Iconic 60-Year-Old Pink Feather, East Portland Landmark of Chicken and Karaoke, Is Closed

The gaudy-pink Portland lounge, owned by three generations of family, shuttered without warning this month.

Pink Feather (Christine Dong)

One of Portland's most beloved and iconic restaurants, a gaudy pink-wallpapered home to karaoke and broasted chicken run by three generations of family since 1957, is closed.

As of October 6, the Pink Feather appears to be no more.

The closure was announced only by a now-removed Facebook post on October 5, its traces on the internet now reduced to a Reddit thread filled with sadness.  And though the family has not responded to requests for comment, the closure seems to be permanent: The website is down, its social media vacant, the phone unanswered, and its Yelp page a pink CLOSED sign.

The Pink Feather was famous for its chicken for good reason. One of the few current owners in Portland of a genuine Broaster-branded chicken broaster, the Feather was founded 60 years ago by a pair of Boring, Ore., chicken farmers named Lester and Verna Harrington, owners of his grandmother's pink 1957 Thunderbird and pink 1976 Cadillac El Dorado.

They then passed the feather to a new generation, Claude and Shirley Ogle. When Claude was in the house, he famously greeted his guests with the restaurant's namesake: a pink feather.

But even though it came from chicken farmers and cooked some of the best broasted chicken in town, the Pink Feather's interior was far from rustic. The walls were glitter-pink wallpaper, the booths and carpet blood red, with every lampshade a world of dangling crystal shards. A paper surfboard on the wall said TIKI,  Elvis impersonators were a mainstay, and every other Sunday was Emma Rose's Kids' Karaoke Hour, hosting sprites of variable talent and unending enthusiasm.

Pink Feather (Christine Dong)

But Claude and Shirley Ogle have both since passed after years of stewardship; Claude Ogle died this January 31 at the age of 83, passing the restaurant to a third generation of family.

The restaurant only outlived him for another nine months, it would appear. But it was a hell of a run.

Related: It's Only a Matter of Time Before Elvis Shows Up at the Pink Feather

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