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Elephants Delicatessen has sold to the Willamette Valley hospitality group The Ground.
According to a statement issued Wednesday, Frank Foti, co-founder of The Ground and former CEO of Vigor Industrial, will serve as the new CEO of Elephants. Martin McClanahan, who has served as CEO of Elephants since June 2025, will be the deli chain’s president, and will also serve in a leadership role at The Ground.
Previously, Portland artist and entrepreneur Henry Hillman owned a majority stake in Elephants.
“Henry’s foresight and investment have produced a great foundation from which The Ground can expand Elephants’ geographical reach and add regenerative offerings to the amazing options already available,” Foti said in the company’s statement. “The humble and caring culture that exists at Elephants and The Ground are a beautiful fit, and the chance to serve all of Oregon and SW Washington is an exciting prospect for us all.”
The announcement describes the acquisition as “a farm buying a food business, a move that reverses a more common pattern.” The Ground’s portfolio includes working farms and farm stands, an eco-hotel, boutique rental homes and an event venue, most in the Willamette Valley near McMcinnville. Elephants was founded in 1979 and operates six restaurants across the Portland area; its offerings include take-home meals and catering as well as some grocery items, and by its own accounting Elephants was among the first local stores to offer things like European cheeses and handmade pasta. In mid-September the chain announced the opening of a new 4,100-square-foot events space in collaboration with TEDx Portland, in the Central Eastside building known as the “Fairhaired Dumbbell.”
In March, the Northwest Portland location of Elephants caught fire, causing an estimated $2.5 million in damage; a 57-year-old homeless woman named Catherine Stough later pleaded guilty to one count of reckless burning and one count of criminal mischief. Stough said she set the fire by accident while searching for food scraps in a trash can.
According to the press release, in early 2027 Elephants will open a new location in Northwest Portland’s Uptown Shopping Center at 13 NW 23rd Place, just three blocks from the shuttered Northwest 22nd location.
