Named First
Citizen
‘City
of
Roses’
Volume XLVIII • Number 14
Does I-5 Fix Fail
on Equity?
Education
advocate Ron
Herndon honored
New testimony
focuses on black
community
See Local News, page 3
See inside, page 3
www.portlandobserver.com
Wednesday • April 10, 2019
Established in 1970
Committed to Cultural Diversity
Wayne Cannon
downsizes to
keep barbeque
history alive
d anny p eterson
t he p ortland o bserver
In an effort to keep a piece of Portland
barbecue history alive, Cannon’s Rib Ex-
press, which has cemented itself as a com-
munity hub with its award-winning hickory
smoked dishes and friendly atmosphere for
a generation, is moving from a fixed-loca-
tion, sit-down restaurant—where the cost
was getting too high to operate--to a food
cart, proprietor and chef Wayne Cannon
told the Portland Observer.
“We’re in the process of trying to main-
tain a reasonable price of our product and
keep the costs down to survive,” Cannon
said.
Cannon’s previous location near North-
east Killingsworth Street and 33rd Avenue,
a counter-serve venue with patio seating,
has shuttered its doors and Cannon will
now be amongst a shared plot of food carts
that includes Jacksons Catfish Corner, Star
Kitchen Thai Food, and Kee’s #Loaded
Kitchen—at the corner of Northeast Beech
and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It’s
a move that coincides with an explosion of
food carts in the Rose City over the past
two decades.
Cannon received help making the transi-
tion from other food cart operators and his
friend, Darnell Lowery, whom he met at a
men’s church group at Mt. Olivet Baptist
Church in north Portland.
“I was crying the blues about the cost
of labor and things of that nature and Dar-
nell, being the humanitarian that he is,
volunteered to help me out in my prob-
lem. He’s been a total asset to the busi-
ness,” Cannon, 78, said.
Since joining Cannon’s team about a
year ago as a part time chef, Darnell, 70,
has not only contributed his business acu-
men from having run a small business
himself for many years—“Special Touch
Ceramic Tile”—but also one of his fami-
ly’s secret recipes, “Helen’s Sweet Potato
Cake,” to the menu. Much to Cannon’s de-
light, they’re selling--well--like hot cakes.
by
photo by M ark W ashington /t he p ortland o bserver
Wayne Cannon (right), longtime owner of Cannon’s Rib Express and his friend and part-time chef Darnell Lowery, are encourag-
ing customers old and new to their new food cart on the corner of Northeast Beech and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The
cheaper-to-operate location replaces the restaurant space Cannon rented out for several years at the New Seasons Market on
Northeast 33rd Avenue.
C ontinued on p age 4