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Shari's Cafe & Pies, originally known as Shari's Restaurants, is a chain of family dining restaurants in the western United States based in Beaverton, Oregon. Its restaurants are pie-oriented. The franchise's original restaurant was opened in Hermiston, Oregon, in 1978. Shari's are known for their familiar hexagonal building design. As of January 2025, 11 locations appear in the store location listing.

History

Shari's began in Hermiston, Oregon, in 1978 with Ron and Sharon "Shari" Bergquist as proprietors. The two ran the company for seven years. By 1999, Shari's was the ninth-largest family restaurant chain in the United States based on total sales, and sixth in growth.

In March 1999, the chain was acquired by Fairmont Capital Inc. for $60 million. At that time Shari's operated 96 locations in seven states with 4,000 employees and $128 million in annual revenue. They were still the ninth largest family chain in 2003.

Shari's lost a gender discrimination lawsuit in April 2005 and was ordered to pay $122,225 in damages. In December 2005, the company was purchased by New York private investment firm Circle Peak Capital.

President Larry Curtis retired in July 2008 after 24 years with Shari's and was succeeded by Bruce MacDiarmid. In 2009, Shari's Restaurants took ownership of a number of northern California Baker's Square restaurants and converted them to operate under Shari's name.

The chain is currently operated by Shari's Management Corporation in Beaverton. Most, but not all locations are open 24 hours a day, with a focus on specialty pies. Samuel Borgese was named CEO in September 2017, replacing MacDiarmid. In mid-2017, the company was operating 95 locations in the states of California, Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming, just one fewer than in the year 2000.

In September 2018, it was announced that Shari's Cafe & Pies had taken over Carrows and Coco's Bakery.

In August 2024, it was announced that Shari's Cafe & Pies has been behind on payments for both property, taxes and services rendered for the restaurant chain. As a result, a large number of Shari's locations permanently closed. By early October 2024, the number of locations had declined to 49, operating in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. In late October, all Oregon locations closed abruptly, dropping the remaining number of locations to seventeen. Shari's owes around $900,000 to the Oregon Lottery for their video lottery machines.

See also

• List of casual dining restaurant chains
• List of diners
• List of restaurant chains in the United States
• Cuisine of the United States

References

1. ^ Marum, Anna (September 8, 2017). "New Shari's CEO to put 'healthier twist' on menu". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
2. Oct. 22, Heather; Lalley (October 22, 2024). "Shari's Restaurants closes all 42 of its Oregon locations". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2024-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
3. Lalley, Heather (October 22, 2024). "Shari's Restaurants closes all 42 of its Oregon locations". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
4. Hoovers: Shari's Management Corporation
5. ^ Marum, Anna (September 8, 2017). "New Shari's CEO to put 'healthier twist' on menu". The Oregonian. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
6. "Shari's Café & Pies". www.oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
7. "No more pies! Shari's suddenly shuts its last Tri-Cities restaurant after 40+ years". Yahoo Finance. 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
8. "A familiar name fills Village Grill kitchen in Wood Village". oregonlive. 2010-03-20. Retrieved 2024-03-17.
9. "Locations – Shari's Restaurant". archive.is. 2024-10-28. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
10. ^ "Shari's: Our History". Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
11. Family chains fight back with acquisitions, reduced unit size. Nation's Restaurant News, July 26, 1999.
12. ^ Fairmont, execs buy Shari's chain for $ 60M. Nation's Restaurant News, March 15, 1999.
13. Most second-tier family brands seek recovery from sales slippage; Special Report: Second 100. Nation's Restaurant News, July 28, 2003.
14. Gresham man wins gender-bias suit. The Oregonian, April 20, 2005.
15. "Gay man wins lawsuit against Shari's". Eugene Register-Guard (via Google News). April 22, 2005. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
16. "Shari's Café & Pies". www.oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
17. "Shari's Restaurants Expands". March 18, 2009.
18. "Sharis Promotes Vickie Irish to Vice President of People Engagement and Development". IT Business Net Press Release. August 31, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2017.
19. "About". Shari's Cafe & Pies. 2017. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
20. "Shari's Management Corp. takes over Coco's and Carrows". Nation's Restaurant News. 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
21. Maze, Jonathan (September 17, 2018). "Shari's Pies now owns Coco's and Carrows". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
22. "Shari's Restaurants faces financial problems: Unpaid bills, taxes, eviction notices". KGW News. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
23. Banks, Alexander. "Shari's abruptly shutters Keizer restaurant amid string of Pacific Northwest closures". Statesman Journal. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
24. Zahn, Noah (October 8, 2024). "Shari's restaurant to close in Cheyenne after 40 years". Wyoming Tribune-Eagle.
25. "Oregon Lottery Confirms All Shari's Restaurants in Oregon Have Closed". Willamette Week. 2024-10-21. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
26. Plante, Amiee (23 October 2024). "Oregon Lottery says Shari's owes it nearly $900K after sudden closure". KOIN 6 News. Retrieved 23 October 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Battistella, Edwin. "Shari's Café & Pies". The Oregon Encyclopedia.

• 1978 establishments in Oregon
• Companies based in Beaverton, Oregon
• Food and drink companies based in Oregon
• Privately held companies based in Oregon
• Regional restaurant chains in the United States
• Restaurants established in 1978
• Restaurants in Oregon