The Veritable Quandary to Close - say it ain't so?!?!?!

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

The Veritable Quandary will be closing, after selling its' property to Multnomah County. One of my favorite restaurants, and where I typically spent my weekend evenings with friends (rather than lame dance clubs).

http://katu.com/news/local/veritable-quandary-will-sell-to-county-ahead-of-courthouse-project

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Big Government!

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

As far as I can tell, the GOVERNMENT owned the patio area and was basically going to erect a huge building with construction right next to the restaurant, long time Portland institutions be damned.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

^Exactly. But they didn't HAVE to close.

 

[MarAzul]

Big Government!

Not too smart either! Flood waters have reached up past 3rd street at least twice in the past 50 years. Why the hell would you build a new Court House in the flood plain?

My office was about two blocks away when that place opened. We were just above one flood, and not quite another time but I was not working there by then.

It seems funny, to me anyway, to see the restaurant referred to as a Portland insititution, but then it doesn't seem right to loose it. Somehow a restaurant in a flood plain seems alright,
but a Court house seems very dumb.

Oh! Why is the address Hawthorne ST in that article? Isn't Hawthorne on the East side and Madison on the West?

 

[MARIS61]

Not too smart either! Flood waters have reached up past 3rd street at least twice in the past 50 years. Why the hell would you build a new Court House in the flood plain?

Probably for a river view?

Moving it 10-12 blocks farther from the river would save the city about 40% of the land cost.

Government buildings should be basic non-descript boxes designed to shelter workers and their equipment while they serve the citizens. They should not be multi-mega-million dollar monuments to architectural decadence.

 

[barfo]

Pretty sure (a) it will be built to withstand floods; and (b) only the parking garage will flood if it does.
Also, the land was already owned by the county (it has an off-ramp running through it).

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

Government should own land. Fuck the people.

 

[MarAzul]

the land was already owned by the county

The should sell it. A court house does not need a river view, parking space would be good.

 

[barfo]

Government should own land. Fuck the people.

Uhm, which people are fucked, exactly, by the government owning that land?

Maybe the criminals in the jail next door (which is why it is a good location for the courthouse - minimizes prisoner transport costs).

barfo

 

[barfo]

As far as I can tell, the GOVERNMENT owned the patio area and was basically going to erect a huge building with construction right next to the restaurant, long time Portland institutions be damned.

Not sure what your point is here.

If GOVERMENT didn't own it, someone else would be erecting a huge building with construction right next to the restaurant, long time Portland institutions be damned.

barfo

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Not sure what your point is here.

If GOVERMENT didn't own it, someone else would be erecting a huge building with construction right next to the restaurant, long time Portland institutions be damned.

barfo

That's speculation.

 

[Further]

I loved that place. Sad to see it go. I have some amazing memories there.

 

[HailBlazers]

I loved that place. Sad to see it go. I have some amazing memories there.

Such a bummer. Place is always packed.

 

[jlprk]

Why should prisoners and hanging judges get the great view? You rich guys have earned it.

 

[ripcityboy]

That always looked like a place where people wore derbies and discussed the "ballyhoo" from the latest New Yorker article. I was usually down at the Ash Street Saloon puking my guts out after drinking too much PBR and cider.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Denny Crane]

Uhm, which people are fucked, exactly, by the government owning that land?

Maybe the criminals in the jail next door (which is why it is a good location for the courthouse - minimizes prisoner transport costs).

barfo

The owner of the restaurant:

"We explored a number of alternatives with the county to keep the restaurant open," said Mr. King. "I appreciate the efforts everyone made. In the end, the only viable financial alternative for me was to sell the property."

"VQ" has been open at the location for the last 45 years, known as one of the early leaders in Portland's emerging culinary scene.

And the patrons of the place.

 

[barfo]

The owner of the restaurant:

"We explored a number of alternatives with the county to keep the restaurant open," said Mr. King. "I appreciate the efforts everyone made. In the end, the only viable financial alternative for me was to sell the property."

"VQ" has been open at the location for the last 45 years, known as one of the early leaders in Portland's emerging culinary scene.

And the patrons of the place.

What you may not realize, not being local, is that someone else would be likely be building on that site if not the government. It's a vacant lot downtown, and there aren't many of those left.

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

What you may not realize, not being local, is that someone else would be likely be building on that site if not the government. It's a vacant lot downtown, and there aren't many of those left.

barfo

For 45 years, things were built around that location. Only when government decided to build did it kill a local institution and favorite of the people.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

I don't blame the local government or the VQ owner. It is what it is. The government has the right to build on the land they own, part of which the VQ was using for what many considered the best patio in town. The VQ wouldn't have had the same vibe without the patio, and without the big windows overlooking the outdoors.

I'm not quite sure why the owner felt he had no other option, though. He could have operated without the patio.

That being said, government ruins everything. I blame Obama!

 

[barfo]

For 45 years, things were built around that location. Only when government decided to build did it kill a local institution and favorite of the people.

LOL. You literally have no idea what you are talking about.

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

LOL. You literally have no idea what you are talking about.

barfo

The facts are in black and white.

Government killed this business.

Fuck the People.

 

[UncleCliffy'sDaddy]

The facts are in black and white.

Government killed this business.

Fuck the People.

Dammit Denny. You're forcing me to agree with you....

 

[oldmangrouch]

For 45 years, things were built around that location. Only when government decided to build did it kill a local institution and favorite of the people.

If "government" had sold that land 30 years ago, the VQ would have been out of business 29 years ago. Your argument is out-of-step with the reality of the local market.

 

[Denny Crane]

If "government" had sold that land 30 years ago, the VQ would have been out of business 29 years ago. Your argument is out-of-step with the reality of the local market.

You and barfo must use crystal balls. We know for sure what happened recently. You have no clue if your assertion is true. You would have to go back in time to somehow prove it.

I had an office below a restaurant. They wanted to expand so they paid us to move. I think that is more likely - a deal between two private parties.

 

[The Professional Fan]

I barfed hefeweizen off that patio.

 

[barfo]

I had an office below a restaurant. They wanted to expand so they paid us to move. I think that is more likely - a deal between two private parties.

You still aren't understanding the situation then. The government did not take VQs building or land, nor would a private party need to acquire their building or land in order to build on the adjacent lot. A private party would have no reason to make a deal with the restaurant owner, they'd be free to build a tower on their own land just as the government was free to do so. Property rights, y'know?

barfo

 

[Denny Crane]

You still aren't understanding the situation then. The government did not take VQs building or land, nor would a private party need to acquire their building or land in order to build on the adjacent lot. A private party would have no reason to make a deal with the restaurant owner, they'd be free to build a tower on their own land just as the government was free to do so. Property rights, y'know?

barfo

Crystal ball? There you go again.

Property rights means you get to charge rent if you want.

At the very least, the government destroyed a viable business, putting people out of work needlessly, destroyed a local landmark of sorts, and now you're going to have to tax 10 people to pay salary for each government worker that works in the new building.

None of it makes sense.

The government simply has no compelling interest in owning the land or many years later using it to destroy this business. If they needed the land to build, they should have done so in the first place. The restaurant would have established itself for 45+ years somewhere else.

 

[riverman]

Sometimes I think Government offices shouldn't even be in permanent buildings, they should be in RVs. Give the money to Oregonian RV builders in the valley who've suffered and laid off folks for awhile now. Then all they'd need would be parking spots

 

[barfo]

Crystal ball? There you go again.

Property rights means you get to charge rent if you want.

At the very least, the government destroyed a viable business, putting people out of work needlessly, destroyed a local landmark of sorts, and now you're going to have to tax 10 people to pay salary for each government worker that works in the new building.

None of it makes sense.

The government simply has no compelling interest in owning the land or many years later using it to destroy this business. If they needed the land to build, they should have done so in the first place. The restaurant would have established itself for 45+ years somewhere else.

You really don't get it, do you. The restaurant is NOT on the land the government is building on. They were NOT forced to vacate. They chose to, probably because the construction noise next door would be a detriment to business. But that's a risk every business that doesn't own all neighboring land runs.

barfo