Afuri shutters Old Town Portland restaurant, cites decline in foot traffic

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Tokyo-born restaurant chain that has helped define Portland’s ramen scene has shut down its Old Town eatery.

Afuri permanently shuttered its shop on 50 SW 3rd Ave., referred to as the Kara Kurenai location, on Jan. 8. According to a social media post, the decision to shutter the restaurant was made after much consideration.

“This decision was not made lightly and follows a thorough evaluation of the challenges we have faced in recent years including the lingering negative perception of downtown safety following the pandemic, a significant decline in tourism, and one of the highest office vacancy rates in the nation,” CEO Taichi Ishizuki added in a letter to customers. “While there have been improvements in public safety, the return of local residents and foot traffic to the area remains limited.”

Afuri’s points are echoed in recent data from Colliers. In the final quarter of 2024, the commercial real estate firm recorded an office vacancy rate of 34.7% in Portland’s Central Business District. There was an average office vacancy rate of 17.7% nationwide last year.

However, Downtown Portland Clean & Safe has claimed the city’s foot traffic is rebounding. The organization reported a four-year high last summer, with 2.4 million visitors and locals stopping downtown each month from June to August.

But data show the central city still has yet to reach its pre-pandemic foot traffic levels. Afuri opened its Old Town location, its second in Portland and the U.S., in November 2017. Although Clean & Safe didn’t begin tracking foot traffic until 2019, downtown welcomed as many as 3.8 million visitors in a single month that year.

The ramen chain has three remaining restaurants in the metro area: its U.S. flagship in Southeast Portland, a spot in the Slabtown neighborhood and another in Beaverton.