Two-Alarm Fire Damages Portland's Elephants Delicatessen Flagship, Disrupting Operations

A two-alarm fire ripped through the flagship Elephants Delicatessen at 115 Northwest 22nd Avenue in the early hours of Tuesday, March 10, gutting the bakery and deli sections and partially collapsing the roof of the building, which dates to 1947. Portland Fire & Rescue responded at about 1 a.m. to find flames already spreading through the roof, forcing crews to briefly pull ladder teams back from rooftop operations before a second alarm brought in additional personnel to bring the blaze under control. No injuries were reported.

The restaurant's manager received a call at 1:15 a.m. and arrived to find the building engulfed. The fire burned a large portion of the front of the restaurant, and CEO Martin Macclanan described the destruction as encompassing areas that were "burned and charred," with what remained suffering either smoke or water damage. Officials said the fire possibly started outside and spread inside the deli, a sequence Macclanan confirmed, telling reporters the blaze began outside the building, moved inside, and then climbed to the roof. Investigators are continuing to examine the cause, and related coverage from KATU cited investigators describing the fire as "human caused," though a formal investigative determination had not been publicly confirmed as of publication.

Northwest 22nd Avenue between Northwest Everett and West Burnside was closed while crews remained on scene.

For Macclanan, arriving at the restaurant in the early morning hours brought an emotional reckoning with the loss of one of Northwest Portland's longest-standing dining institutions. "My heart's broken. I've said this several times this morning and I almost break into tears. I just love this place. I love the community around it. I love the role of the families who have spent generations coming around here. So it really breaks your heart to look at a horrible situation like this," he said.

Despite the extent of the damage, Macclanan said the company would not walk away from the location or its workforce. Elephants Delicatessen operates six other restaurants across the Portland metro area, and management is exploring how to redeploy displaced flagship staff at those locations during the rebuilding period. "We have other opportunities in other restaurants and we will definitely want to do right by them, and we have to do the counting and figure out what we can do to keep our team with us while we rebuild," Macclanan said. He also asked customers to support the brand by visiting its other metro locations while the flagship remains closed.

The bakery and deli operations at 115 NW 22nd Ave, the heart of what has made Elephants Delicatessen a fixture in Portland's food scene for decades, face the longest road back. Macclanan acknowledged that significant decisions about the building's future remain ahead, but said the company has not yet determined its full path forward for the structure itself.