Der Rheinländer closes doors
ICONIC GERMAN RESTAURANT SAYS AUF WIEDERSEHEN
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KRISTEN WOHLERS
Accordion music resounded throughout
the restaurant, the sound o f drunken
laughter exploded from the table beside
us, a child danced as her family celebrated
in the room ahead of us, and I lamented
over fondue and hefeweizen because it
was my last visit to Der Rheinländer.
Portland’ s beloved German restaurant
closed at the end of 2016 after more than
50 years in business. Der Rheinländer
went out with a bang, celebrating their
last day open and their m any years in
service with a New Year’s Eve celebration,
which was open to the public.
G u te n F o o ds, th e ow ner o f Der
Rheinländer, sold the NE Sandy Boulevard
building to P ortland -based property
developer Venerable Properties, according
to a press release. The sale closed in
September of 2016.
The news came as a shock to many, who,
like me, count the restaurant as a favorite.
I grew up going there to celebrate family
birthdays, and I vividly remember visiting
the restaurant for my eighth birthday.
Toward the end of our m eal, the staff
began to gather around our table, the
accordion burst out the birthday song and
our server huddled in close to serenade
me on my special day. My cheeks turned
bright red. And I loved every minute of it.
“ We have hosted three, and in some
cases four generations of customers at Der
Rheinländer,” Guten Foods CEO Suzeanne
Mager said, according to the release.
S in c e th e a n n o u n c e m e n t, D e r
R h einländer lovers cam e out o f the
w oodw ork, and the restau ran t w as
hopping with visitors in its last months.
In the last week, for a table of two, there
were only two time slots available when
Icalled to make a reservation.
“ Everybody is just coming in for that
one last tim e,” said server Kyla Bouts
Der Rheinlander had evolved over the
years since the founding ch ef, Horst
M ager, w hom th eir w ebsite deem s
“ P ortland’ s original celebrity c h e f,”
first opened the restaurant in 1963. His
daughter Suzeanne purchased G uten
Foods in the 1990s..
. In the past, singing was a part of the
app lication process for servers. But
Bouts explained that in the end, this was
no longer a requirement since singing
servers were harder to come by than the
usual kind.
According to a Venerable Properties
blog post w ritten by Carolyn Pantier,
the developer w ill begin construction
in the spring: The new building will be
home to the Portland Clinic and will have
additional office or retail space available
for other tenants.
For lon g-tim e Der Rheinlander fans,
it’ s depressing to imagine people in the
building serving up flu shots and vaccines
instead of schnitzel and bratwurst. But
take heart, their fam ous fondue w ill
still be readily available in the Portland
area. Gustav’ s and Gustav’ s Bargarten
restaurants w ill continue d ishing out
delicious G erm an food in Portland,
Vancouver, Tigard, Clackamas and Keizer,
where Der Rheinlander’s staff members
will transfer.
But in order to get that authentic
German experience, where people walk
around wearing lederhosen and dirndls,
Portlanders w ill have to settle for a
once-per-year Oktoberfest celebration
somewhere, which won’t be the same.
Left: A plate of the legendary fondue
waits to be devoured by customers.
Top right: Kristen Wohlers enjoys a
stein of hefeweizen.
Right: Patrons gather around the table
at Der Rheinlander one final time.
4 ClackamasRrint JANUARY 25,2017 theclaekamasprintcom
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