Bistecca, the wood-fired Italian steakhouse chef Gabriel Pascuzzi opened in Portland's Slabtown neighborhood, will close for good after service on Saturday, October 17. The final night's menu will include little gem Caesar, fried arancini and wood-fired bistecca alla fiorentina, and Pascuzzi says a deal to sell the restaurant to another local group collapsed just before the finish line.
Pascuzzi, a former Top Chef contestant, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that negotiations to sell Bistecca fell through “on the 99 yard line.” He converted his five-year-old restaurant Mama Bird into Bistecca in early 2025, and according to the same report, the steakhouse at 2145 NW Raleigh St. seemed to be finding its footing as Portland began climbing out of years of economic stagnation before sales dropped significantly, which Pascuzzi attributes to tariffs.
Bistecca relies on imported Italian wine, parmesan and prosciutto, and Pascuzzi said he managed to save roughly $1,000 by buying a giant wheel of parmesan before the tariffs took effect, per the same account. Those import costs trace back to a 15% tariff the U.S. government placed on European Union agri-food imports in August 2025, adding new duties on Italian wine, cheese, prosciutto and olive oil, according to Italianfood.net, which reported Italian agricultural associations estimated the tariffs would cause more than €1 billion in export losses.
Italian Wine and Tariffs
For a restaurant built around Italian wine lists and imported cheese and cured meats, tariffs can add cost pressure to the menu.
Beyond the tariffs, Pascuzzi pointed to higher gas prices and a Portland dining scene still working to convince suburban diners to come back downtown. He said he doesn't expect Portland's dining scene to return to pre-pandemic levels until locals overcome their fear of the central city, and per the OregonLive report, he described the suburbs as having abandoned Portland's core — naming Vancouver, Beaverton and Gresham as suburbs that no longer send diners into the city the way they once did.
Downtown Recovery Uneven Despite Tourist Rebound
Pascuzzi's read on suburban dining habits lines up with broader economic data on Portland's central city. A Portland Metro Chamber economic report released in February found that central city office vacancies hit a record high of 10.2 million square feet in 2025 as the region lost 8,800 jobs, according to Oregon Business & Industry. A September study by Downtown Portland Clean & Safe, reported by Willamette Week, found that while total downtown monthly visits reached 3 million this summer for the first time since 2019, monthly office worker foot traffic remained stuck around 350,000, less than half of pre-pandemic levels.
That gap between tourist recovery and weekday commuter traffic mirrors a nationwide pattern in restaurant sales. A National Restaurant Association tracking survey released in August found that 49% of U.S. restaurant operators saw lower customer traffic in July 2026 compared to July 2025, marking net traffic declines in 17 of the past 18 months. Bistecca's struggles echo that trend even as Pascuzzi tried to counter it directly.
A Guest Chef Series Couldn't Turn the Tide
In March, Pascuzzi partnered with OpenTable to launch the “I Heart Portland” dinner series running through December at Bistecca and Hey Luigi, bringing in visiting guest chefs from around the country to stir up local interest, as reported by Appetito. Despite that push, Bistecca ultimately closed.
Pascuzzi is encouraging Bistecca's fans to make it in during the restaurant's final three weeks. In a statement, he wrote that Mama Bird and Bistecca have always been about celebration, resilience and community. Bistecca is located at 2145 NW Raleigh St. and can be reached at 503-384-2064.
Hey Luigi, Pascuzzi's restaurant at 2175 NW Raleigh St., will remain open and recently added pizza to its menu, according to OregonLive.
Portland Dining Scene Still Searching for Its Footing
Bistecca's tariff complaints and the region's stubborn weekday traffic gap point to a Portland dining scene still searching for its footing years after the pandemic upended it.
