Nicholas Restaurant is a chain of three Lebanese restaurants in the Portland metropolitan area, in the United States. It is one of the oldest Lebanese and

Middle Eastern The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...

restaurants in Portland. The business also operates in Gresham.

History

Nicholas and Linda Dibe opened the first restaurant in 1987. The Dibes fled

Beirut, Lebanon Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of ...

in 1982, immigrated to Portland with their four young daughters. Five years later they opened the restaurant. Nicholas invested his entire pension in the restaurant, which first served

pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, onions ...

and

calzones A calzone (, , ; "stocking" or "trouser") is an Italian oven-baked folded pizza, often described as a turnover, made with leavened dough. It originated in Naples in the 18th century. A typical calzone is made from salted bread dough, baked in a ...

. Later, the Dibes started adding some of their favorite Lebanese dishes to the menu, which became popular with customers. The restaurant is now owned by one of the Dibes' daughters, Hilda. There are several locations which are operated by different extended family members. The business also operates in Gresham. In 2020, Nicholas announced plans to relocate the flagship location to 1109 Southeast Madison Street, in the Buckman neighborhood, in 2021. In April 2021, Nicholas opened its new location which has a full bar.

Reception

''Willamette Week'' Lauren Yoshiko said Nicholas is best for "homestyle hummus and kebabs, every day for decades" and wrote, "If Pioneer Place is Portland's living room, Nicholas is the city's Lebanese kitchen." Nicholas has been recognized in the newspaper's annual "readers' poll", winning in the "Best Mediterranean Restaurant" category in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.

References

External links

* 1987 establishments in Oregon Asian restaurants in Portland, Oregon Buckman, Portland, Oregon Gresham, Oregon Lebanese restaurants Lebanese-American culture in Oregon Restaurants established in 1987 {{US-restaurant-stub

History

Reception

See also

References

External links