P age B3
1 he P ortland O bserver • D ecember 7, 1994
^ o rtla n b (©bseruer
ENTERTAIN MEN
Old Chicago To Open Near Town Center
Toni
Braxton
In addition to listing her as
among the most beautiful women in
the world. People magazine calls Toni
B ra x to n ’s m e sm e riz in g v o ic e
“unique enough to make her the model
.to match in years to come. Time
observes that Braxton “seems des­
tined for pop diva-dom.” The New
York Times adds to the accolades,
declaring h er“rich, throaty, alto [and]
torchy lovelorn style a throwback to
an earlier era.”
Indeed, eversince Toni Braxton
began her 1992 hit-making path with
“Give U My Heart” (a duet with
m aster p ro d u c e r/re c o rd in g sta r
Babyface) and “Love Should Have
Brought You Home,” chart-tipping
singles taken from the Multi-Plati-
n u m -p lu s
L aFace
R e c o rd s’
soundtrack for the Eddie Murphy
movie “Boomerang,” music buyers
and industry insiders eagerly await­
ed this dynamic singer’s all-im por­
tant first album. Toni didn’t disap­
point: Her critically acclaimed debut
album Toni Braxton has been certi­
fied Quadruple Platinum, selling well
over four million copies since its July
1993 release, and has won two Gram­
my, Soul Train and American Music
Awards Each, In keeping with the
LaFace tradition o f creating quality
music, Toni took her time to put to­
gether an astonishing debut boasting
two #1 Gold singles, “ Another Sad
Love Song” and “Breathe Again.”
Her reaction to her success is a
combination o f amazement and mat­
ter o f factness. “I still don't feel that
I have made it, but deep down inside
1 knew it would happen.” As a show­
case for her vocal artistry, T oni’s
self-titled album is quite literally,
breathtaking. Hauntingly soulful on
Toni Braxton
“Another Sad Love Song” (the first
single, written by Babyface), smol­
dering with sensuality on the jazzy
“Seven W hole Days” (another L.A.
& Babyface classic in-the-making)
or groovin’ with the upbeat “I Be­
long To You,” T oni’s prowess as a
passionate and vibrant young song­
stress is fully evident. Toni switches
moods with consummate ease on an
album destined to establish her as
one o f the music scene’s most excit­
ing new singers. W hether expressing
tenderness (“You Mean The World
To Me,: an L.A ./Babyface/D aryl
Simmons composition), joy (“Spend­
ing My T im e ” ), m e la n c h o ly
(“ B re a th e A g a in ” ), p ain (B e st
Friends” ) or sexuality (“ C andle­
light”), Toni Braxton brings an em o­
tional honesty to every track on her
very special premier musical outing.
Producer L.A. Reid who chose the
quality o f the songs remarks the key
to her success was finding the right
material for her “mature voice, great
tone, great delivery, and impeccable
stage presence.”
“As a whole project, this album
expresses who I am,” says Toni. “And
that’s a typical young woman, w ho’s
been through some o f life’s experi­
ences, w ho’s been through some o f
love’s ups and downs, a woman who
has a lot o f love to give. The songs on
this first record are real, they’re about
things that people experience in rela­
tionships with love heartbreak and
all that goes along with dealing with
everyday situations.”
O ffering P o rtland’s suburb
more than pizza and p a sta -O ld
Chicago set to become the neigh­
borhood hang out.
Old Chicago is set to open De­
c e m b e r 10, ju s t in tim e fo r
Milwaukie-area residents that are
looking forward to the best part of
the holidays, rewarding ones
shopping efforts with a little
neighborhood fun and re­
laxation.
The 7,500 square foot
Old Chicago restaurant, lo­
cated at 11211 South East
82nd A v e ., in th e o ld
Fudruckers space, will offer
a lively, yet comfortable at­
mosphere for its patrons to
delight in great food. It
will also serve as a gath­
ering place for friends
and family to watch
sports, play pool, «
try a new beer or
j ust talk over a fresh­
ly-made pizza or pas­
ta. Hours o f operation
will be conducive to
n e ig h b o rh o o d
g et-
togethers as well: 11 a.m.-
2:00 a m., daily.
Gary Foreman, Direc­
tor o f Operations, sees the
Portland-areaas an obvious
location choice for Old Chi­
cago, “Old Chicago’s credo
is to p ro v id e fa n ta stic c u sto m e r
se rv ic e , g re a t fo o d and th a t
h ard -to -d e fin e little e x tra th at
ensures c u sto m ers know th a t we
care about them and th e ir c o m ­
m unity. T his seem s to be in
synch w ith w hat P o rtla n d e rs ’
v a lu e .”
Demi DeSoto, Executive Di­
rector o f the Clackamas Chamber o f
Commerce, thinks that Old Chicago
is exactly what the Milwaukee-area
needs: “This area has been growing
at a tremendous rate andwewelcome
O ld
C h ic a g o
which has a
strongcommu-
n ity c o m ­
mitment and J
X. will be a
p e rfe c t \
f
place for
fam ilies and
neighborsto
meet."
O ld C h ic a - g o ’s broad but
moderately priced menu features Chi­
cago-styled deep-dish pizza, along
with more than 40 other items, in­
cluding appetizers, burgers, sand­
wiches, calazones, large salads, a
pasta bar and dessert. Menu items
are prepared daily with local high-
quality, fresh ingredients from orig­
inal recipes. Specialty pizza com bi­
nations include non-traditional top­
pings such as artichokes, Roma to­
m atoes, shrim p and barbecued
chicken as well as traditional top­
pings.
Aside from the main
dining area, the pub will
offer over 110 beers, fea­
turing 30 Northwest beers
on tap. In addition, Old
C h icag o ’s brew ed-on-
prem ise beer features
W rigley Red, a 1993
G reat A m erican B eer
F e stiv a l G o ld M edal
Winner. Brew pub cus­
to m e rs can e n jo y
s p o rts p ro g ra m s
show n on tw o
I large screen tele
visions or enter­
tainm ent provided
by two pool tables.
A m e rc h a n d ise
area, will offer a vari­
ety o f interesting gifts
to take home including t-
shirts, sweatshirts, glasses
and “home-brew kits” for
patrons to learn to create
th e ir ow n m ic ro b re w
conncotions; Old Chicago
will also sell “beer-to go”
Finally, as warm weather ap
proaches outdoor seating for 60 be­
come available.
Rock Bottom Restaurants, Inc
a publicly-held company, operates
Old Chicago.
For more information about Old
Chicago, contact Lisa McCrummen
206-722-8268
FREE CONSUMER INFORMATION CATALOG
Send your t w t m r and address Io
Consumer Information Center
Department Sotirce • Pueblo Color ado H1009
Music Millennium J)
32nd & E.Burnside
231-8926
Store
503-331-1718
23rd & NW Johnson
248-0163
3415 NE Broadway
Portland, OR 97212
B o o g ie Cal P r o d u c tio n s P r e se n ts
‘■°o k f o r , h e s h o w o „
S u n d a y m o r n in g ,.
& '?na*6ie TZeddisty.
«r-
“76e ycttt&tMAtefi
Every Wednesday
At Parchman Farm
1204 SE Clay
9:00 pm - 12:00 am
Gome Along-
To Busy Toivn
GOOD, LOW VOLUME MUSIC, FINE
FOODS, AND NO COVER CHARGE
T he e «chanU «g W° rld of
cvw\A ren' s
^Utho1 Richard Scarry comes to television for ,f,e very
first time in a delightful new animated series.
Showtime features quality family programs that kids
will love, and busy parents can trust.
Only on
PARAGON
T O CaNeviMonof
Oregon Int
Don't Miss Richard Scarry's
The Norman Sylvester Band
’’Northwest Original R&B”
Performance Schedule
BAYTOW N
Sept. 24 - fan. 2
C
24-1 lour Blues Hotline #281 -5989
SHOWTIME. »
e » Sum »
IMwon, lac * i"'’
« rmiwnt Karn
Wi™»"» » > »"»» ¿ Sho-ww Wworti mt
1945 SE Water Ave. • Portland, Oregon (503) 797-4000
JAN 31 - FEB 5 Eight Performances
Portland C ivic Auditorium
iiJ W l
not
C H A O M -tT -e M O M
(9 0 3 ) 1 1 4 -4 4 0 0
ON SALE NOW!
A*A
S
G ro u p D iscou nts
(503) 299-4095
“Young Adult Special."
$10 discount 16 & under,
Tues. & Wed., select seats only.