Bluehour
Bluehour was an upscale Mediterranean restaurant and bar in Portland, Oregon, known for eclectic cuisine, nightlife, and celebrity clientele.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Bluehour was a Mediterranean-influenced restaurant and bar in Portland's Pearl District that operated from September 2000 until June 2020. The business occupied a prominent five-story former industrial building known as the Ice House, later associated with the Wieden+Kennedy Building. Its interior combined low lighting, dramatic curtains, and a polished but theatrical atmosphere, helping establish Bluehour as one of the Pearl District's most visible destinations for dining, cocktails, private events, and social gatherings. The restaurant was co-owned by Bruce Carey, Joe Rogers, and chef Kenny Giambalvo. Giambalvo served as executive chef through 2011 and remained involved in the limited liability company after leaving the kitchen. Bluehour's food was rooted in French and Italian techniques but incorporated Asian and Latin-American influences. Its changing menus included dishes such as truffle gnocchi, octopus terrine, risotto with sturgeon, sea scallops with bacon, duck breast with root vegetables and huckleberries, salmon tartare, charcuterie, pasta, and refined desserts. A cheese cart operated by a dedicated fromager was one of the restaurant's distinctive service features. Weekend brunch was offered until 2011, and weekend jazz occasionally complemented the dining experience. Bluehour served multiple audiences at once. The dining room targeted upscale customers seeking sophisticated food, while the bar and happy-hour menus offered more casual items such as fried olives, white-bean purée, pork-belly sliders, bruschetta, burgers, and vegetable sandwiches. Signature drinks included the Bluehour Breeze and the Chocolate Chai Old Fashioned. Its L'Heure Bleue event room could accommodate approximately 64 people and was used for private functions and industry gatherings. Local and national coverage generally portrayed Bluehour as stylish, expensive, and socially prominent. Critics and guidebooks described it as a place to see and be seen, a romantic restaurant, and a Portland institution. The restaurant received positive attention from publications including Gourmet, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, Food & Wine, Fodor's, Moon Oregon, Portland Monthly, Eater Portland, and Willamette Week. It was also included in a 2015 CNN list of notable American restaurants for celebrity dining. Its clientele and events included entertainers, athletes, public officials, and other prominent visitors. Bluehour experienced several changes in its culinary leadership. Giambalvo left the executive-chef role in 2011, Thomas Boyce became head chef, and Dolan Lane of Clarklewis took over in January 2013. Kyo Koo and Manuel Lopez also worked in the kitchen. The restaurant participated in local food events, including Eater Portland's 2013 Pizza Week, and hosted the first Chef's Invitational Dinner in 2004. The business faced controversy over its service of foie gras and a legal dispute following a 2013 cocktail accident in which a bartender suffered first- and second-degree burns. During the COVID-19 pandemic, employees reportedly received notices that part of their final wages would be deferred after restaurant closures. Bluehour did not reopen. Carey announced the permanent closure in June 2020, citing the uncertain prospects for profitable operations under social-distancing, reduced-contact service, takeout, and delivery conditions. The former location later became home to the restaurant Janken, which began operating there in 2022.
History
Bluehour opened in September 2000 in Portland's Pearl District, a neighborhood whose conversion from industrial space into restaurants, offices, galleries, and residences was reshaping the city's dining culture. The restaurant occupied the Ice House, a five-story building constructed in 1910 and later known as the Wieden+Kennedy Building because of its association with the advertising agency. Architect Brad Cloepfil designed the restaurant, making Bluehour his first restaurant project. The business was founded and operated by Bruce Carey, Joe Rogers, and Kenny Giambalvo. Carey and Rogers were business co-owners, while Giambalvo combined an ownership role with executive-chef responsibilities. From the beginning, Bluehour was designed as more than a conventional neighborhood restaurant. Its dark, dramatic interior, upscale service, cocktail program, and prominent location made it a destination for business lunches, evening dining, happy hour, nightlife, private parties, and celebrity visits. Its culinary identity was deliberately broad. The menu was primarily associated with Mediterranean, French, and Italian cooking, but the kitchen also drew on Asian and Latin-American flavors. Dishes changed over time and included truffle gnocchi, octopus terrine, sturgeon risotto, sea scallops with bacon, duck breast with seasonal vegetables and huckleberries, salmon tartare, charcuterie, pasta, and elaborate desserts. A rolling cheese cart and occasional weekend jazz helped distinguish the experience. Weekend brunch was served until 2011, while the bar and happy-hour operation offered less formal food and drink options, including sliders, bruschetta, fried olives, sandwiches, cocktails, and wine. Bluehour quickly acquired a reputation as one of Portland's fashionable restaurants. Guidebooks repeatedly characterized it as a place to see and be seen, and critics described its food, decor, and clientele as sophisticated, stylish, or expensive. Gourmet, The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, Fodor's, Moon Oregon, Food & Wine, Portland Monthly, Willamette Week, Eater Portland, and other publications covered the business positively. Willamette Week readers recognized it in several Best of Portland categories, including a 2004 award for the best restaurant for using an expense account. The restaurant also appeared in guidebook recommendations for romance, socializing, happy hour, and special occasions. Bluehour was active in Portland's culinary and event communities. In 2004 it hosted the first Chef's Invitational Dinner, a competition involving menu submissions from 38 Western Culinary Institute students. In 2005 John Legend hosted an after-party at the restaurant. Bluehour later participated in Eater Portland's 2013 Pizza Week with a morel-and-fromage-blanc pizza. Its L'Heure Bleue event room, which seated about 64 people, became a venue for private celebrations and corporate or industry gatherings. The restaurant's culinary leadership changed in the early 2010s. Giambalvo left the executive-chef position in 2011 but remained connected to the ownership LLC. Thomas Boyce became head chef, followed by Dolan Lane of Clarklewis in January 2013. Kyo Koo and Manuel Lopez were also associated with the kitchen during the restaurant's operating life. Bluehour was not free of controversy. Animal-rights protestors picketed outside because the restaurant served foie gras. In 2013 a bartender suffered first- and second-degree burns while preparing a cocktail. A fundraising effort helped support the injured worker's recovery, and the bartender later brought a lawsuit against Carey and Giambalvo seeking damages related to pain, permanent disfigurement, skin-graft treatment, and physical limitations. The COVID-19 pandemic created the decisive business crisis. In March 2020, after restaurants were closed or severely restricted, some Bluehour employees received letters indicating that 25 percent of their final paychecks would be deferred. An Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries communications official stated that paying laid-off workers only part of wages owed violated Oregon law. In June 2020, Carey announced that Bluehour would permanently close rather than attempt a reopening. He cited the poor prospects for profitability in a future requiring casual service, social distancing, takeout, and delivery. A restaurant called Janken subsequently began operating in the former Bluehour space in 2022.
- 2022
Former site becomes home to Janken
[1]A new restaurant named Janken begins operating in the former Bluehour space.
- 2020
Permanent closure
[1]Bluehour announces in June that it will not reopen after pandemic-related disruption.
- 2013
Dolan Lane becomes head chef
[1]Dolan Lane of Clarklewis replaces Thomas Boyce as head chef in January.
- 2013
Cocktail-preparation injury
[1]A bartender sustains serious burns while making a cocktail, followed by fundraising and litigation.
- 2011
Executive-chef transition
[1]Kenny Giambalvo leaves the executive-chef role, and Thomas Boyce becomes head chef.
- 2004
First Chef's Invitational Dinner
[1]Bluehour hosts a culinary competition and dinner involving menus submitted by 38 Western Culinary Institute students.
- 2000
Bluehour opens in Portland's Pearl District
[1]The restaurant begins operating in September in the Ice House building, with Bruce Carey, Joe Rogers, and Kenny Giambalvo as co-owners.
Products and positioning
A stylish, upscale Portland restaurant and cocktail destination combining Mediterranean, French, and Italian cooking with Asian and Latin-American influences. Bluehour positioned itself as both a serious dining venue and a socially prominent place for cocktails, people-watching, celebrations, and private events.
Restaurant cuisine · 2000
Mediterranean dining menu
Bluehour's principal offering was a changing upscale menu grounded in French and Italian cooking and broadened with Mediterranean, Asian, and Latin-American influences. Representative dishes included black-truffle gnocchi, octopus terrine, sturgeon risotto, scallops with bacon, duck breast with root vegetables and huckleberries, salmon tartare, charcuterie, pasta, and composed desserts.
Casual dining · 2000
Happy-hour menu
The bar-oriented menu provided a more relaxed alternative to the dining room. Items included fried picholine olives, Italian white-bean purée, pork-belly sliders, bruschetta, a burger on ciabatta, and vegetable sandwiches. The format supported Bluehour's dual identity as both an upscale restaurant and a social drinking destination.
Cocktail
Bluehour Breeze
A signature cocktail made with grapefruit-infused vodka and cranberry. It was part of Bluehour's cocktail program, which complemented the restaurant's evening and happy-hour positioning.
Cocktail
Chocolate Chai Old Fashioned
A dessert-leaning variation on an Old Fashioned using chai-infused whiskey, simple syrup, chocolate bitters, and an orange twist.
Private events
L'Heure Bleue
Bluehour's dedicated event room accommodated approximately 64 people. It supported private parties, celebrations, and other hosted functions, extending the restaurant's role beyond regular table service.
Controversies
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Eater Portland Pizza Week
Portland, Oregon, United States
Bluehour joined Eater Portland's Pizza Week by serving a pizza featuring morels and fromage blanc.
Outcome. The limited event gave the restaurant an opportunity to present a seasonal, nonstandard pizza within a citywide food promotion.
- 2004Chef's Invitational Dinner
Portland, Oregon, United States
Bluehour hosted the first Chef's Invitational Dinner, a culinary competition and dinner built around menu submissions from 38 Western Culinary Institute students.
Outcome. The event connected the restaurant with Portland's culinary-education community and was reported as a distinctive local food competition.
Brand decisions
2020
Decision not to reopen after pandemic closureStrategyBackground
COVID-19 restrictions disrupted restaurant operations, and management judged that a profitable relaunch under social distancing, reduced-contact service, takeout, and delivery conditions was unlikely.
Action taken
Bluehour permanently closed in June 2020.
Aftermath
The former restaurant space later became the site of Janken, which opened there in 2022.
2011
Change in culinary leadershipStrategyBackground
Kenny Giambalvo resigned as executive chef after more than a decade associated with the restaurant.
Action taken
Thomas Boyce became head chef, while Giambalvo remained involved in the ownership LLC.
Aftermath
Dolan Lane later replaced Boyce in January 2013.
Recent events
- 2020
Bluehour permanently closes during COVID-19 pandemic[1]
Bankruptcy · Other
After pandemic-related disruption and uncertainty about viable reopening conditions, Bluehour announced that it would not reopen.
- 2016
Bluehour ranked among Portland's most expensive restaurants[1]
Other
The Oregonian placed Bluehour thirteenth in a ranking of Portland's most expensive restaurants.
- 2015
Bluehour included in CNN celebrity-dining list[1]
Other
CNN included Bluehour among notable American restaurants for dining with celebrities.
- 2013
Bluehour participates in Eater Portland Pizza Week[1]
Campaign · Product launch
The restaurant offered a morel-and-fromage-blanc pizza as part of Eater Portland's Pizza Week.
- 2013
Bartender injured in cocktail accident[1]
Lawsuit
A bartender suffered first- and second-degree burns while preparing a cocktail. A later lawsuit sought damages for pain, scarring, and physical limitations.
- 2011
Kenny Giambalvo leaves Bluehour's executive-chef position[1]
Leadership change
Giambalvo resigned as executive chef while continuing as a member of the restaurant's owning LLC.
- 2004
Bluehour hosts first Chef's Invitational Dinner[1]
Campaign · Other
Bluehour hosted a culinary competition and dinner featuring menus submitted by 38 Western Culinary Institute students.
Sources1 sources
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