The place does engender goodwill among a dizzying cross section of Portlanders, but for reasons difficult to articulate. Tacos and sliders replaced chowder and shellfish, and most every remnant of the old swashbuckling memorabilia gave way to a beach-bar aesthetic. They also tore down the wall once separating lounge from restaurant and turned the ever-vacant former dining area into a bustling video poker alcove. The incoming regime brought in a sea of flat-screens along with NFL Sunday Ticket and NBA League Pass. In 2002, Jackson snatched up the Jolly and, after a few years of steady growth, took full possession with Starr. According to bartenders at the time, the retiring owner agreed to finally sell the business only under a contractual stipulation that the lounge remain undisturbed. Over the next decade, The Oregonian would mention the Jolly Roger just twice in a business story celebrating Old Spaghetti Factory’s new Japanese franchises and a Crime Stoppers story listing known locations of a recent stabbing suspect.īy the early ‘90s, when an incoming mini-mall forced the Jolly’s relocation to its current home, the original culinary ambitions of the enterprise had become so utterly irrelevant that the separate restaurant side felt like a vestigial limb. At that point, the official record goes dark. An adjoining Pirate’s Cove lounge was partitioned from the main dining room, and the business experimented with live music in the mid-’80s. Soldiering on as a downmarket fish-and-chips outlet, the family-friendly touches faded away. Though considered a bizarre gamble at the time, the Old Spaghetti Factory became the flagship of an empire with more than 40 outposts around the globe. By 1970, Dussin had sold away his stake in the Jolly and Virginia Cafe to afford the skyrocketing costs of outfitting the Old Town warehouse with its Victorian-era décor. Launched by Constantin “Guss” Dussin, favorite son of the restaurateurs behind downtown’s Virginia Cafe, initially marketed it as a themed eatery, and early advertisements depicted a peg-legged, pistol-toting buccaneer mascot atop the sign’s topsail promising “free chocolate pieces of eight for junior pirates finishing their plates.”ĭon McGee, an older habitué of the current Jolly, recalls interiors drowning in nautical kitsch with booths designed to resemble miniature ships-arguable inspiration for the trolley car dining areas parked inside the founder’s next venture, the first Old Spaghetti Factory on Southwest 2nd Avenue and Pine Street. Chávez Boulevard) and Powell Boulevard in 1962. The Jolly Roger actually opened at the corner of Southeast 39th Avenue (now César E. We’ve been here for 20 years, we made a lot of friends, and it’s been an absolute blast. The building’s owner’s 76, and business-wise, he’s making the right choice. I’m 60 years old, and we have two successful operations going right now. ![]() “This building is so old and beat up that a redo would be crazy. “I don’t like to see any of these places go away,” Jackson says. Jackson admits there’s no clear plan on what will become of the bar’s justly treasured signage-a majestic freestanding pylon sign shaped like a ship’s mast at a height no longer sanctioned-but it’s evaded the wrecking ball before. This wasn’t the bar’s first location, after all, and its banner shall still fly across the river, where Jackson rebranded the former Stanich’s West as Jolly Roger at John’s Landing almost 15 years ago.Īdmittedly, civic preservationists may have reason to worry about the Jolly’s truly irreplaceable feature. At that point, we would’ve been done anyway.” We were supposed to be here another year, but we came to an agreement with the landlord that shortened our lease by one year so he could sell the building. ![]() “No matter how much we tried to fix the building, people kept hurting it, and the police were unavailable to help. “We got destroyed during all the conflicts,” Jackson says. Soon afterward, the property was bought by developers whose plans for a five-story, 100-plus-unit residential complex await government approval, which leaves the business in a peculiar limbo. ![]() Rob Jackson, co-owner of the Jolly alongside wife Starr for the past 20 years, indicated a willingness late last year to amend their lease as needed in order to facilitate their landlord’s sale of the restaurant and bar’s long-standing location at 1340 SE 12th Ave. The Jolly Roger (Chris Nesseth) By Jay Horton Jat 6:48 pm PDTįittingly, perhaps, for an iconic establishment that’s lazily drifted about Southeast Portland for 60 years without ever attracting much notice, the Jolly Roger has announced a fateful last call, but all relevant information regarding the date of departure remains shrouded in mystery.
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