Carlo Lamagna’s Dear Portland
Chef Carlo Lamagna’s letter to the Portland restaurant community
illustration: natalie shaw
Dear Portland,
It’s been a hell of a ride so far. Nine years since we’ve moved out here and still going strong. I’m going to be honest, I had a rocky start, being an outsider and all. The community here is so tight-knit that it makes it hard to become a part of it sometimes. That was then; this is now.
I feel like I arrived at a time of a major shake up. Seeing new blood fill in the ranks, walking the paths that the older generation paved. You are a young city in comparison to many other cities I’ve lived in—a large town mentality with a small, hip city feel. Watching you grow and change in the near decade I’ve been here has been an adventure.
A lot has happened in these past years that has helped you mature, for better or for worse. We’ve had rallies, naked bike rides, marches, riots, and even a pandemic. Each of these things have forced us to grow, change, adapt, and even face some of our faults, but at the end of the day, we’ve stuck together.
There have been some casualties. We have lost some amazing people and places along the way that we all mourned. But we have also seen our space grow to accommodate everyone, to give the new chefs a spot to shine, showcase their talents, and share it with the world through pop-ups, collaborations, food trucks, and residencies. We’re seeing repurposing of spaces through sharing. The community is strong, supporting and lifting each other up.
You often hear grumblings about how things have changed, how Portland isn’t the same and that it’s going downhill. These conversations are often amongst people that refuse to let go of the past or are stubborn and set in their ways. This is the rhetoric that holds us back from reaching a higher level, and creating a better space that helps us feel safe and welcome.
Quite frankly, I’m glad this isn’t the Portland of the past. The Portland of today is a city where I feel comfortable and at ease. A place where I felt my roots could grow, where I would open my first restaurant on the corner of SE Clinton and 26th and enjoy some success next to some of the most amazing people that I consider my extended family.
Here we all are now, adding color to this blank canvas, painting a new picture over the old one. The definitive pathways that were once laid out for us are now a thing of the past. We are creating new and unique paths to success that have never been explored, we are even giving new life and value to what it means to be successful.
‘Keep Portland Weird’ they say. I couldn’t agree more.
