The Roxy (Portland, Oregon)
The Roxy was a diner serving American cuisine in Portland, Oregon. Located on downtown Portland's Southwest Harvey Milk Street, the restaurant was established in 1994. The Roxy was popular as a late-night food destination and had a diverse clientele. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the diner operated 24 hours a day, except on Mondays. The Roxy has been described as "iconic" and a "landmark", and was known for being an LGBTQ-friendly establishment because of its employees' community involvement and its location within the historic hub of LGBTQ culture and nightlife. Following a forced six-month closure due to the pandemic, the diner opened under new public health and safety guidelines in November 2020. The diner closed in March 2022. Description The Roxy was a diner on Southwest Harvey Milk Street in downtown Portland. The restaurant's small storefront neighbors were the gay bar Scandals and a residential hotel.[1][2] The Roxy served American cuisine,[3] including breakfast all day,[4] and was described as having a "funky avant-garde theme".[5] The interior featured a jukebox and a sculpture of Jesus.[1] Depictions of nude women appeared on an overhead mirror.[6] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the diner was open 24 hours a day,[5][7] except on Mondays.[6][8] Scandals patrons could order food from The Roxy and consume from inside the bar.[9][10] Jason Kaplan of Oregon Business described the diner's clientele as "a diverse bunch" and wrote: "There is usually a surge in business after 2 a.m. when the bars close. The Roxy is a popular spot after a night of clubbing."[11] In 2020, Thom Hilton of Portland Monthly described The Roxy as a "gay diner", a "neon dive", and an "all-ages queer haven".[1] Eater Portland's Brooke Jackson-Glidden has called the restaurant a "quintessential Portland hangout—especially among teenagers, partiers, and night-shifters".[12] HistoryThe Roxy was established in 1994.[1] Suzanne Hale (nicknamed "The Lovely Suzanne")[1][13] owned the restaurant since c. 1995.[5][14] In 2013, Eater Portland published Hale's "dish on what 24 hours is like at the open-all-day diner", giving readers an overview of typical shifts and The Roxy's clientele.[7][14] The diner had a few longtime employees. April Shattuck served as general manager since The Roxy opened.[5] As of 2018, one waiter had served patrons for 23 years, including 18 on the night shift.[11] Hale's daughter April also served as a waitress at The Roxy.[14] Connection to the LGBTQ community.jpg) Hale and The Roxy had a history of supporting Portland's LGBTQ community. She participated in an annual drag pageant presented by the International Sovereign Rose Court, Oregon's oldest LGBTQ nonprofit organization,[13] and spoke at local gay–straight alliance meetings.[1] She and other employees of the restaurant collected signatures for the Harvey Milk Street Project, an effort to name a part of Stark Street after LGBTQ rights activist and politician Harvey Milk.[15] Hale said Stark Street's namesake, Benjamin Stark, "did not represent the city well".[16] In 2018, the stretch of Stark Street in front of The Roxy was successfully renamed Southwest Harvey Milk Street. As a sign of gratitude for the diner employees' contributions, the Harvey Milk Foundation presented The Roxy with a portrait painting of Milk. On behalf of the foundation, activist and politician Nicole Murray-Ramirez called the artwork "a way to honor the community and Portland residents who gathered signatures and helped make the city the third in the country to have a street named for Milk".[15] In 2018, The Oregonian's Andrew Theen described Scandals and The Roxy as "the most-prominent gay businesses" still operating in the historical hub of local LGBTQ culture and nightlife.[16] COVID-19 pandemic and closure The Roxy was forced to close for approximately six months in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] Plywood covered the diner's windows, and a sign was displayed, saying, "The Roxy is closed until this is over ... take care of yourselves, stay home, and Washie Washie!"[1] Following a remodel, The Roxy reopened on November 8, operating under new public health and safety guidelines.[5] Two parking spaces outside the restaurant were converted to outdoor seating areas per a "healthy business permit" issued by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). Five structures resembling greenhouses built by nearby Cheryl's on 12th nearly doubled The Roxy's temporary capacity.[5] The remodel saw improvements to the diner's bathrooms and kitchens as well as the installation of plexiglass to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Additionally, porcelain tile and stainless steel replaced some interior finished wood features for easier cleaning. The Roxy closed at 10:00 p.m. daily as of November 2020; COVID-19 precautions included socially distanced tables, temperature checks for patrons and staff, and regular disinfecting.[5] The diner closed permanently on March 20, 2022. The Roxy's owners attributed the closure to financial losses during the pandemic. In February 2021, during planned reopening efforts, a fire and resulting water damage forced another four-month closure. When the city later announced it would rehabilitate the building the Roxy was operating in, Hale said the Roxy was forced out, prompting the permanent closure.[17][18][19] ReceptionThe Roxy has been described as "iconic" and a "landmark".[5][7][13] Willamette Week said in a 2015 bar guide:
A 2017 article in the newspaper stated: "The Roxy is the only thing in Portland seemingly immune to the ravages of time, with DayGlo-yellow gravy, omelets thick as thighs and tables full of teens conceived on Molly who also take Molly. Long may it ruin the digestion of the drunk and high."[8] The Portland Mercury's Santi Elijah Holley wrote:
 In his 2018 overview of "the best in LGBTQ+ nightlife, bars, parties, comedy, and more", the newspaper's Andrew Jankowski described The Roxy as an "after-party drunk food oasis".[9] Jason Kaplan of Oregon Business wrote in 2018: "[S]ince Portland's halcyon days of the 1990s when things were still weird, The Roxy has been a late-night oasis for revelers of all stripes. After the bars kick you out you can come here and drink coffee until you're sober, or fight a hangover with pancakes."[11] In his 2019 "ultimate guide to Portland's 40 best brunches", The Oregonian's Michael Russell called The Roxy an "old-school Portland diner with an all-day breakfast menu and 24-hour service" and a "dim downtown haunt".[6] The newspaper's Lizzy Acker ranked The Roxy number 20 on her 2019 list of the city's top 25 corned beef hash entrées. She also said the 24-hour service and "vibe", reminding guests they ate in "Portland F---ing Oregon", were the "best things" about the diner.[21] In 2020, Portland Monthly's Thom Hilton said: "The Roxy is the meeting place of kids who want to be weirdo grown-ups and weirdo grown-ups who might become ghosts.... This is a joint where you might pick up a cute bear's number as you chat about Twin Peaks and lighten up your coffee with milk from a baby bottle."[1] See alsoReferences
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roxy Diner.
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