[Posted Friday, February 3, 2023]
Please Louise, an Italian-influenced restaurant and bar, has opened its second location at 6369 SW Capitol Hwy in the space formerly occupied by Oak & Olive. The first Please Louise outpost launched in NW Portland in 2016, around the same time that Oak & Olive became one of the first occupants of the newly constructed Wardin Building.
Current hours are Tuesday-Saturday from 4-9pm and may be expanded to six days as the weather warms up.
Owner Brian Carrick describes the Please Louise concept as a "neighborhood restaurant with awesome food, great drinks and good times, whether it’s a simple meal with kids or date night."
The menu will not be as pizza-centric as the NW location while still taking full advantage of the existing pizza oven. The Hillsdale spot will have added emphasis on starters, small plates, pastas and other entrees. Carrick says to expect more of a chef-driven focus, led by Chef Brian Lamback, a veteran of Wildwood and Tasty N Alder (both now shuttered). Cocktails will get more attention too, served in a welcoming and prominent bar section, not squeezed into a corner as an after-thought.
Why Hillsdale? Carrick says, “This a great space in a great location that is under-served as far as restaurants compared to other parts of town.” Add to that an enthusiastic pitch for the neighborhood by family members who live nearby, and Carrick was convinced that this was an opportunity to “keep doing what we do and become an anchor of the neighborhood.”
Oak & Olive closed quietly just a short time before Please Louise took up tenancy. In a recent phone conversation, Owner Maria Rosengreen provided some background for the closing, explaining that her husband and two children are living in Canada, where her son is playing hockey. Running two restaurants was too much for one person (Rosengreen continues to operate Masu Sushi, at 406 SW 13th Ave), and she is excited that now she will get to be with her family more. But, she added, “I regret that I didn’t get to say goodbye to all the amazing people I got to know while running Oak & Olive. I wish Brian (Carrick) and his team all the best and hope the neighborhood will embrace them.”
—Valeurie Friedman
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