PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Portland’s restaurant scene is fed up.
A recent survey shows more than 90% of restaurants that responded have dealt with break-ins or vandalism, don’t think the city is heading in the right direction and don’t feel supported by city leadership.
The point of the survey on Poached.com was to show people the numbers behind how many break-ins the restaurant is dealing with. Restaurant owners say oftentimes, there’s no point in calling the police about it.
A new food cart pod and brewery that opened up off SE Stark St. has only been open for a few months, but they’ve already been battling break-ins and getting propane tanks stolen.
Kurt Huffman, the owner of the Chef’s Table, which manages the pod, says they’ve put up fencing around to try and protect the carts on the inside and it’s been pretty effective. However, it cost them around $3,000 to secure the pod, a luxury Huffman knows smaller restaurants don’t have.
“Unless you want steel doors and a restaurant with no windows. It’s hard to have something where there’s not a risk of someone breaking in and you having to replace it,” Huffman said. “We don’t want to look like a bunker.”
The data from the survey shows 38% of the 108 businesses have considered closing because of crime. Nearly 92% have dealt with a break-in, 35% have had multiple break-ins and more than 83% have experienced vandalism.
Huffman says of the hundreds of break-ins at the 30 or so businesses he manages, he has reported maybe three or four to the police. He says spiking insurance rates and a response from officers that are often hours late, don’t make it worth it to call.
“We still wanted that data to get out somewhere,” Huffman said.
The survey also shows 97% of restaurant owners do not think the city is headed in the right direction and do not feel supported by city leaders. Additionally, nearly three-fourths say they don’t feel supported by the police bureau.
“Portland’s identity is having a wonderful food culture, from food trucks to fine dining, and these businesses are on the brink of wanting to get up and walk out. So, I think that we wanted to put that collective voice out there,” said Kirk Thornby, founder of Poached.com
Thornby says the survey was sent out to around 1,000 businesses and 108 responded.
“We’re going to lose these businesses we’re so proud of in the city,” he said.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Commissioner Carmen Rubio, who respectively oversee police and economic development bureaus, told KOIN 6 News they’re trying to increase police staffing and speed up police training to help these businesses. Wheeler pointed to behavioral and mental health issues as part of the problem.
“The lack of mental and behavioral health resources has contributed to increased crimes and break-ins. The Mayor has been very vocal on the slow rollout of service funds that were attached to Measure 110. This, combined with severe lack of mental and behavioral health services in Oregon, have created significant challenges for Portland and other cities across the state. We’re continuing to work closely with Multnomah County to find ways we can work together in addressing these issues locally. While the County oversees human services, we want to be a good partner as mental and behavioral health intersect with homelessness, crime and other top priorities in Portland,” the Mayor’s Office said.
“I am working with the bureau leaders in my portfolio to turn over every stone and use every tool we have to catalyze housing development, and build a stronger and supportive ecosystem for small businesses,” added Rubio. “At the same time, we know this is not enough, and we have clearly heard from small businesses about the devastating impact of crime, and need for proactive policing and meaningful public safety response when these things happen.”