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I am here for Friends and Networking

About Me

HISTORYThe history of the Virginia Cafe can be traced back as far as 1906, the year that Theodore, William and Christopher Dussin emigrated from Argos, Greece to Portland. In 1914, after heavy mountain snows caused them to be laid off their jobs laying railroad ties, the brothers entered the restaurant business and opened the first Virginia Cafe at the corner of S.W. 10th and Stark. In the heart of the city’s once notorious “tenderloin,” the brothers offered “Quick Service and Best Coffee” to a clientele heavily studded with characters that frequented the area. Many of the hotels in that area were sporting houses, and on an average day 50 trays were carried by two “runners” from the “Virginia to the girls’ rooms – gals who ate well and tipped lavishly.” In 1922, the brothers expanded and opened the New Virginia Cafe at its Park Avenue location. There they established a thriving business, serving many of Portland’s leading business, professional, political and theatrical personalities. In 1926, Billie Boyer broke the “Lib Barrier” and became the cafe’s first waitress – a lone little brunette in the midst of waiters. During the ‘20s and ‘30s she developed a following of regular customers, a handful of who were present to witness her 50th anniversary on the job in 1976. While “Black Friday,” 1929 signaled the start of desperate times for most businesses, the Virginia continued to prosper. Four years later, when many thought the Virginia had escaped the ravages of the Great Depression, business suddenly dropped 75% and remained at a very low level for an extended period of time. Restored in 1979 by the current owners, Peter Goforth and Bob Rice, the Virginia Cafe sat on Park Avenue pretty much with the same style and spirit it had back in 1922. In January of 2007, news broke that the entire block had been sold, displacing all the tenants and in its place would rise a 35 story tower. It appeared to be the end of the story for the Virginia Cafe, which had run continuously in downtown Portland since 1914. Low and behold, a new site was found and construction began in the former home of the Willamette Week offices on September 17th, 2007. Many of the old fixtures and booths made the journey to the new location, with one booth finding a home at the Oregon Historical Society. February 25th, 2008 started like every other day had on Park Avenue, with one exception, it was moving day for the Virginia Cafe. With our home on Park Avenue still open for business for one last day, work was escalating to a fever pitch to get the new place open on 10th Avenue. The anticipation for the move was mounting. At 4:33pm family, friends and long time patrons of the Virginia Cafe picked up their bar stools and began the bar stool crawl to 10th Avenue led by The Last Regiment of Syncopated Drummers to our new home at 820 SW 10th Avenue. That was indeed a sight to see. We are now going into our 95th year serving Portland and all of us at Virginia Cafe want to thank you for your continued patronage after all these years. Cheers!

My Interests

I'd like to meet:

People. Young and old, any race, orientation, or sex. People that want to have a good time, good laughs and get GREAT service!!

My Blog

VC New Home on 10th Avenue

Dear Virginia Cafe Family,Boy what a year it has been, but finally we are in our new digs at 820 SW 10th avenue. All of us at the VC can't thank all of you enough for your loyal support this past year...
Posted by on Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:10:00 GMT

Bar Stool Crawl

PRESS RELEASE Virginia Cafe Bar Stool Crawl to the New Location at 820 S.W. 10th Ave., Portland, OregonContact: Leah Douvris at [email protected] Virginia Cafe Family,Well, the time has finally com...
Posted by on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 01:08:00 GMT

Brick Sale a Success

Dear Virginia Cafe Family:Happy 2008 everyone. I hope the new year has found all of you well. The brick sale was a huge success with us selling 246 bricks. The memories that have been immortalized on ...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:13:00 GMT

Moving Party Festivities

Dear VC Family,Boy, what a year it has been for us here at the Virginia Cafe. It was one year ago today that we got the news of our beloved block being demolished to make room for more condos. Ugh! Bu...
Posted by on Thu, 17 Jan 2008 14:10:00 GMT

VC BRICKS ARE SALE, YOU GOT TO GET ONE!!!!

The VC bricks are on sale!!! To buy a brick or bricks you can just stop by the Virginia Cafe and purchase them there. The bricks are on sale thru the middle of December. Each brick will cost $25.00 wh...
Posted by on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 16:41:00 GMT

Construction has begun on our New Location!

On September 17th, 2007, the Virginia Cafe began construction on their new location at 820 SW 10th Ave. Portland, Oregonthe former home of the Willamette Week offices across from the Central Library ...
Posted by on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 17:36:00 GMT

We Found A New Home for the VC

To all those who were sad to hear of our impending closure, good news has arrived. We have just signed a lease to move the VC. Yeah!!!! We are now awaiting approval from the owner of the new buildi...
Posted by on Wed, 29 Aug 2007 15:09:00 GMT

T-shirts Are Finally Here!

Finally we've got our first round of VC T's. Come down now and get yours.
Posted by on Thu, 31 May 2007 06:34:00 GMT

status of impending closure

Well, as a lot of you know the VC is being torn down in the somewhat near future. At this time we have received no news of any date as of yet. We are currently seeking a potential new spot, but the ...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Apr 2007 08:59:00 GMT