Skip to main contentDame Collective, a group of chefs and restaurants operating out of a shared space on Northeast Killingsworth Street, has announced plans to close. The closure was announced Dec. 28 on Dame’s Instagram page, which said Dec. 31 would be Dame’s last day of service.
“We worked with people so talented it took your breath away—and had staff struggling so hard it broke your heart. Chefs and cooks working incredibly hard day in and day out…guests never knowing how much it took—to give,” the post reads.
Dame, which opened in 2016 as a wine bar with a traditional restaurant, shifted its model in 2019, hosting a wine bar and a rotating cast of restaurant concepts. Most recently, the space was occupied by Ma Cher, a Cajun/Creole restaurant three days a week and by Chelo, a Mexican restaurant run by chef Luna Contreras.
A Dec. 31 story from the Portland Business Journal reported that Chelo closed Dec. 19. Ma Cher also announced via Instagram that it would be closing at the end of the year.
“We know people will have questions, but please know we are doing our best to honor the privacy of other people as we navigate our way through this experience,” said a post signed by owners Chase Dopson and Maggie Irwin.
WW has written about Dame several times since its launch, most recently in a February 2025 review of Chelo by then-arts and culture editor Robin Bacior.
“The dishes at Chelo feel grounded in simplicity—not their creation or preparation, but their taste, what they open within you,” Bacior wrote. “Nothing is overly salted or punchy, the salsas are smooth and warm, the tortillas deeply earthy, blue as the room’s décor.”
