"Fremont burger bar Stanich’s is slowly but surely reopening, the Portland Mercury reports. Handwritten signs with the day’s hours have started to appear on Stanich’s door, more than a year after the restaurant closed in January 2018, and almost four months after owner Steve Stanich’s legal issues came to light. The Mercury reported that the restaurant was open from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday night, specifying that the restaurant was “training new employees.” The restaurant is still marked as “permanently closed” on Yelp and Google. In 2017, Thrillist writer Kevin Alexander named Stanich’s cheeseburger the best burger in America, which Stanich publicly blamed for the closing of his restaurant months later. During the same time period, Stanich was arrested for drinking while driving, and was found guilty of reckless driving in April 2018. Those charges were filed during his probation for a previous domestic violence incident, in which he allegedly choked his now ex-wife in front of their son. Stanich was later acquitted of the DUII charge, and told Willamette Week that his legal troubles had “nothing to do” with the restaurant’s closure." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
