LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. — Portland restaurant diners choosing to skip downtown and instead head to the ‘burbs are creating quite the change in Lake Oswego. The once sleepy town is now embracing an ever-changing culinary scene, and word is getting around.
Restaurant-goers "want what they had in Portland," according to Eric Mann, owner Mann's on the Lake. It's one of Lake Oswego's newest restaurants and hosted its first lunch Wednesday. Mann described it as the only restaurant truly on the lake.
"I just knew this was a hidden gem," he said. "Kind of a gold mine."
Mann and his girlfriend took over the former Stickman Brewing building. They've added an additional 70 seats inside and created a swanky cocktail lounge with candlelight.
"We are looking for moderately priced restaurants, not the top-of-the-line restaurants," said Sandy Desmond, a customer who has lived in Lake Oswego for 40 years.
Mann's joins a lineup of diverse restaurants in downtown Lake Oswego that "keeps getting better and better," according to customer Wayne Westwood.
But even with the boon of new customers, restaurants in the suburbs still have to bend with the economy. Bugatti’s Italian Restaurant in West Linn near the Lake Oswego city border, is closing its location on Sunday after a 30-year run.
An operations manager said the staff and many longtime customers are heartbroken. The Bugatti's in Oregon City will remain open. The upscale Mercato Grove project — built just three years ago in north Lake Oswego — has also had several restaurant closures.
Mann, with three restaurants under his belt, said he thinks service with a smile is the key to keeping customers happy.
"If we can get you what you need and what you want, we're doing that," he said.
There's a similar can-do attitude at Lake Oswego's new Lake View Taphouse, which replaced Manzana and opened in April.
"It's got a great vibe to it," said Jeff Skeele, the CEO of Lake View Taphouse parent company Five Spice Restaurant Group. "It's light and airy; the exact opposite of what it was before."
The restaurant boasts 8,000 square feet of dining space, which Skeele said would usually make managers anxious about filling each seat, but he said it's a sign that he and other restauranteurs are betting big on Lake Oswego. The taphouse is serving growing demand from out-of-the area customers, which Skeele called a desperately needed niche.
"I think Lake Oswego is going to be more of a destination," he said.