Catch and Release: Fin to Close After V-Day

What the hell? Karen Brooks over at Portland Monthly just broke the news that high-end seafood restaurant Fin will close after Valentine's Day. In early December, WW's own reviewer Brian Panganiban enjoyed the restaurant's mission to: "boldly elevate Portland's seafood dining experience beyond boilerplate slabs of grilled salmon...." "Aside from a few missteps, it succeeds," he wrote, "...wielding a small but focused menu of artfully assembled creations that challenge and delight."

Here's the scoop from PM:

The downhearted [chef Trent] Pierce said owner Joan Dumas sold the restaurant and a new owner plans to open his own eatery. Pierce had hoped to buy the restaurant after two years, and he plans to seek funding to open his own place, possibly with some of his Fin comrades.

Great, now where am I gonna go for gnocchi alla Romagna with buttery sea urchin and Dungeness crab sauce? Given the news that Ten 01 had shuttered came only weeks ago, is this the start of another Portland restaurant apocalypse?

Photo: Chef Trent Pierce hard at work at soon-to-close Fin. Photo by Chris Ryan.