Blue Star Donuts Permanently Closes Most Stores

The chain announced the closures on Facebook today

Among the constant dribble of permanent restaurant closures since the pandemic started, Blue Star Donuts has added their name. Here is the statement from Facebook.

Dearest donut loves,
Heavy hearts all around, again, as we share the news of some additional closures in the Blue Star world. We are writing to announce the permanent closures of our shops in Multnomah Village, Progress Ridge, and our flagship shop in Downtown Portland. ———————————
At this time we have one location open in LA (Venice) and one location open in Portland (Division). The timeline for the remaining store openings is unclear. Since March 17th, the handful of folks we have left have been fighting so hard to figure out how to navigate this ever-changing future with what we have to work with. We are absolutely grieving for what we were, and what we’ve lost, but we are not giving up!
————————————
We appreciate everyone who’s been reaching out, wondering about their neighborhood shop, sending love. It’s hard to have all the answers right now, and we are incredibly grateful for your continued support and patience as we move through this. 💙
———————————
Multnomah Village – has been a magical community since day one! We know you’ll miss the all-star team of Emely, Ana, Charlie, Violet (and Jack!) as much as we do. We’ll miss the wonderful people at Multnomah Village , the art center, our friends at Spielman Bagels & Coffee , and all of our regulars who spent countless blissful donut moments with us. Thank you!.
▪️
Progress Ridge – you showed up for gourmet donuts! We had an amazing team…shout out to Ricky, Makena, Christian, Kylee, and Jai. We’ll miss our neighbor friends The Barbers , Pho Nam Progress Ridge Beaverton Little Big Burger The Growlerie . And we’ll miss all of our regulars including @droop10 and @chiefhasarrived . Thank you!!.
▪️
Downtown Portland was a long-time dream for us. We finally built a proper chef’s counter for @chefstephaniethornton , filmed her outtakes for @foodnetwork’s Chopped, released our first CBD donut w/ Senator Ron Wyden & Earl Blumenauer , best NDD ever with art and Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP), threw parties with our sweet friends Domaine Serene Wine Lounge Portland and Portland Cider Co. , created donuts with @droop10 and Chris Cosentino . And were constantly inspired by our incredible team, we all grew so much in this space. Thank you, we love you all!!

I’m sad about this. Blue Star led the way for other donut shops to open in Portland, bringing a bit of a renaissance. I’m guessing the expensive real estate where most of their stores were located played a key role. Best of luck to their employees.