with her art, so hopefully this won’t be too much of a blow for them.
Twitter: lunacafe
says:
I am saddened by this news and also sending you blessings as you move through this difficult period. The only thing I know for certain is that no love or loving effort is ever truly lost. What you love becomes truly what you are and sometimes in the most remarkable ways. Thank you for gracing our community with your vision and passion. Wishing you and your family and your staff all the best in this transition.
We will miss Cava, but I think more than location and the economy could be at work here. After several fine meals we appeared on a Saturday evening at 9:45 after a concert for a late night supper. “Sorry, we close at 10,” we were told. I pointed out that we had eatten there as late as 11 PM before and the menu once even said something on the order of “open until all are done.” “Ya, we changed that,” I was told.
We changed back to our old favorite cafe castagna for after concert and theater nosh, based on that lousy comment. Service/attitude is not the most important leg on the stool (the others are quality of the food and price), but a stool with only two legs will not stand for long.
Just heartbreaking! My finance and I were delighted to find Cava after moving to the neighborhood about a year ago. This is a major loss for the ‘hood.
Best wishes and thanks to Amy and Randy for such a magical spot.