I
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August 25, 2010
'ri,e IJortlanb (Dbsemer
IN S ID E
This page
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Page 3
Fred Meyer
What's on your list today?,
The Week in Review
S ustainability
C lassifieds
C alendar
page 10
photo by M ark W ashington /T he P ortland O bserver
Reo 's Ribs owner Reo Varnado is surrounded by his employees at his soul food and M ississippi
barbecue restaurant on Southwest Macadam Avenue.
Undaunted
IMU
O
pinion
pages 11-15
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by J ake
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pages 16-17
I J2k
I - te c h n o lo g y
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Reo’s thrives
despite
complaints,
racial barbs
pages 18-19
. :
F o o d
page 20
T homas
T he P ortland O bserver
Last April, Reo Varnado opened
the doors to his rib jo in t in a loca
tion that he thought would be
ideal.
Since opening up Reo's Ribs
Restaurant and Catering in a small
retail strip on Southwest Macadam
A venue, he said that business
has been good, with custom ers
flocking to his nationally-recog
nized eatery to buy barbecue, fried
okra, and sweet potato pie.
H ow ever, relations with the
neighbors haven’t been as rosy.
Varnado cooks his meats in two
large outdoor barbecues that con
stantly billow out smoke, to the ire
o f nearby residents and other
b u sin esses.
He said that conflict with neigh
bors has steadily escalated, but
h e ’s determ ined to keep his eat
ery open and thriving.
V arnado, the uncle o f hip hop
legend Snoop Dogg, originally
opened up his restaurant off of
TV Highway in Aloha in 1999. He
received a favorable write-up in
both the O regonian and Gourmet
M agazine, which called his bar
becued meats some o f the best
west o f Chicago.
After the lease expired, Varnado
decided it was time to move on. He
was considering a move back to
his native M ississippi after hav
ing a hard time finding a suitable
place to set up shop, until he came
across the current property at 6141
S.W. M acadam Avenue. He and
his business partner, Myra Girod,
secured the property and opened
its doors last spring.
N eighbors have com plained to
local media that the smoke has
dim inished the livability o f their
homes. A ccording to Varnado, a
wine shop in the retail strip, which
did not return a call for com m ent
by press time, has com plained that
custom ers are unhappy about the
smoky flavor of their wine. Neigh
bors also have grips about live
music played at the barbecue joint
on the weekends.
“I can ’t go to work happy. I
have to watch my back every
day,” said Varnado, who asked
the Portland police to periodically
check up on him.
He said that his tires to his car
have been slashed, and the barbe
cue has been vandalized. Varnado
also said that people have en
tered the restaurant during busi
ness hours cursing at him and
demanding money back. He claims
people have tried to provoke fights
with him. He also said he has been
verbally harassed by passersby
who say they are determ ined to
force him out, and people will take
his picture and then run off. One
evening, he said, som eone fol
lowed him all the way to his north
east Portland home.
The smell o f sm oke is present
the m inute you pull into the park
ing lot at the southw est eatery.
Inside, Varnado banter with a cus
tom er about m aking sweet tea,
w hile em ployees scurry about
carrying plates o f barbecue. Two
large portraits o f Snoop Dogg
adorn the walls.
Varnado has three pitch-black
barbecues that he uses oak, black
walnut, and fruitwood to heat, say
ing enhances the flavor o f the
meat. He seldom uses the largest
of his barbecues- which is easily
longer than 12 feet, higher than 6,
and is adorned with an ornate
“Reo’s Ribs”- because it particu
larly upsets neighbors.
“All hell breaks loose,” said
Varnado, still wearing a hairnet
and apron while taking a break to
feast on a plate o f fried cat fish
continued
on page 9