PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When Dennis King opened the Veritable Quandary in 1971, the menu was a ham sandwich, a shrimp salad, a Budweiser Light or dark and a glass of wine.
His primary customers at that time were college students.
“Kids started wanting gin-and-tonics and Irish coffees, so I got a liquor license,” King told KOIN 6 News Tuesday, the day he said the iconic restaurant known to all as VQ will close at the end of the summer.
The people at the bar became the developers of the city. As downtown Portland grew, King had a front row seat.
All the while, VQ was being cemented in history.
“I feel today that we’re Portland’s front yard,” King said. “You could live in the most beautiful mansion in the West Hills and not have a nicer garden than we have here.”
Multnomah County announced they bought the building that currently houses the iconic Veritable Quandary and will remove the restaurant building to include the site in the new central courthouse project.
Dennis King has owned and operated the restaurant on SW 1st Avenue for 45 years, at the spot the county plans to break ground late this year.
In April, the Multnomah County Commission unanimously approved building a new courthouse in the lot adjacent to Veritable Quandary and intended to use the patio of the restaurant for the site.
Back then, King choked up as he begged the commissioners not to pick the site he believed would destroy his business. Although he owns the VQ building, the patio property is leased from the county.
One of the reasons King agreed to sell the building to the county is because he’s concerned the aging brick would not survive a large construction project.
He will keep the restaurant open until the fall.
“It’s kind of a bummer,” customer Tim Navarette said. “The VQ has been a part of the restaurant-and-business scene for a long time.”
Another customer, Victoria Harrer, agreed. “It’s just awful. It’s a great establishment. It’s been here a long time and they should honor it.”
That’s what Dennis King wants people to do.
“We’ll be open all summer and have a great summer,” he said. “I want people to come down and see us and tell us how their kids grew up, tell us the story of their lives because a lot of them started here.”
But he said the time to finally turn off the lights for good will come this summer. The restaurant has been the fuel for his life.
“It’s been a pretty cool ride.”KOIN 6 News reporters Brent Weisberg and Amy Frazier contributed to this report.