Dub's St. Johns

"Dub’s St. Johns, the soul-food restaurant specializing in fried chicken, barbecue, and waffles, is closing its doors for good on Saturday, October 13. Owner William “Dub” Travis wrote a Facebook post late Monday night, citing 15-hour work days and a lack of sustainable profit as the reasons for closing. “We aren’t making enough money to keep the doors open,” the post reads. “We’ve tried a good many things that we thought would be appealing to the community and bring in the amount of business to keep us going. Even with your wonderful support it just wasn’t enough.” The North Portland restaurant moved three separate times since it opened in 2012. The original Fremont location, Mack & Dub’s Excellent Chicken & Waffles, burned down less than a year after opening. The restaurant moved into the Ranger Tavern kitchen in 2013, before settling into a semi-formal restaurant space less than a year ago in December of 2017. In every location, Dub’s was celebrated for its food: The fried chicken was a longstanding member of Eater PDX’s fried chicken map, also garnering props from Thrillist and The Oregonian. The restaurant was active in the St. Johns community, sponsoring youth sports teams and delivering free meals to the area’s unhoused. Travis also organized 2018’s Support Black-Owned Restaurant Week, the annual celebration of restaurants owned by Black Portlanders." - Alex Frane

"Dub’s St. Johns, owned by William “Dub” Travis III, is known for its heavenly powdered-sugar-dusted chicken and waffles. Travis emphasizes that his restaurant is not just for black people but for everyone who wants to support minority-owned businesses." - Brooke Jackson-Glidden