PORTLAND, Ore. — One of the Montavilla neighborhood's best-known comfort food brunch spots, The Country Cat, announced Tuesday on social media that it will be closing its Southeast Stark Street location on August 4:
“To our families, our friends, our colleagues, and to our customers:
The Country Cat on SE Stark Street will be closing its doors on August 4, 2019 after our Brunch service. Come join us in these last days as we wind down and bid adieu.
The Country Cat opened its doors in 2007 on the corner of SE 80th and Stark in the Montavilla neighborhood. We’ve seen babies born, proposals happen, weddings planned, birthdays celebrated, kids go off to college, fun-filled gatherings of families and friends, 12 Thanksgiving services, helped cure many a New Year’s Eve indulgence, fundraised for family safety, cancer, and our schools. And, most importantly, we’ve been part of an amazing community.
You’ve opened your arms to us and we’ve embraced it all. Our legacy of past and present staff have helped build, mold, and create the soul of The Cat. Words cannot express our love, gratitude, and bond that we will forever have together.”
Chef/owners, Adam and Jackie Sappington opened The Country Cat over 10 years ago. It quickly became a popular brunch spot for both locals and tourists alike for fried chicken, house-cured bacon and perfectly made buttermilk biscuits that are baked daily.
The duo met in 1995 while working at Portland’s Wildwood Restaurant where their commitment to using local ingredients first began. The Sappingtons eventually opened a second location at the Portland International Airport in 2015. That same year they competed and won on The Food Network's reality cooking competition "Chopped" and released "Heartlandia: Heritage Recipes from The Country Cat cookbook."
In 2018, the Sappingtons purchased health food cafes Prasad, Harlow and Prasad East.
The restaurant has also been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," ABC's "The Chew" and the Travel Channel's "Food Paradise."
The Portland International Airport location will remain open.
