Solae's Lounge, One of the Last Remaining Jazz Clubs in Portland, Won't Have a Music Curfew

Under a settlement signed at the end of January, city and club agreed to more soundproofing.

Solae's (Henry Cromett)
By Rachel Monahan

Solae's Lounge, the black-owned jazz club on Northeast Alberta Street that the city fined for noise violations, won't be subject to a 10 pm music curfew, thanks to an agreement signed in January.

The Office of Neighborhood Involvement took the unusual step of bringing an administrative case against Solae's, among the last jazz clubs in the city last year.

Lawyers and activists decried the noise enforcement as racially biased overreach.

The case was resolved Jan. 23, after owner Yosief Embaye agreed to add further soundproofing. The bar has since constructed a vestibule in the back of the building and added another back door.

"This case never should have been brought in this manner in the first place," Embaye's attorney, Ashlee Albies, says. "So, given that, I'm glad the city was unsuccessful in trying to put Solae's out of business."

Theresa Marchetti, ONI's livability programs manager, is "glad" the bureau was able to address the noise. "These modifications should have happened 18 months ago," she says.

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