Mad Greek Deli, the Rock Creek institution known for gyros, Greek fries, and a 10-pound sandwich challenge, will close its westside restaurant for the second time in just over a decade. Owner Jake Marks says the location at 18515 N.W. West Union Road will shut down November 28, 2026, capping a comeback that lasted barely three years.
Marks announced the closure on Facebook, saying that increased economic pressure with no relief made continuing impossible, according to OregonLive. The current building housing the restaurant has been sold, per the same report, adding another layer of pressure on top of rising costs. Marks told the outlet he tried to uphold Mad Greek's heritage and honor the dream of his late friend and former owner, Pondo Kosmas.
In a statement reported by the Beaverton Valley Times, Marks said the Westside location would remain open through the November 28 closing date specifically to make sure all staff and vendors get fully paid. He emphasized closing gracefully with open communication rather than locked doors and unpaid bills, and said his entire team committed to staying through the final day.
A Business Already Under Strain
The deli was part of a controversy involving a nearby Portland Community College strike in March.
Nearly Five Decades of History, Twice Uprooted
Mad Greek Deli traces back to 1977, when George Athanasakis founded it inside a century-old building at 185th Avenue and West Union Road that had previously housed the Bethany General Merchandise Store and Valley West Grocery and Deli, according to Wikipedia. The restaurant spent nearly 40 years in that original building, with Tom and Pondo Kosmas later helming the Rock Creek operation together.
That first chapter ended in 2015, when redevelopment plans drove up the rent and forced Pondo Kosmas to close the original restaurant, per OregonLive. Mad Greek shifted its focus to its East Burnside location in Portland after the closure, and the historic Rock Creek building itself came down in 2018. Tom Kosmas, Pondo's father and co-owner of the deli, was born in 1939 and became a merchant marine at 17, according to Dignity Memorial; his ship ran aground in Coos Bay before he met Anna.
Pondo Kosmas later led the deli and died unexpectedly in 2016, the Hillsboro News Times reported at the time. Jake Marks, Kosmas's best friend, took over the business after his death and has run it since.
A Brief Westside Revival
Mad Greek returned to the Rock Creek neighborhood in 2023, opening a new location directly across from its longtime original building. Under Marks, the revived restaurant expanded well beyond counter service, adding a covered heated patio, fire pits, lawn games, and weekend breakfast, transforming it into a suburban gathering space, according to Mad Greek Deli's own account of its history.
The restaurant's reputation had long rested on its outsized menu items. Its 10-pound sandwich challenge packed four meats, three cheeses, and mountains of fixings, and customers were dared to finish the sandwich along with fries and a drink in one hour, per OregonLive.
East Burnside Carries the Torch
While the Rock Creek chapter closes again, Mad Greek's second location at 1740 E. Burnside St. in Portland's Buckman neighborhood will remain open. The East Burnside restaurant opened a few years before the 2015 closure.
Marks told OregonLive he still hopes Mad Greek may find a way forward on the west side someday, saying the dream of returning to that part of Portland still matters to him. For now, though, the Rock Creek location's final day will be November 28, closing out a nearly 50-year story shaped by redevelopment, sudden loss, and mounting economic pressure.
