Maybe it's because Portland is becoming a chef-driven restaurant town that larger restaurant spaces are not as desirable as they once were. For a chef wanting to start his or her own restaurant, start-up, labor, rent, and operational costs are much lower in a space 2,000 square feet and 50 seats.
Perhaps that's why the cavernous space that formerly housed Fernando's Hideway, a Latin-themed enclave that featured salsa dancing and Spanish cuisine in the heart of the Historic Yamhill District, is in fact not going to be a new restaurant. Um, far from it. The quaint storefront at 824 SW 1st Avenue is reportedly re-opening as an adult swingers club. Yep, you read that correctly, Downtown Portland is about to get a new palace to polyamory.
Wait, it gets even better. Well-placed gossip also has it that club is affiliated with Ron Jeremy, an adult film star who, according to Wikipedia, also answers to the name "Hedgehog." Whether the porn star Jeremy is affiliated with the investment group backing the venture or has simply sold naming rights has not been confirmed. What's certain is that the nearby Hotel Fifty, a recently rehabbed mid-century modern hotel one block north, is going to see a big rise in business.
That should make for some interesting viewing by the treadmill/stationary bike crew directly across the street in the Bally Gym! Who wants to watch local news when you could be watching live porn!?
Posted by: Handy Andy | March 26, 2009 at 11:52 AM
Wow, just wow.
Posted by: Portland Pam | March 26, 2009 at 04:59 PM
Seriously shocking. This should put Portland on the map...
Posted by: Kate | March 26, 2009 at 05:11 PM
I can't believe this. I work in a building on this street and I'm seriously going to fear for the safety of my female co-workers. I have no problem with the existence of these places (to each their own), but why the hell would you land such a thing in the middle of downtown?
Posted by: Randy | March 27, 2009 at 08:15 AM
What about the men who work in your office? There are women who go to these places as well... And I hear some of them are pretty large & could probably take down the skinny men in your office.
Posted by: Kate | March 27, 2009 at 08:17 AM
It won't put us on the map any more than the clubs like this that already exist.
Fearing for people's safety? Really? What evidence do you have the people who like to have mutually consenting sex with multiple partners in a safe, legal environment are more likely to be sexual predators?
It's not different than any of the multiple strip clubs in the downtown area. Don't like it? Don't go in.
Posted by: Sue | March 27, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Don't be dumb Sue...It has less to do with safety and more to do with poor co-tenancy, creating an environment that does not help retail businesses and de-values neighboring real estate. The next door businesses are already planning moves to new locations and the office tenants are not happy either. John Beardsley (the Landlord) must need a quick buck (like his Bikini Coffee deal) or he does not care about his neighbors like his Old Town real estate...
Shame, Beardsley should know better!
Posted by: Handy Andy | March 27, 2009 at 01:07 PM