"Concordia Italian bar Nonna will get out of the nightly pasta game at the end of the month. Restaurant group Dept. of Food & Shelter says the bar and restaurant will become a pop-up space and private event venue starting in October. Nonna is one of the various restaurants under the Dept of Food & Shelter umbrella, which includes nearby restaurants Yakuza and DOC. Only open for five years, Nonna offers casual pastas, live music, and a noteworthy kid’s happy hour that earned it a spot on the Eater Portland kid-friendly restaurant map. Still, according to owner Dayna McErlean, the size of Portland’s restaurant scene has made it hard to compete. 'The restaurant business in Portland is seemingly thriving but also increasingly tough,' McErlean says. 'In recent years, pressure from higher costs and competition has brought us to this turning point.' McErlean will keep Yakuza and DOC open, while also focusing on Nonna as an event space. The restaurant will begin to truncate its hours this month, only open from 5 p.m. until close on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Nonna’s last night open, then, should be September 28." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden
