A LOVED pizzeria is closing its doors unexpectedly after almost 40 years in business.
American Dream Pizza opened its doors in the fall of 1985 and served the Northeast Portland, Oregon community.
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The pizzeria became famous for letting children draw on their boxes for the Box Contest.
Their pizza dough was a beloved third-generation recipe that used non-GMO flours from Pendleton Flour Mills
The local pizzeria was so successful that it opened a second location with the same name in Corvallis, located near Oregon State University.
The Corvallis location even caught the attention of former President Barack Obama, who visited the pizzeria during his 2008 campaign.
Scott McFarland and Sebastian Manilow founded American Dream and McFarland opened the Corvallis location in 1989.
Manilow is now ready to hang up his hat and put the original location up for sale.
“I just ripped the bandage off,” he said Oregon live.
“It was an emotional week. If someone wanted to come and give me $2 million to open a strip club, and the Sisters of Providence allowed it, I would do it. But that’s not my goal,” he continued.
The Sisters of Providence run the hospital across the street and own the pizzeria building.
American Dream was inspired by one of Portland’s oldest pizzerias, Caro Amico, which opened in 1949.
Caro Amico is owned by Manilow’s co-founder, Scott McFarland’s family.
The pizzeria is now a Portland landmark and is still owned and operated by McFarland’s mother, Elsie Baker McFarland, according to their website.
American Dream Pizza has been loved by the community since a local radio personality praised it as the “best pizza in Portland.”
“The next day we had a line out the door. We never looked back and we’ve been rocking and rolling ever since,” their website to read.
Restaurant Closings in 2024
BOSSes of major restaurant chains have announced a series of restaurant closures. The US Sun has compiled a list of those affected by the network.
- Biscuit Barrel: Stores in Medford, Oregon, Columbia, South Carolina and Sacramento, California, closed.
- Mod Pizza: Bosses dramatically closed 27 stores in April, including some in the state of California.
- Frisch’s Big Boy: Restaurant bosses confirmed the closure of a restaurant in Covington, Kentucky, in April.
- Outback Steakhouse: The chain will close 41 “underperforming” locations this year.
- Two dolars: Four restaurants in Ohio closed in April.
- Pepper: A restaurant in Port Arthur, Texas, has closed permanently, as has another in Irvine, California.
- Friendly: Bosses have confirmed that an establishment in Ronkonkoma, Long Island, will close.
- Pizza Hut: A restaurant in Glen Falls, New York, closed in late March, followed by four in Ohio in June and 15 in Indiana.
- Danny: Two restaurants in Boise and Nampa, Idaho, have closed.
- Carl’s Jr.: The first location in Boise, Idaho, has closed.
- In and out: A location in Oakland closed earlier this year due to crime in the area.
- cheesecake factory: The chain is expected to close a location in Memphis, Tennessee, in July.
- Applebee’s: Announced the closure of between 25 and 35 locations this year.
- Taco John’s: He closed a restaurant in Minnesota and put the building up for sale in May.
- Rubio’s Coastal Grill: Announced the closure of 48 locations in California after filing for bankruptcy.
- Burger King: It closed a California location in June after 30 years.
Unfortunately, those days are coming to an end as Manilow is looking for a buyer to take over the restaurant.
He told Oregon Live there was a plan to sell the restaurant to former employees, but it fell through earlier this month.
However, there is still hope for those who want to see the American dream in business.
Manilow told the publication he would prefer to sell the business to a buyer who wants to keep American Dream intact so he can retire.
The US Sun reached out to American Dream Pizza for comment but did not immediately hear back.
BUSINESS OF MISERY
American Dream Pizza isn’t the only restaurant closing its doors.
A Washington-based pizzeria called Mod Pizza may also close due to bankruptcy fears.
Sources revealed Bloomberg that Mod could face legal action after closing 26 locations this year.
The community of Pasadena, California, is also mourning the loss of a popular local restaurant, Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles.
The restaurant had been in operation for 30 years and was known for its soul food.
Roscoe’s announced the closure with a sign outside its door, but assured customers that it was looking for another updated location to reopen the business.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
