PORTLAND, Ore. — Suzanne Hale has seen a lot in her 27 years as owner of The Roxy, the venerable downtown diner on Southwest Harvey Milk Street.
"When we first moved in here it was corner-to-corner drug deals, hookers, car break-ins all through the neighborhood," Hale said. "We cleaned up the block."
Hale has also meant a lot to her team, to her customers and to those who needed shelter.
"It was important for me to come down here today and thank you for the chance you took on me," Seamus McVui, a former Roxy employee, told Hale.
The Roxy has been a haven for Portland's gay youth — some of them homeless, Hale said, and others who just needed a safe place to stay until the buses started running in the morning.
The pandemic made the last few years a rough ride, especially for a diner that depends on the night life. Hale said that The Roxy's 24-hour schedule is what paid the bills, and COVID-19 took its toll in that regard. The curfews and lockdowns may have ended, but downtown doesn't see the same foot traffic that it once did.
But the final blow for The Roxy was an eviction notice from the Portland Development Commission.
"They're going to rehab the building," Hale said, "and the commercial tenants are not invited back."
While some customers may miss the Arrogant French Toast or Dolly Parton Pancakes — offerings that one customer said epitomized the "fun, funky, kind of rude" Portland vibe — what's clear is that The Roxy will be remembered most for being much more than a restaurant.
"This place taught me more about people and how to interact with them and see people than I've learned at any other point in my life," McVui said.
"[We] show them it's okay to fall down, it's about getting up," Hale said, "and we give them room to get up here."