This announcement that Fenouil restaurant on Jamison Square was closing made me do a double-take.
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closing of Fenouil, in Portland’s Pearl District. A longtime iconic restaurant, Fenouil unfortunately was not able to weather the storm of the financial crisis and will close its doors on Sunday, April 3rd. We are extremely grateful for the efforts of our talented staff, led by Chef Jake Martin in the kitchen and Ginger Henderson-Radichel as General Manager, and everyone who worked hard each day at Fenouil. The Dussin Group is currently weighing options as to the future of the restaurant space, more details will be forthcoming as decisions are made. A final thank you to the wonderful Portland community who supported us for so many years.
Fenouil opened to great fanfare in 2005 at a cost of over five million dollars. It quickly became a hot spot, for it’s French Disney atmosphere and for the stellar menu, which actually brought frog legs back to Portland.
Unfortunately, the restaurant failed to live up to its promise from the start. Reviews were mixed, and they received some terrible PR on this site when a friend of mine bought a gift certificate for his boss, who took his wife to Fenouil for their anniversary. As they tried to pay, the restaurant said it was fake…
“At one point, …they were going to honor the certificate. Then as they were leaving, he apparently changed is mind and ran out, further embarrassing them, and asking where they were going. The way they were treated, it was obvious the management assumed they were guilty of fraud, and treated them like criminals.”
Can you imagine if that happened to your boss? The whole story is pretty amazing.
Another blow came when Fenouil was purchased by the same people who own The Old Spaghetti Factory”. It is my belief they suffered greatly because of this association.
End the end though, I’m sure it came down to economics: a 5 million dollar restaurant floundering in a tight economy that couldn’t bring enough people through the doors to keep it afloat.
Now the question is, will it become another Old Spaghetti Factory?
nathaniel says
One of my favorite places in Portland. Thanks Fenouil for all the great times, from the beginning through now. Appreciated all the staff and really enjoyed dining there, you’ll be sorely missed! Best wishes to staff at Fenouil and their future.
Lilybelle says
If the waitstaff actually cared about the clients wants and needs they would still be open. It was embarrassing how arrogant the attitudes were verses the lack of knowledge & service technique that they presented themselves with. Very poor management closed this very promising location. I’m sorry to hear that they closed.
Food Dude says
I have a friend who got pretty lousy service recently at Fenouil too. But I think it was much more than just the service. The 5 million spent on the build-out must have left them with a staggering debt load. That, along with the recession, must have been more than they were willing to absorb.
grapedog says
It would be interesting to compare the Dussin Group’s (mis-)management of both Fenouil and Lucier to see if there is simply an issue with this family’s ability to transition the success of Old Spaghetti Factory to something higher-end. Both restaurants had multi-million dollar interiors and both were huge spaces that depended on strong business and a steady stream of customers. Was it really the economy or is that just a convenient excuse?
With today’s popular restaurants opening small and conservative, is the Dussin Group trying to go too big too fast? Do they know any other way to operate?
JD says
With a location proximate to Jamison Park/Square and smack dab in the middle of stacks of Pearl apartments, there is no reason for a restaurant not to do well. While the idea of a Spaghetti Factory does not turn me on, the notion that this family has run restaurants that hit the sweet spot of the market tells me that they might have a chance if they focus on a restaurant that addresses a broader demographic. Portland can only suport so many “special occasion” places. There are hordes of people in that park every day in the summer; an accessible format with a restaurant open for lunch should be able to pack them in. Some type of every-day eating establishment would be more appropriate, at least during this phase of the reputed ‘economic recovery.’ If Pearl real estate values, along with Portland incomes, start rising again, a fancier format can always return.
Food Dude says
I would not be surprised if Old Spaghetti Factory went in, except that in my experience, they don’t tend to be located in such expensive locations. The last time I went to one of those restaurants (hangs head in shame), it was really cheap.
abefroman says
actually, i think you will find that they have restaurants in what you might consider pretty high rent areas, similar to the pearl district. prices are cheap but they do the volume, plus there are 40 stores, it adds up. of course it would be suprising to see an old spaghetti factory go in there, but considering their success rate with other concepts not sure what they would do otherwise or if it would be a good move. remember the concept they started down in west linn, can’t even remember the name but it was some kind of southwest cuisine with walk up ordering and you get a number. that was supposed to expand to 50 stores. it lasted something like 6 months maybe. it is a big space though and i imagine the rent is high so no telling what will go in there. imagine if john gorham could get something going in there, it seems like everything he touches lately turns into gold. maybe too big for him right now.
Irene says
Lest we forget, they’re bringing Trader Vic’s back in the Pearl.
glainie says
What does Trader Vics have to do with this conversation?
GLN says
I went to Fenouil a handful of times, and each time was met with snotty and indifferent service, from the host or hostess seating us, to the wait staff. I tolerate this in Paris; I live with it among the professional waiters (usually men) in the New York City restaurants that specialize in celebrities; but why would I spend money for it in Portland, where there are simply too many restaurants with warm and talented front-of-the-house people and food as good or better. I never ate a dish there to make the attitude worth putting up with.
nathaniel says
That’s interesting, never experienced that at Fenouil personally. In fact, while in France, NYC, and elsewhere don’t really experience that either. But then I tend think that people who have these sort of issues with places they go, generally speaks more of them than it does the establishment.
Elizabeth says
Great location and ambiance, but the service was horrible and the food disappointing with the new chef. I was terribly surprised that our waiter would not give us a second votive to light up our table when we had a party of six (they gave us one candle only). No customer service.
Joe says
Elizabeth,
Sheesh. Kick a horse while it’s down why don’t you. I feel great empathy for the 50ish people out of jobs now.
It seems to me that Portland simply doesn’t want a fine dining restaurant. It’s not a matter of quality food and drinks, we just seem to be more interested in comfortable dining vs “fancy”.
Christine says
I had many good meals there, including some fabulous brunches, and always had good service. I am sad and disappointed to hear they are closing, and wish the best to all of the staff.
Joe DiBello says
I ate there perhaps half a dozen times for lunch and dinner, and tried and tried to like it, based mostly on the very nice atmosphere five Mil can buy a restuarant space.
But, I could just never get over that classic combination of small portions at high prices. Coming away from a $125-a-head dinner still hungry simply isn’t my measurement of a fine dining experience.
I guess the owners believed that the supposed Pearl fat cats and Portland foodies were too hip and concerned about saving face to complain. Lots of other restaurants found ways to maintain and even flourish during the same period. This place sank itself.
zumpie says
I always found the space really pretty (and I tend to hate the Pearl). I don’t particularly recall issues with service (generally the wait staff was “meh”, but the host staff was quite gracious), but the food was really unimpressive. At one brunch my bacon was practically raw—and this was waaaay before The Dussin Group bought them.
I know Lucier is function space–and there was already private dining space at Fenouil—-I suspect both will do that now.