Local pizza chain closes most stores (biz graveyard list grows)

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

Portland’s home grown family-owned Hotlips Pizza has closed three of its five stores and laid off employees for the first time since opening in 1984, citing the pandemic, labor, and economic stresses in a press release. Co-owners Jeana Edelman and David Yudkin expressed regret over the need to close restaurants and lay off workers, but Yudkin said they plan to move forward with a smaller crew and smaller footprint.

The pizza chain has survived nearly 40 years without downsizing until Portland hit them with a depressed market which was caused by Portland’s high taxes, high regulations their crime wave, and their Covid business shut-down/rules (a year longer than other states).

Hot Lips pizza joins Cracker Barrell, Starbucks, Wal-Mart and others that have been shutting down stores in Oregon.

But there is more:

The Taxpayers Association previously reported on this restaurant crunch in Oregon.  Read below:

Three of Oregon’s largest events have been closed permanently.

• Oregon Symphony Waterfront festival.The Oregon Symphony Waterfront festival, known as the state’s “largest free community concert,” has called it quits.   The symphony cited a “payroll administration fees” and “a hoard of additional fees that are just crippling” as one reason.  Portland and Metro have increased payroll taxes making it one of the highest income tax places in America.  Portland and Metro have jacked up property taxes which raise rental costs (another issue cited by Oregon Symphony).

• Oregon Brewer’s Festival. The Oregon Brewer’s Festival has closed.  It was among the longest running brew events in the nation.  They cite “increasing cost to field the event” and “hospitality industry, which is at the core of our festival, is still working to recover from the effects of the pandemic”.   Costs are souring to do a big Portland public event because of rising security costs resulting from Portland’s crime wave and defunding police.  Politicians have increased alcohol license fees, business taxes, property taxes, payroll taxes, gas taxes and many other taxes.  Also, Portland’s airport travel and convention business is below the national average since the recovery.   Furthermore, as the Festival cites a poor hospitality industry in Portland is also a direct result of the industry being locked down longer than most states and then hit with new taxes that didn’t exist before the pandemic.

• Feast closes: Portland’s largest food fest has closed.  They cite, ““It was hard to try to get out there and work with an industry that just felt so wounded” as the reason.  Again, Oregon’s restaurant scene was “wounded” more than most places in America because Oregon kept itself locked down longer and more stricter than most places in America.   Oregon was among the last four states to drop their Covid rules on businesses in America — a full year behind other states.

Remember, last year (March 2022) Oregon was among the last four states to fully drop business restrictions on Covid.

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