PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Saying “the economic reality is that we simply cannot afford to reopen these locations,” Chef Andy Ricker announced 4 Pok Pok locations would close permanently “so that the original Pok Pok on Division Street may have a chance of reopening when it is safe and financially tenable to do so.”
Ricker posted this on the Pok Pok Facebook Monday afternoon.
Pok Pok NW, Whiskey Soda Lounge, Poke Pok Wing NE and Pok Pok Wing SW will close permanently he said.
He cited a number of reasons for the closures: It’s unsafe for workers without a cohesive plan for testing and tracing COVID-19, no policy on masks, no vaccine, no treatment, restrictions on operating in Phases 1 and 2, carrying costs while waiting to reopen and the cost of reopening itelf.
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“Unfortunately I fear announcements like this will be common in the coming weeks and months,” he wrote.
“This announcement seems trivial when held against the importance of where we are as a nation and community in the struggle against systemic racism and the endemic police brutality against black people and BIPOC,” he wrote. “If it wasn’t clear enough by my public stance on social media, Pok Pok as a brand and I personally stand with the BLM movement and will continue to support it in whatever way possible.”