American Dream Pizza, which served its first pies in Northeast Portland nearly 40 years ago, eventually spinning off a beloved Corvallis pizzeria chain of the same name, closed unexpectedly last week, according to notes taped to the restaurant’s front door.
“American Dream Pizza is temporarily closed for cleaning and minor remodeling,” the note reads. “We are looking for (new) ownership. If you are interested please email americandreamportland4sale@gmail.com.”
According to co-founder Sebastian Malinow, 66, a long-simmering plan to sell the restaurant to a pair of former employees fell through earlier this month, leading to the closure. Malinow now hopes to sell the business — preferably to someone who wants to keep American Dream as is — and retire.
“I just ripped the bandaid off,” said Malinow. “It’s been an emotional week. If someone wanted to come in and give me $2 million to put a strip club in, and the Sisters of Providence would let them, I would do it. But that’s not my goal.”
Like its neighbors, including the long-vacant former Laurelhurst Florist space, the American Dream building, 4620 N.E. Glisan St., is owned by Providence Portland Medical Center, the large hospital across the street.
Though Caro Amico (opened in 1949) was likely the first Portland restaurant to serve pizza, among dedicated pizzerias, only a few places — Old Town Pizza (1974), Escape From New York (1983), Hot Lips (1984) — are older than American Dream. According to its website, American Dream was one of the first locations to pour Widmer beer, and is known for its funky decor, including pizza box art drawn by customers.
Though Portland’s American Dream came first, the brand might be better known to Oregon State University students and other Corvallis residents for the independently owned spin-off chain operated under the same name there. In 2008, then-presidential candidate Barack Obama stopped by American Dream in Corvallis, where his brother-in-law Craig Robinson was working as a basketball coach.
Former employees say they were informed about the Portland restaurant’s imminent closure late last week.
According to Malinow, though the pizzeria is 38 years old, the journey to open it started 40 years ago, when he and McFarland first began hunting for spaces to open their pizzeria. The name came from Malinow’s parents, an Argentine immigrant like his mother, who taught him how to braid the edges of empanadas, a practice carried over on the restaurant’s pizza.
Malinow is looking for a buyer for American Dream Pizza, 4620 N.E. Glisan St. Interested parties should mail americandreamportland4sale@gmail.com.
— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com
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