Sad end to a family dining era: Bend’s Shari’s Restaurants close, joining troubled chain’s other sudden shutdowns

Redmond's Shari's closed days earlier: 'THE WORLD IS SHORT STAFFED'

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – The doors were still open around 3 p.m. Sunday at the Shari’s Restaurant on Bend’s north end, where thousands of people have enjoyed pies, pancakes, parties and a variety of meals, family gatherings and chats with the servers, day and night for decades.

But not for long.

We entered the restaurant along Business Highway 97 (Third Street) then, and while some lights were on, others were not. It was much quieter than usual – too quiet, you might say.

The sign by the cash register, still seeking patience from waiting customers, read, “THE WORLD IS SHORT STAFFED.” Next to it, the typically full multi-level pie case was sadly empty.

“We’ve just closed, permanently - just now,” a waitress told us at the door.

Soon, a two-word, handwritten sign was taped to the door: “Restaurant closed.”

A typical stream of would-be customers, showing up for a quick bite and a chat with friendly servers, were surprised, saddened and dismayed – even shocked.

“Where am I going to eat now? I come here all the time!” one said.

The Shari’s on Bend’s south end at Pinebrook Plaza also was set to close by 8 p.m., we were told, confirming a tip emailed to NewsChannel 21.

The Bend locations aren’t the first Shari’s around the Northwest to suddenly close in recent months, and likely not the last. The chain’s Redmond restaurant closed just a few days earlier, as did one in Pendleton.

As KGW and others reported previously, the Beaverton-based family restaurant chain has hit rough sledding in recent months, struggling with unpaid bills and lawsuits as it tried to recover from the COVID pandemic's impact.

The first Shari’s opened in Hermiston in 1978 and it grew over the years to nearly 100 locations across Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Nebraska and Wyoming.

You don’t have to go far on Bend’s Third Street to find other signs of change, wanted or not, in the world of casual dining.

To the north, IHOP closed earlier this year, shortly after a driver crashed into and almost toppled their distinctive sign. To the south, Deschutes Junction Pizza Grill Taphouse, formerly a Round Table Pizza, closed this summer as well, when their lease ended and the longtime owners retired.

And it's in no way limited to Bend, as Redmond's Black Bear Diner closed last spring.

Restaurants come and go all the time – next-door to the north Bend Shari's, the longtime McGrath’s Fish House closed several years ago, and eventually became the new location for Chi Chinese & Sushi Bar. And Bend's Reddit subreddit had a post and thread Sunday about last week's closure of Chomp Chomp downtown.

But Shari’s has been a dependable, predictable and favorite option for many Northwest residents and travelers alike for many years.

“It’s too bad,” one would-be diner said Sunday, before climbing back in her pickup to find another place to eat.