Ataula Catalan Restaurant Closing for Good

Updated: 4pm

This one really hurts. According to Portland Monthly, Jose Chesa and Cristan Baez will not reopen their popular Spanish Tapas restaurant, Ataula.

The building has been sold, and health issues also are playing a part in the closure.

As first reported by Portland Monthly.

Here is a statement from the restaurant’s Facebook –

When we closed our doors in March 2020 we never thought it would be the beginning of the end.

We went through the motions, did to-go and gave it our all and we tried really hard to make it work under any circumstances while keeping our staff, community and ourselves safe. On top of so many things that continued to happen behind the scenes; but ultimately is just not an operation we can continue to sustain any longer and we haven’t been able to find a path to move forward that makes sense. On top of COVID19, recent serious personal health complications made us take the toughest decision of closing permanently our doors.

We are sad to announce that Ataula is permanently closing and will not reopen its doors at its NW Portland location.

We will forever remember the magic and buzz of our small but mighty dinning room had and we will carry it closely with us along with the community that lifted us up and showed so much love to an island girl, a Spaniard and the whole Ataula crew over the years. We are eternally grateful for the crew, past and present, that showed up and did so much with passion, discipline and aspiration to a high standard of hospitality. Day in and day out.

This is the end of a chapter and yes, we are sad and heartbroken.

When the time comes someway, somehow we will be back. Taking so much we’ve learned over the years and pushing forward to making our industry better and begin a new chapter.
#likeaphoenix
Tapas & Dreams

In the most recent Right at the Fork podcast where they interview Cory Schreiber from Sysco, they open by discussing the closing of Ataula, Nodoguru, and Tonari. You can listen to it here.