05/09/2023
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DINING OUT
Troutdale’s Tippy Canoe space is back on market after Sugarpine owners back out
Updated: Feb. 09, 2023, 5:10 p.m.|Published: Feb. 09, 2023, 3:16 p.m.
Shirleys Tippy Canoe burns to the ground
The aftermath of ShirleyÕs Tippy Canoe, a famous restaurant along the Sandy River near Troutdale, went up in flames in the middle the night Jan. 17, 2020. Images captured on Jan. 23. Mark Graves/Staff Mark Graves
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By Michael Russell | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Shirley’s Tippy Canoe, a Troutdale restaurant destroyed in a “suspicious” fire in early 2020, is back on the market nearly two years after it was first bought by the owners of Sugarpine Drive-In, just down the Sandy River.
When they purchased the property in 2021, Sugarpine owners Emily Cafazzo and Ryan Domingo hoped to revive nostalgic memories of the old Columbia River Highway, once home to dozens of roadhouses serving fried chicken dinners and homemade ice cream. They brought in Waechter Architects to design a new building, and successfully worked with the Columbia Gorge Commission to gain approval for the project. Sugarpine Roadhouse was to feature an outdoor grill, a sprawling beer garden and tables surrounded by towering fir trees alongside the Sandy River.
But the realities of guiding an independent restaurant through the pandemic have come home to roost. With high labor costs and meat prices fluctuating wildly, Domingo and Cafazzo decided to refocus their attention on Sugarpine Drive-In, putting the Tippy Canoe property up for sale in October. The asking price is $875,000, which includes a new wastewater treatment system and their already-approved architectural renderings, Domingo says.
“Seeing this project become a reality would be such a huge win for the local communities here in east Multnomah County and the Columbia River Gorge,” Domingo says. “But it’s just not penciling out to do scratch food right now. We’ve got to simplify, big time.”
The original Tippy Canoe has sat along the Historic Columbia River Highway since the early 1930s, where it once had a reputation as a rough-and-tumble biker bar. That began to change in 2007, when Shirley Welton transformed it into a family-friendly restaurant, eventually appearing on Season 17 of the Food Network’s popular “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
The restaurant, at 28242 E. Historic Columbia River Hwy., was destroyed by fire in the early hours of Jan. 17, 2020, in what investigators later called suspicious circumstances.
— Michael Russell; [email protected]
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