Mummy’s in downtown Portland closed in 2022. (There are some great articles about it floating on the web – check out Thebeerchaser’s review.)
Sadly, I never went but it sounded like a great place to get food and a drink, listen to jazz and the owner’s stories.
The building itself is unusual and intriguing.
It was nestled next to a larger building (the Regency Apartments, built 1927), with the actual restaurant in the basement. Google maps sends users to the parking lot when searching for the address.
Oregonian archives has it going back to 1981 or so.
Any pre-80s folks out there know about the building itself? Did staffers from the Oregonian hang out there after the paper went to bed?
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I was there once when my belly dance instructor took me and several other students so we could dance. It was a very interesting experience, but I was so nervous that I don’t remember much.
Cool story – I did see an ad for Mummy’s that offered jazz and bellydancers – thanks for confirming that there were indeed dancers! – John, Lost Oregon
In the late 2010s this was a place where my wife and I could take the stairs down to a low lit restaurant, find a booth and order drinks and a post-ten p.m. dinner. And often be the only customers there. The food may or may not have been Egyptian, but it was at least middle-eastern and decent enough, with the two friendly guys behind the bar looking on. They were always there when we came in, never saw any other staff, both at least middle aged and as I remember they were definitely Eqyptian. Sad to see the shackled exterior of this strange little building downtown, but bracing that we have Lost Oregon to catalog what is fading or what has left us – the special character of eccentric, distinctive, or reassuring structures and the atmosphere therein.
Great story – thanks for posting! – John, Lost Oregon
John, Really like your features on what made and still makes Portland the unique Northwest city it is. Right up our alley.
John, thanks for referencing my blog – I got quite a few hits based on your articles. Mummy’s was truly a “buried treasure” and the two brothers were wonderful hosts. Cheers
Love to hear that! Long-time reader of The Beer Chaser (a great mix of beer and history – two of my favorite topics). -John, Lost Oregon
While working at Yost Grube Hall Architecture in the nearby PacWest Building, we would occasionally take an office happy hour at Mummy’s and take over the place–which wasn’t hard because it wasn’t big–because Joachim Grube enjoyed it so much. It reminded him of his time in Sudan in the 1960s. The two Egyptian guys who owned it (I regret I forget their names) were real characters–very friendly, talkative, and funny as hell if you were paying attention. They called Joachim “the big boss.”
My understanding was that Oregonian staff were regulars before the paper moved. We would joke that the atmosphere at Mummy’s was dead, but when it filled up, it was fun, authentic, and strange. You really felt like you weren’t in Portland anymore. The owners, always found sitting at their same places at the bar, would criticize us on entry for not coming back sooner. But once you accepted the remark, the smiles and jokes returned. Some colleagues felt that was off-putting but I thought it was great. We need more places like this. It’s a loss for sure. A relic from another time.