[Calabrese]

Between Sel Gris and this, fine dining has really taken a pretty big hit in Portland. I have fond memories of Carlyle and am sad to see it closing.

[jennifer]

Wow, I'm so sad. Carlyle is one of my favorite places.

[ExtraMSG]

More info from Karen Brooks in the Oregonian

Quote

The decision comes at a time when fine dining restaurants are being challenged by the difficult economy.

"I'd be lying if I didn't attribute the economy as a factor in the closing, but there are several other reasons," says Goldberg. "Mostly, I didn't wish to re-invent Carlyle. I toyed with the idea of a new chef and a different concept, but that was something that my customer base would not embrace. Ultimately, though, the fact that my lease was up in February, and weighing the prospect of another long-term commitment helped sway my decision. Truth be told, I'm ready for a new adventure."

....

An isolated location with no foot traffic, ongoing staff changes and a Spartan dining room that didn't match the warmth of the lively bar, helped dim Carlyle's early buzz, though it maintained a following, mostly an older and monied crowd strongly rooted in the West Hills.

"Portland's dining culture has become chef-driven," says Goldberg, when asked how the scene has changed since he opened. "This is perhaps the best lesson I've learned. I would never open another place without the chef having an equity-stake in the business."

Seems like an exceedingly forthright and accurate take on the closing of one of Portland's better restaurants and the state of fine dining in Portland.

I'd be afraid to look at some of the books of restaurants in town. The people I met at Laurelhurst Market for dinner last night drove up Burnside and while passing Le Pigeon noticed that it was nearly empty. Sure, Monday night, but Laurelhurst was full by 7pm with a packed bar, too. The $20+ entree restaurants have to be suffering right now, especially with such good options at or under $20. Even though LM has items that even top $30, there are at least as many items at or under $20. Last night they had six steak dinners under $20, 3 at $22, and only 3 more at $25 and up. Plus there's a burger, mussels, chicken, etc. And I ate a large salad for my entree, which they have several of.

[Epicurious]

More of that here:

pdx.eater on Carlyle

[Amanda]

Bruce is right about the Portland restaurant scene being chef-driven for sure. Still, aside from location, I've always felt Carlyle was fantastic. I'm certainly not West Hills, and I only count as monied in that I like to spend my money on dining out once bills are paid, but I have always loved the place since the first night I stepped in there.

I may not have gone to Carlyle as many times as others on this board, but I've got nothing but good things to say about it. It holds a special place in my heart always. Bruce Goldberg and his staff did an excellent job on several occasions of putting together outstanding dinners for people on this board. We should always be thankful for that. I certainly am.

Best regards,

Amanda

[Angelhair]

Here's the closing cocktail menu http://www.jacobgrie...hives/3305.html

[chefken]

Amanda, on Feb 2 2010, 01:17 PM, said:

Bruce is right about the Portland restaurant scene being chef-driven for sure. Still, aside from location, I've always felt Carlyle was fantastic. I'm certainly not West Hills, and I only count as monied in that I like to spend my money on dining out once bills are paid, but I have always loved the place since the first night I stepped in there.

I may not have gone to Carlyle as many times as others on this board, but I've got nothing but good things to say about it. It holds a special place in my heart always. Bruce Goldberg and his staff did an excellent job on several occasions of putting together outstanding dinners for people on this board. We should always be thankful for that. I certainly am.

Best regards,

Amanda

Bruce is a class act.

[Jill-O]

No info on his catering business (BG&C Events), which shares a kitchen with the restaurant, eh?

[Calabrese]

From the link to the eater pdx blog:

"Short term goal? Winding down my event production business. I have some good projects through May."

[jennifer]

I like that Carlyle is off the beaten path because it makes parking so easy. This has often been the determining factor when deciding where to meet friends.

[Amanda]

The drinks there have always been very yummy and very stiff, so the temptation to drive there, even with the parking advantage, is rare for me.

Best regards,

Amanda

[Jill-O]

Calabrese, on Feb 2 2010, 06:22 PM, said:

From the link to the eater pdx blog:

"Short term goal? Winding down my event production business. I have some good projects through May."

Thanks, I didn't notice that!

[salmonfly65]

nervousxtian, on Jan 30 2010, 02:48 PM, said:

salmonfly65, on Jan 30 2010, 02:09 PM, said:

This is really too bad - too bad the owner didn't have the ballsack, or common decency, to give a heads up to his employees/staff about shuttering the place down in about two weeks. That's just unbelievable to me - I was in recently and had the chance to talk with the GM and he made it sound like the announcement of the new chef was imminent (unless he felt like he couldn't say anything). This us just the wrong way to treat loyal, hard working staff. I had every intent on heading back until this. I'm done.

Are you sure they didn't know? The chef was leaving, and honestly with that move I figured something was up.

I'm positive. And, just because a chef is leaving does not mean a restaurant closes its doors. If you read Bruce's comments in another thread I think you can connect the dots that even had there not been a change in chefs he was likely to close the place in any event when the lease came up.

[LionRock]

salmonfly65, on Feb 3 2010, 11:11 AM, said:

nervousxtian, on Jan 30 2010, 02:48 PM, said:

salmonfly65, on Jan 30 2010, 02:09 PM, said:

This is really too bad - too bad the owner didn't have the ballsack, or common decency, to give a heads up to his employees/staff about shuttering the place down in about two weeks. That's just unbelievable to me - I was in recently and had the chance to talk with the GM and he made it sound like the announcement of the new chef was imminent (unless he felt like he couldn't say anything). This us just the wrong way to treat loyal, hard working staff. I had every intent on heading back until this. I'm done.

Are you sure they didn't know? The chef was leaving, and honestly with that move I figured something was up.

I'm positive. And, just because a chef is leaving does not mean a restaurant closes its doors. If you read Bruce's comments in another thread I think you can connect the dots that even had there not been a change in chefs he was likely to close the place in any event when the lease came up.

I know some people who work there, and this was not unexpected.

[salmonfly65]

LionRock, on Feb 3 2010, 09:11 PM, said:

salmonfly65, on Feb 3 2010, 11:11 AM, said:

nervousxtian, on Jan 30 2010, 02:48 PM, said:

salmonfly65, on Jan 30 2010, 02:09 PM, said:

This is really too bad - too bad the owner didn't have the ballsack, or common decency, to give a heads up to his employees/staff about shuttering the place down in about two weeks. That's just unbelievable to me - I was in recently and had the chance to talk with the GM and he made it sound like the announcement of the new chef was imminent (unless he felt like he couldn't say anything). This us just the wrong way to treat loyal, hard working staff. I had every intent on heading back until this. I'm done.

Are you sure they didn't know? The chef was leaving, and honestly with that move I figured something was up.

I'm positive. And, just because a chef is leaving does not mean a restaurant closes its doors. If you read Bruce's comments in another thread I think you can connect the dots that even had there not been a change in chefs he was likely to close the place in any event when the lease came up.

I know some people who work there, and this was not unexpected.

I didn't say it was unexpected. I think Bruce should have told his staff before he sent out the Press Release. If your spouse was leaving you (ie - not unexpected) would you rather hear that from them or a Dear John letter? Just an example of how to handle a difficult situation (ie - not commenting on you personally). Just sayin ....

[nervousxtian]

Honestly, there's no good way to tell people that they are losing their jobs.

[chefken]

I don't know the details, but it's always a really difficult situation. When I went under and closed my restaurant in New York back in the recession of the late eighties, I fought like crazy right to the bitter end to stay open. I wasn't able to, and knew I would only last 3 more weeks before the rent that I couldn't pay was due. I wanted to stay open right to the limit so my staff had a chance to situate themselves and so I could salvage enough to pay my suppliers what I could. Plus, you always feel in situations like those that maybe something might come along at the last minute to save you. It's truly not unlike being on death row.

So I did the decent thing and let my staff know that we would be closing in 3 weeks. Well, did I get screwed! Out of a staff of about 20, all but 4 or 5 were out of there as soon as they could, most within the week. It was all I could do to last the 3 weeks. I swore at the time that if something like that ever happened again I would never give any notice and just close when I had to.

I've since mellowed on that stance, and luckily it's never come to a test. Still, you have no idea the pressures one feels at a moment like that - your dream is crumbling, you're facing bankruptcy, often unsure if you actually have to close or not until the last minute. You figure that something will come along that will salvage everything. It's a desperate, scary, uncertain and lonely time in ones life, the failure of a business. People who you thought were your friends now distrust you and employees you thought were loyal turn out to be in it for themselves only.

Again, I can only guess at some of the circumstances here, or some of what Bruce might be going through. All I'm saying is - maybe cut him a little bit of slack. I can imagine that he's feeling horrible right now, and would give a left nut if he could keep it going and save the jobs that are now lost.

[superdog]

chefken, on Feb 5 2010, 08:40 PM, said:

I don't know the details, but it's always a really difficult situation. When I went under and closed my restaurant in New York back in the recession of the late eighties, I fought like crazy right to the bitter end to stay open. I wasn't able to, and knew I would only last 3 more weeks before the rent that I couldn't pay was due. I wanted to stay open right to the limit so my staff had a chance to situate themselves and so I could salvage enough to pay my suppliers what I could. Plus, you always feel in situations like those that maybe something might come along at the last minute to save you. It's truly not unlike being on death row.

So I did the decent thing and let my staff know that we would be closing in 3 weeks. Well, did I get screwed! Out of a staff of about 20, all but 4 or 5 were out of there as soon as they could, most within the week. It was all I could do to last the 3 weeks. I swore at the time that if something like that ever happened again I would never give any notice and just close when I had to.

I've since mellowed on that stance, and luckily it's never come to a test. Still, you have no idea the pressures one feels at a moment like that - your dream is crumbling, you're facing bankruptcy, often unsure if you actually have to close or not until the last minute. You figure that something will come along that will salvage everything. It's a desperate, scary, uncertain and lonely time in ones life, the failure of a business. People who you thought were your friends now distrust you and employees you thought were loyal turn out to be in it for themselves only.

Again, I can only guess at some of the circumstances here, or some of what Bruce might be going through. All I'm saying is - maybe cut him a little bit of slack. I can imagine that he's feeling horrible right now, and would give a left nut if he could keep it going and save the jobs that are now lost.

Ken ,
Thank you, not just well said, but"extremely" well said about situations like this. Bascially you want to do good to everyone, and trying the best you can, but there are hard decisions to be made. Until one is in the exact situation, it is very difficult for anyone to judge. I'm lucky (knock on wood) so far I do not have to face this type of situation, and I can only imagine how hard it is to make any kind of decision, no matter how small or big when you have to deal with closing of a business. My heart goes out to anyone who has to deal with this.

Love an Peace,
Ellen and Ed from SuperDog.

[salmonfly65]

Quote

All I'm saying is - maybe cut him a little bit of slack. I can imagine that he's feeling horrible right now, and would give a left nut if he could keep it going and save the jobs that are now lost.

Ok.

[Adam]

Swung by tonight for happy hour. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but the burger was sensational. Super-juicy, salted well, great tomato jam and bun. A masterful burger all around. Loved the fries, too, though I'd have prefered them with something other than aioli.

Our server/bartender informed us that they're rapidly running out of various things, so they're down to one beer (the Pilsner) and you can't order the charcuterie plate anymore. So if you're planning on going, go now.

Here's hoping that burger pops up again somewhere soon.