Original Dream Pizza is serving its last pies on August 30, 2026, closing the book on a Glisan Street address that has fed North Tabor and Laurelhurst diners for four decades. Taking its place in mid-September will be Atlas Pizza, the Black-owned New York-style chain opening its fourth Portland storefront and first location east of the Willamette River in Northeast Portland.
The closure marks the end of a rocky stretch for the pizzeria at 4620 NE Glisan Street, according to Bridgetown Bites, which reports that Original Dream Pizza opened in summer 2025 as a successor to American Dream Pizza after that business closed in 2024. Owners Amy and Dan Northrop bought the American Dream Pizza business and renamed it Original Dream Pizza, per the outlet, though the original American Dream Pizza owners refused to sell the name along with the business. The site continued operating under the American Dream Pizza name elsewhere, with a couple of locations still running in Corvallis, the outlet notes.
Original Dream Pizza's run was further complicated by a fire, and the business ultimately said its efforts were not enough to justify staying in business, closing because the economics did not work out, according to the same account. The braided-crust pies that defined the space traced back further still: the crust recipe was based on the original American Dream Pizza owner's grandmother's empanada recipe, and that grandmother was Argentinian, Bridgetown Bites reports.
A 40-Year Address Changes Hands Again
The Glisan Street location's roots run back to 1985, when American Dream Pizza first opened there, according to the Wikipedia entry for the business, which credits founders Scott McFarland and Sebastian Malinow with family ties to Caro Amico, described as Portland's oldest Italian restaurant, founded in 1949. That entry also notes the original 1985 pizzeria was among the early Portland shops to pair hand-rolled crusts with craft draft beer from Widmer Brothers Brewing, the local brewing pioneer founded in Portland in 1984.
Before its final chapter, the building endured a literal setback: a mechanical fire in the rooftop HVAC unit on October 26, 2025, caused interior smoke and soot damage and forced a 10-week shutdown, according to Bridgetown Bites' earlier coverage. Firefighters reportedly contained the blaze to the roof without deploying interior fire suppressant chemicals, the outlet reported at the time. The pizzeria reopened in January 2026, and Multnomah County health inspectors gave it a perfect score of 100 during an unannounced inspection that same month, according to the Portland Tribune. Despite that clean regulatory bill of health, financial pressures made the venture unsustainable.
Atlas Pizza's Fourth Portland Slice Shop
Atlas Pizza announced its fourth location on August 12, 2026, and confirmed it will open in the Original Dream Pizza space in September, according to Bridgetown Bites. The chain is co-owned by Eli Johnson and John Ricci and identifies as a Black-owned business, the outlet reports. Atlas Pizza has grown steadily since opening on SE Division Street in 2014, later expanding to N Killingsworth and SE Foster before this latest move into Northeast Portland, per the same account.
The chain focuses on NY-style pizza, and the Glisan location will mark its first foray east of the Willamette, aiming to serve the Laurelhurst and North Tabor neighborhoods. Menu-wise, the shift from Original Dream Pizza's braided-crust pies will be significant: Atlas Pizza offers cheese, meat, veggie, and vegan slices, plus whole pies and whole vegan pies, with a lineup that reportedly includes 14 omnivore pies and eight vegan pies. Among the specialty offerings is the Sluzrenko pie, topped with pepperoni, pineapple, and jalapeño, alongside signature slices made with what the chain calls Nona Ricci's secret red sauce recipe.
Knots, Ranch, and RC Cola Round Out the Menu
Beyond slices, Atlas Pizza plans to provide ranch dressing on the east side of the Willamette, making its in-house dressings — including ranch and other varieties — part of the pitch for new Northeast Portland customers. The shop will also offer stuffed knots, with fillings ranging from vegan meatballs, vegan ricotta, and basil to cream cheese, bacon, and jalapeño, and pesto, feta, and artichoke heart, per Bridgetown Bites. Rounding out the offerings are about four salads, lunch specials, and a pizza-knots-salad deal priced at $45, plus RC Cola on tap.
The new location will also lean on institutional knowledge from within its own ranks. Sean Croghan, an early Atlas Pizza hire, brought experience from Escape From New York Pizzeria, according to the outlet's reporting.
Continuity Amid the Transition
Atlas Pizza co-owners have offered job opportunities to existing Original Dream Pizza staff members to support employment continuity during the transition, according to WhatNow. The Glisan Street pizzeria sits directly across from Providence Portland Medical Center, and Atlas Pizza plans to offer discounts to hospital personnel as part of its neighborhood outreach, the outlet reports — a nod to the steady stream of healthcare workers who make up a significant share of foot traffic in the area.
The co-owners' footprint in Portland's food and drink scene extends beyond pizza. They also operate Dot's Cafe on SE Clinton Street, a well-known neighborhood institution that they are transitioning to longtime employees, and they maintain an ownership stake in the 5 and Dime bar on SE Foster Road, per WhatNow. It is not the first time the operators have navigated a citywide business shock: during early pandemic disruptions in 2020, Atlas Pizza voluntarily closed operations ahead of government mandates before securing Portland Bureau of Transportation street-seating permits and emergency loans to reopen and raise worker pay, according to a City of Portland account from that period.
Atlas Pizza's original Division Street location has been part of Portland's neighborhood dining fabric for over a decade; Hoodline featured it back in 2019 among the Richmond neighborhood's most popular spots, highlighting its arcade games, craft beer, and vegan options. Now, as Original Dream Pizza serves its final slices this month, the Glisan Street storefront is poised to begin a new chapter under Atlas Pizza when it opens in mid-September.
