Pieless and Penniless

Shari’s Shutters its Doors for Good

Will Oregonians ever recover from losing their beloved Shari’s? The Beaverton-headquartered restaurant chain officially and abruptly closed all of its Oregon locations on Oct. 21, leaving regular customers and employees at a loss.

That includes the Gresham outlet on Northeast Burnside Road, at the Oregon Trail Center shopping center. The downfall of the largest family diner chain in the PNW began even before the COVID-19 pandemic. According to multiple news reports, the company made poor financial choices and then failed to rebound due largely to the virus.

The president of Charlton Marketing, Sara Thomas, told KGW News Channel 8 that Shari’s Corporation still owed her Portland ad agency over $100,000 for a marketing campaign last year. Shari’s also failed to pay several construction and plumbing companies, and the chain had many unpaid rent bills.

Perhaps most significantly, Shari’s owed the Oregon Lottery $900,000. According to the Oregon Lottery website, Shari’s made $34.7 million in video lottery sales, generating $7.5 in state lottery commissions as of 2023 – but has lagged in paying the state its due share. All this has left the company struggling with mounting bills and lawsuits.

The Shari’s chain opened in 1978, and had grown to at least 60 locations across Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Wyoming. The distinct six-sided restaurants were known for their popular pies and being a popular option for casual meetups.

While some locations remain open in other states, what do Oregonians have to say about the closure of their local family diner? Trevor Wells, a loyal Shari’s customer since he was 16 in 1996, is saddened. Shari’s was the ideal hangout place for teenagers, he explained.

“Though we were obnoxious teenagers, the employees were nice. I will miss their chocolate milkshakes and comfortable booths,” Wells told The Advocate.

The chain’s closure has left one former Shari’s waitress bitter. Margaret Burks told The Advocate she thinks “They should have handled the finances better for the good of their employees,” she said.
The sudden closure “left us employees unfairly unemployed and disadvantaged,” Burks said. “I am now scrambling to find another job, just so I can feed my kids. It was a selfish and irresponsible play on their end.”

In fact, one unhappy former Shari’s employee in Grants Pass has filed a class-action lawsuit against the chain’s owners on behalf of all the laid-off workers, OregonLive.com reported on Nov. 15.
The suit filed in U.S. District Court claims that Shari’s owners failed to provide the legally required 60 days’ notice to employees and also failed to pay the full amount of their final paychecks, OregonLive.com said.

Meredith Wells