A note from Jenn Louis today saying she is selling Ray Restaurant.
Jenn Louis
Today, I am putting Ray up for sale, and will continue to run the restaurant until we find a buyer. I am not in a rush, just ready to move on. It’s a bittersweet sendoff, but I am so grateful for all the beautiful memories that we have built here, and for the people who have made this restaurant my home for so long.
After twenty-five years in this industry, and nineteen as sole proprietor of my own catering business/restaurants proudly serving the Portland community, I am ready for my next chapter.
I feel satisfied to move onto other projects and ventures. I’m working on a new book and collaborating with some very talented partners on a line of CBD wellness products. I’m looking forward to a calmer pace. It has been a true honor to represent Portland, Oregon and the Great Northwest along my travels and experiences.
Jenn Louis is closing her last restaurant. Ray, which opened in March 2017 never seemed to get its footing. A Portland Monthly review in November was one of the most negative published by them in a long time, calling it “Meh-diterranean” and not having much good to say about anything except for the fries.
At one point she was supposed to be partnering with an Israeli restaurant project in a rapidly gentrifying downtown Los Angeles neighborhood. However, after some messy publicity over family issues, her name disappeared from that project.
Chef Louis was nominated for a James Beard award in 2018 for The Book of Greens and was nominated in the Best Chef category in 2011. In 2015 she published Pasta by Hand. In 2008 her recipe for Bacon-Apple Pie went viral on this website. Her first restaurant Lincoln closed in early 2017, quickly followed by Sunshine Tavern.
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