McMenamins Closes All Locations except 23rd Ave. Bottle Shop
“Today, we’re taking the necessary and unprecedented step of temporarily closing the doors of all of our McMenamins locations in Oregon and Washington for the next several weeks," wrote Brian and Mike McMenamin in a statement today. That McMenamins Resaurants, Pubs, and Hotels are closing now is not a huge surprise, considering the Governor's mandated 4-week closure of bars and restaurants. But the fact that nearly 3,000 employees, nearly the entire staff, will be out of work is a staggering number.
"It’s taken a lifetime to build this company, together with the help of our employees and customers," say the McMenamins brothers. "This is something none of us ever could have anticipated."
It's unclear how far the layoffs go, but word of mouth in the industry is that all production operations have already been halted. What is even more baffling is what happens to the hundreds, (thousands?) of guests staying at the McMenamins hotels.
After exploring all options, we are laying off nearly 3,000 employees – almost everyone at the company – effective Today, March 17. This is drastic, but necessary, to allow our employees to file for unemployment benefits and ensure that there will be jobs to come back to when this extraordinary episode ends. And we are confident it will end. Until then, we thank you for your support and understanding and look forward to gathering with you again soon.”
“Today, we’re taking the necessary and unprecedented step of temporarily closing the doors of all of our McMenamins locations in Oregon and Washington for the next several weeks," wrote Brian and Mike McMenamin in a statement today. That they are closing now is not a huge surprise, considering the Governor's mandated 4-week closure of bars and restaurants. But the fact that nearly 3,000 employees, nearly the entire staff, will be out of work is a staggering number.
"It’s taken a lifetime to build this company, together with the help of our employees and customers," say the McMenamins brothers. "This is something none of us ever could have anticipated."
Layoffs are necessary at this time of the pandemic COVID-19 crisis, employees will now be able to file for unemployment benefits and hopefully come back to work in the coming months.
It's unclear how far the layoffs go, but word of mouth in the industry is that all production operations have already been halted. What is even more baffling is what happens to the hundreds, (thousands?) of guests staying at the McMenamins hotels. At this time, we are being told that no one is available for any follow-ups or information requests.
"Until then, we thank you for your support and understanding and look forward to gathering with you again soon” ends the Mcmenamins brothers statement.
In the meantime, McMenamins 23rd Avenue Bottle Shop is opening at 10am for to-go orders, they have an excellent selection of both non-Mcmenamins beers, ciders and wines, as well as their in-house produced products and spirits. The bottle shop is located at 2290 NW Thurman St. Portland, Oregon.