South American restaurant known for rooftop mezcal bars closes two Portland locations

Teote, a fun, funky South American restaurant known for its rooftop bars and extensive mezcal selection has closed two of its Portland locations, according to a social media post.

The Teote House Cafe, a converted home at 1615 S.E. 12th Ave. that was the former food cart’s first brick-and-mortar, and Teote Mezcalería, which opened in an old auto body shop at 2700 N.E. Alberta St. with one of the largest mezcal selections on the West Coast, have both closed. An outpost at downtown Portland food hall Pine Street Market, 126 S.W. 2nd Ave., remains open.

“Covid and ‘post-Covid’ has been brutal on restaurants, especially in Portland,” the post reads. “We have struggled on but need to take a break and down-size for a bit.”

According to the note, Teote continues to work to try to stay in its original Teote House Cafe location, and might have find a “sweet spot in Northeast Portland” to replace the mezcalería.

“We appreciate all of the friends, customers and employees who have shared the journey with us to this point, and are optimistic for the future,” the post continues. “There have been so many moments of magic at Teote and we hope there will be many more to come.”

— Michael Russell; mrussell@oregonian.com

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