McCormick & Schmick’s to Close Portland Location Sunday


Courtesy of Google Maps
McCormick & Schmick's is closing its RiverPlace location in Portland.

The closure leaves the chain, which started in Portland, with just one Portland-area location — in Tigard.

Share this article!

McCormick & Schmick’s will close its downtown Portland RiverPlace location after dinner service on Sunday.

The closure, first reported by Willamette Week Thursday, leaves the national seafood restaurant chain — which started in Portland — with just one location in the Portland metro area, situated in Tigard.

The seafood restaurant chain was founded in 1979 by Bill McCormick and Doug Schmick, the same pair that had teamed up four years earlier after McCormick bought Jake’s. The original McCormick & Schmick’s was situated in Old Town, but closed in 2009.

The company went public in 2004 but went private in 2012 after its purchase by Texas-based Landry’s Inc. — whose portfolio includes fast-casual chains like Claim Jumper and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. as well as upscale brands that include Jake’s Famous Crawfish — bought the company, spending $1 million to renovate the RiverPlace location.

RELATED: Kinnamons Shutters Pearl District Location, Moves Production to Alberta Street

In 2017 McCormick & Schmick’s began closing restaurants, in one case so abruptly that diners showed up for reservations at a Seattle location only to find it closed.

In 2009, the chain reportedly had more than 100 locations in the United States in Canada; as of Friday afternoon, McCormick & Schmick’s website listed 23 locations, including the Portland RiverPlace restaurant.

The chain changed hands a few times prior to its acquisition by Landry’s. It was also owned by the private investment firm Castle Harlan Inc., for three years in the 1990s, following a 1994 sale for $24 million. In 1997 the company was sold again, for $53 million, to Apple South Inc., later known as Avado. In 2001 it was sold to a joint venture between Castle Harlan and Bruckman, Rosser, Sherill Co. for $123.5 million.