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Shari's Cafe & Pies

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Shari's Cafe & Pies
TypePrivate
IndustryFoodservice
Founded1978; 48 years ago (1978)
Hermiston, Oregon, U.S.
HeadquartersBeaverton, Oregon, U.S.
Key peopleSamuel Borgese (CEO)[1]
Revenue$121.4 million[2] (2023)
OwnerGather Holdings[2]
SubsidiariesCoco's Bakery
Websitesharis.com
Footnotes
Company data.[3]

Shari's Cafe & Pies, originally known as Shari's Restaurants, is a chain of family dining restaurants in the western United States.[4][5] Known for their house-made pies, Shari's also offers a full breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu.[6] Shari's is known for their familiar hexagonal building design.[7] As of October 2026, Shari's has 8 locations: 2 in California, 2 in Idaho, and 4 in Washington.[8] In 1999, Shari's had 96 locations across five western states plus Nebraska.

History

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Image
Shari's logo (2003–2011)

Shari's began in Hermiston, Oregon, in 1978 with Ron and Sharon "Shari" Bergquist as proprietors.[9] 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.[10][better source needed]

Image
Shari's logo from 2011.

In March 1999, the chain was acquired by Fairmont Capital Inc. for $60 million.[11] At that time Shari's operated 96 locations in seven states with 4,000 employees and $128 million in annual revenue.[11][12] They were still the ninth largest family chain in 2003.[13]

Shari's lost a gender discrimination lawsuit in April 2005 and was ordered to pay $122,225 in damages.[14][15] In December 2005, the company was purchased by New York private investment firm Circle Peak Capital.[9]

President Larry Curtis retired in July 2008 after 24 years with Shari's and was succeeded by Bruce MacDiarmid.[16] 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.[17]

As of 2017, chain has been operated by Shari's Management Corporation in Beaverton. At that time, most, but not all locations are open 24 hours a day, with a focus on specialty pies.[18] Samuel Borgese was named CEO in September 2017, replacing MacDiarmid.[1][4] 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.[1][19] Shari's previously operated several restaurants in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and Texas. However, the company permanently closed all locations in those four states sometime between the mid-1990s and the early 2000s due to poor management. During the 2020s, operations ceased in Nebraska and Wyoming as well.

In September 2018, it was announced that Shari's Cafe & Pies had taken over Carrows and Coco's Bakery.[20][21]

Image
Location in Garden Home, Oregon in 2009. (Now closed)

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.[22] As a result, a large number of Shari's locations permanently closed.[23] By early October 2024, the number of locations had declined to 49, operating in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.[24] In late October, all Oregon locations closed abruptly, dropping the remaining number of locations to seventeen.[25] At the time, the Oregon Lottery reported that Shari's owed around $900,000 of revenues from their video lottery machines, and sent the debt to collections in February 2025 after the company failed to pay or respond.[26][27]

In 2025, a regional chain restaurant called Elmer's announced it was taking over four former Shari's location in Oregon.[28]

In May 2026, Lena Brands, the parent company of Shari's Cafe & Pies, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets and liabilities between $1 million and $10 million.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 Marum, Anna (September 8, 2017). "New Shari's CEO to put 'healthier twist' on menu". OregonLive.com. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 Lalley, Heather (October 22, 2024). "Shari's Restaurants closes all 42 of its Oregon locations". Restaurant Business. Retrieved 2024-10-28.
  3. ↑ Hoovers: Shari's Management Corporation
  4. 1 2 Marum, Anna (September 8, 2017). "New Shari's CEO to put 'healthier twist' on menu". The Oregonian. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Shari's Café & Pies". www.oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  6. ↑ "No more pies! Shari's suddenly shuts its last Tri-Cities restaurant after 40+ years". Yahoo Finance. 2023-04-24. Retrieved 2024-03-09.
  7. ↑ Apalategui, Eric (2010-03-20). "A familiar name fills Village Grill kitchen in Wood Village". OregonLive . Retrieved 2024-03-17.
  8. ↑ "Locations". Shari's. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Shari's: Our History". Archived from the original on 2007-05-16. Retrieved November 24, 2024.
  10. ↑ Family chains fight back with acquisitions, reduced unit size. Nation's Restaurant News, July 26, 1999.
  11. 1 2 Fairmont, execs buy Shari's chain for $ 60M. Nation's Restaurant News, March 15, 1999.
  12. ↑ Marum, Anna (2017-09-08). "New Shari's CEO to put 'healthier twist' on menu". oregonlive. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  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. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  23. ↑ Banks, Alexander (September 26, 2024). "Shari's abruptly shutters Keizer restaurant amid string of Pacific Northwest closures". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. 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 (October 23, 2024). "Oregon Lottery says Shari's owes it nearly $900K after sudden closure". KOIN. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
  27. ↑ Iboshi, Kyle (2025-02-05). "Oregon Lottery sends Shari's restaurants to collections for unpaid bills". KGW. Retrieved 2026-09-12.
  28. ↑ "Elmer's Restaurants taking over several old Shari's locations in Oregon". KATU. 2025-07-29. Retrieved 2026-09-05.
  29. ↑ "Shari's parent company files for bankruptcy more than a year after closing Oregon diners". KATU. 2026-05-25. Retrieved 2026-09-13.
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