My Father's Place (Portland, Oregon)

My Father's Place is a restaurant and dive bar in the Buckman neighborhood in Portland, Oregon. Housed in the New Logus Block, a building complex on the National Register of Historic Places completed in 1872, the diner has a game room and lounge and attracts a diverse clientele. My Father's Place opened in 1978, and was later owned by Merrie Ann Dillon, who sold the business to her daughter Linda Moles in 2002. Remaining under ownership of the Moles family, My Father's Place operates every day, even on holidays, and serves breakfast all day. The game room and lounge have pool tables, lottery machines, pinball, and a jukebox. Elliott Smith and Willy Vlautin frequented the bar, which hosts game nights and other events. Known as a local favorite with happy hour options and for operating on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the reportedly haunted My Father's Place has received a generally positive reception.

Not to be confused with My Father's Place.
My Father's Place
The bar and restaurant's exterior in 2013
Restaurant information
Established1978 (1978)
Owner(s)
  • Linda Moles
  • Darrell Moles
  • Kasey Moles
Previous owner(s)Merrie Ann Dillon
Food typeAmerican
Street address523 SE Grand Avenue
CityPortland
CountyMultnomah
StateOregon
Postal/ZIP Code97214
CountryUnited States
Coordinates45.5188°N 122.6609°W / 45.5188; -122.6609
Websitemyfathersplacepdx.com

Description
The New Logus Block, which houses My Father's Place, in 2012

My Father's Place is a dive bar and restaurant in the New Logus Block, a building complex on the National Register of Historic Places completed in 1892, in southeast Portland's Buckman neighborhood. Eater Portland's Michelle DeVona has described My Father's Place as an "old-school" diner with a bar, game room, and lounge, and called the bar a "quirky Portland watering hole" and the "diviest of dives".[1] Thrillist describes My Father's Place as a "classic, old-school" dive bar with large booths and comfort food.[2] In his book Unique Eats and Eateries of Portland, Oregon (2018), Adam Sawyer called My Father's Place an "old-school diner, knick-knack treasure trove, lounge, and game room".[3] The bar and restaurant had operated from 6–2:30am, every day,[4][5] since the late 1970s.[3]

The interior has "well-worn" booths, exposed brick walls, "vintage" ceiling lamps, a jukebox,[6] and an "eclectic" collection of knickknacks.[1] There are black-and-white photographs on walls, a glass cabinet with antique liquor bottles, and a vending machine stocked with cigarettes, despite being a non-smoking establishment.[1] Portraits depict John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, among others.[7] In 2015, DeVona said, "Even on bright sunny days, the dark choice of coloring for the interior, coupled with modest lighting, give off a dusky ambiance."[1] There is also a room with pool tables, lottery machines, and pinball.[5][8] Amoris Walker of Serious Eats noted the "giant collection of pretty much every board game that has ever existed" and wrote, "Antique knick-knacks and crusty old toys dangle precariously above your head: If a 1950's diner, a midwestern truck stop, and an antique store were to have a baby, it would look like this dive bar."[9] Until 10pm, minors are allowed in the bar part of My Father's Place, which hosts events such as comedy shows and game night on Wednesdays.[5]

My Father's Place serves breakfast all day. Menu options include bacon, biscuits and gravy,[4] chicken fried steak, eggs (including Eggs Benedict),[1] French fries, hash browns, onion rings,[9] pancakes, sandwiches, sausage, sliders (chicken and pulled pork),[10] quesadillas, and toast.[2][5] The drink menu includes Bloody Marys with bacon, black pepper, cilantro, garlic, or habanero, as well as Spanish coffee and beer.[10] Beer options include Hamm's Brewery, Olympia Brewing Company, Pabst Blue Ribbon,[5] and Rainier Brewing Company, as of 2017.[11] The Jay Horton, named after a local freelance writer, includes coffee with well whisky, topped with whipped cream.[12]

In 2008, Anne Marie DiStefano of the Portland Tribune described an artificial Christmas tree on continual display for years, with ornaments for different holidays including flags for Independence Day and ghosts or jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween. She also described a special Christmas dinner special with ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, candied sweet potato, vegetables, and a bread roll.[7] The diner's Thanksgiving special in 2017 included ham or turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, salad or soup, dinner rolls, and cheesecake.[13][14]

DeVona stated My Father's Place caters to people of all walks of life, from "artists, straight-laced professionals, laypersons, vagrants, and other miscreants".[1] The diner "welcomes a wide swath of well-wishers throughout the day", according to Willamette Week, which said "first call attracts an especially diverse scrum for unofficial sunrise service, split evenly between retirees seeking eye-openers and drinkers still awake from the night before".[10] In 2019, the newspaper said My Father's Place is known for operating on holidays and serving as a "refuge to those either without the means or the desire to spend the holidays at their actual father's place".[15] The Oregonian's Grant Butler said the bar is popular with "graveyard shift workers in the morning" and "rabble-rousers late at night".[4] Sawyer noted the diversity of guests, describing them as "truckers, punks, transients and transplants, the curious and constant, poets, businessmen, couples and families". He wrote, "The clientele at 6 a.m., when the restaurant opens, are just as likely to be ending their day as beginning it. Vice versa when they close at 2 a.m."[3]

History
The sidewalk outside My Father's Place and neighboring Slow Bar in 2013

My Father's Place opened in 1978.[1] Merrie Ann Dillon began working as a waitress at the bar, before becoming a co-owner then sole proprietor. In 2002, she sold the business to her daughter Linda Moles. Moles' sons Darrell and Kasey grew up around the bar and later worked there while Moles continued waitressing. My Father's Place remains owned by the family.[1]

The business had approximately 25 employees, as of 2018. Sawyer called them "an extension of the family" and noted the high employee retention, with half having worked at the bar for at least five years. He said My Father's Place was "more or less unchanged from the day it opened in 1978" and "a place for everybody".[3] Sawyer complimented other family's other bars but said "there is only one true dive-bar melting pot, and it's My Father's Place".[3]

Darrell Moles has said, "All ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, political views, sharing the same space, food, and drink. It has always been that way there."[3] Musicians Elliott Smith and Willy Vlautin frequented the bar,[16][17] which Butler said has "long been a favorite with local musicians".[4]

In 2016, Eater Portland included My Father's Place in an article called "Ghost Stories from Portland's 5 Most Haunted Restaurants" and said, "Some occurrences reported by employees are paper towel dispensers rolling without aid and a man's voice sometimes heard early in the morning."[18] The website quoted Linda Moles as saying "some individuals never leave" and shared a bartender's recalling of a sign, which had served as a memorial to a former bartender Bud, falling when some of Bud's favorite songs by the Beatles played on the jukebox. Eater Portland said, "Moles maintains that it's a positive presence rather than a haunting and sees it as a friendly reminder that our loved ones are still with us — in spirit, of course."[18]

My Father's Place hosted shows as part of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival in 2016.[19] During the COVID-19 pandemic, bar seating was restricted and staff assistance was required for the jukebox and pinball machines, as of September.[20]

Reception

In her article about My Father's Place during Christmas, DiStefano wrote, "I've been here on Thanksgiving before, and once on Easter. I don't find it the least bit depressing to spend a holiday this way, although there are people out there who will absolutely refuse to believe me."[7] In Serious Eats' 2013 list of the city's best dive bars, Walker called My Father's Place "a locals' favorite".[9] In 2015, DeVona described the bar as Portland's "quirkiest home away from home" and called the dark interior "oddly comforting". She opined, "it's perfectly normal to see someone who personifies, say, the Ziggy Stardust-era Bowie sitting alongside a slick-suited business type at the bar. Or for families to have their weekend breakfast amidst a nest of revelers nursing hangovers. The fact that people from all stations in life can congregate here without any bearing of judgment makes My Father's Place a unique entity among the plethora of trendy spots now joining the neighborhood."[1]

In 2016, the Portland Mercury Suzette Smith called the food "cheap" and "fine".[5] In her 2017 overview of Portland's dive bar brunches, Ciara Dolan called My Father's Place "one of Portland's premiere dive bars" with "greasy, buttery, and affordable" food and a "surprisingly family friendly" atmosphere for weekend brunch. She wrote, "The coffee is endearingly subpar—this is not for the Stumptown crowd. But between the rich, bright-yellow hollandaise of the eggs benedict, the crunchy goodness of the hash browns, and the reliable comfort of a short stack of pancakes, My Father's Place is exactly where you want to be for an old-fashioned, no-frills brunch."[21] Leonie Cooper of NME included the bar in a 2018 guide of the city and said, "If you want some resolutely no frills drinking then head to My Father's Place." Cooper said the bar has "strong 'nan's living room' vibes" and was "perfect for all night benders or early rising boozehounds".[22] Eater Portland's Alex Frank included the bar in his 2019 list of 14 "spots to day-drink" and wrote, "There's not a lot of natural light through the windows, papered with signs and posters as they are, so drinkers getting started early should be wary when leaving or risk being blinded by the fact that yes, it's still the middle of the day."[23] Portland Monthly called the drinks "stiff" and the waiting staff friendly,[17] and Thrillist said the diner's comfort food will "keep you coming back night after night. And if that doesn't do the trick, good booze and good company will."[2] Thrillist's Pete Cottell included My Father's Place in his 2019 list of "the most fun" bars operating on Christmas.[24]

Willamette Week's 2016 overview of the best happy hours in southeast Portland described My Father's Place as the Central Eastside's "dive bar of record",[10] and Matthew Korfhage included the bar in lists of places with cheap beer and late night happy hours.[25][26][27] Cottell included My Father's Place in the newspaper's list of the city's 10 "best scumbag breakfasts", in which he called the bar "legendary" and "Old Portland's platonic idea of pre-noon power drinking", with a Serpico vibe and "surly old-schoolers occupying both sides of the bar at the oddest hours".[11] He called the breakfast special "OK at best".[11] Willamette Week's 2018 inner eastside bar crawl guide said, "With surly, take-no-shit service and an unbeatable breakfast menu that's always available, this dive diner is definitely the kind of place your dad would go when the oppressive preciousness of Portland gets to be too much."[28] The newspaper has also included the bar in lists of the "top five places to drink" on Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 2018, Matthew Singer wrote, "If you've never started the holiday sharing a pre-dawn shot with the other lonely lushes using the eastside's homiest dive as a surrogate for their actual father's place, have you ever really spent Christmas in Portland? No, you have not."[29] The newspaper said in 2019, "You're really not a Portlander until you've spent a bleary Thanksgiving in this classic dive, playing board games with a bunch of strangers."[15]

See also

References
  1. "My Father's Place: Portland's Quirkiest Home Away from Home". Eater Portland. Vox Media. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  2. "My Father's Place". Thrillist. Group Nine Media. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  3. Sawyer, Adam (October 1, 2018). Unique Eats and Eateries of Portland, Oregon. Reedy Press. pp. 27–28. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  4. Butler, Grant (June 29, 2018). "Raise a glass to 30 great Portland bars that are still going strong". The Oregonian. Advance Publications. ISSN 8750-1317. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  5. Smith, Suzette (March 9, 2016). "My Father's Place Is (Almost) Always Open". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  6. Holley, Santi Elijah (September 21, 2016). "Kick Out the Jams: In Pursuit of Portland's Classic Jukeboxes". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  7. DiStefano, Anne Marie (December 30, 2008). "On the Rocks • For these barflies, a tolerant father". Portland Tribune. Pamplin Media Group. OCLC 46708462. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  8. Singer, Matthew (February 7, 2017). "Yes, Portland Has More Pinball Machines Than New York and Los Angeles". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  9. Walker, Amoris. "The Best Dive Bars in Portland, OR". Serious Eats. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  10. "The Best Happy Hours in Southeast Portland". Willamette Week. September 20, 2016. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  11. Cottell, Pete (May 23, 2017). "Portland's 10 Best Scumbag Breakfasts, Ranked". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  12. Korfhage, Matthew (August 18, 2015). "Trolley Drunk: Take the Portland Streetcar drinking tour". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  13. Armour, Shannon (November 20, 2017). "Here Are the Portland Restaurants Where You Can Still Get A Table on Thanksgiving Day". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  14. "Portland restaurants open on Thanksgiving". Portland, Oregon: KATU. November 22, 2017. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  15. "The Top Five Places to Drink On Thanksgiving in Portland". Willamette Week. November 27, 2019. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  16. Singer, Matthew (October 15, 2013). "Pieces of Elliott: A brief guide to finding Elliott Smith in Portland". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  17. "My Father's Place". Portland Monthly. ISSN 1546-2765. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  18. "Ghost Stories From Portland's 5 Most Haunted Restaurants". Eater Portland. October 27, 2016. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  19. Cullivan, Rob (May 30, 2016). "What's So Funny? Bridgetown, That's What". Portland Tribune. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  20. Frane, Alex. "A List of Portland Restaurants Reopening for Patio or Dine-In Service". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  21. Dolan, Ciara (July 12, 2017). "Dive Bar Brunches". Portland Mercury. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  22. Cooper, Leonie (May 17, 2018). "The NME guide to Portland, Oregon". NME. BandLab Technologies. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  23. Frane, Alex. "14 Spots to Day-Drink in Portland". Eater Portland. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  24. Cottell, Pete (December 19, 2019). "The Most Fun Bars Open in Portland on Christmas Day". Thrillist. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  25. Korfhage, Matthew (September 21, 2016). "32 Places to Get a Beer for Less Than $2". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  26. Korfhage, Matthew (September 30, 2016). "These Happy Hours Are So Cheap—It's Unreal". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on February 12, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  27. Korfhage, Matthew (October 6, 2016). "Portland's Best Late Night Happy Hours". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on January 26, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  28. "A Guide to Creating Your Own Bar Crawl in Portland's Inner Eastside". Willamette Week. May 23, 2018. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  29. Singer, Matthew (December 19, 2018). "The Top Five Places to Drink in Portland on Christmas Day". Willamette Week. Archived from the original on December 30, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
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